AHMET ERTUG—A PROLIFIC PHOTOGRAPHER, BOOK PUBLISHER AND VISUAL
HISTORIAN. HIS LATEST PROJECT, TEMPLES OF KNOWLEDGE, IS AN INTIMATE
JOURNEY INTO EUROPE'S MOST REMARKABLE LIBRARIES. HE INVITES US INTO
THE CREATIVE PROCESS WITH THIS PERSONAL ESSAY
the ArchitecturAl AssociAtion school of Architecture,
london, is a legendary institution well known for its liberal and
ad hoc education style. they provide an environment for their
students to discover and learn architecture or a parallel design
profession. i studied architecture here, and after graduating my
serious involvement with photography started when i received
a professional fellowship to the Japan foundation, and traveled
extensively throughout the country for 12 months during 1979.
the experience that the Japanese and their culture offered
developed incredible finesse to my photographic vision. it was
after returning to istanbul, my hometown, that i started using
large format view cameras and then, finally, deciding on the
grand format of 8 x10 inches. since then, over the last 25 years
apr + may
i have used a view camera to take images of architectural and
archaeological monuments and sculptures; Byzantine, roman,
2011
ottoman, seljuk, Asian art, which have appeared in 25 published
books and been exhibited in paris, new York and london.
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