MEHMET ALI DOGAN IN THE CONTEXT OF ARTISTIC EFFICIENCY

Kaya Özsezgin

Stylistic appearance of the living environment and the natural elements giving identity to that environment reflected on the Picture contain dimensions particular to perspective of the artist to that environment. Beside originating from environmental structure, by this aspect, the form or style reveals consequently personal interpretation of the artist as per the aesthetic of the artistic fantasia. Without doubt, the interpretation will be in line with artist’s perception and preferences. By the expression of Dilthey, this is the individualization process. Again by his expression, understanding of any kind will be the precondition of a new production.

After this general introduction, as we looked at the studies of Mehmet Ali Doğan, as an artist (painter) and pragmatist since 1990s in the direction of opening a place for himself, we observe that the effort to form an asset and prove himself from an integral aspect have provided him the capability to obtain successful results in a short duration.

From the start, the propensity to obtain and maintain the form outweighs at the background of the Picture.  Inherent proximity and sensuality in the face of living environment has distracted Doğan from just descriptive line guiding him to get a grammatical result on what he observed and followed.   Inclusion of a grammatical particularity by the painting as a common cultural term means that settling and clarification and consequently being exclusive of its expressive quality. Thus, while Mehmet Ali Doğan is trying to form such a pictorial language consciously and willingly, he is also trying that such a language should contain a value unique to his perspective beside common features of such a language.

Usage by him of “Limited fields” term for the paintings that he formed on canvas with mixed technique reminds at the first glance conversion of natural reality into artistic reality. The nature is in fact, an accumulation of images. However, such an accumulation may only be decomposed by composing the sections which are taken from it after they are sorted out of it as independent and organic forms. Just starting from this point, Doğan put visual metaphysics in place to ensure structural formation of his Picture while building pure and simple color limitations that erase the image of depth on city views and constituting alternative values with these views in contrasting elements. Although such a visual metaphysics is originating from the nature, it concentrates on the formation of a fictionalized structure passing beyond outer reality.

The purpose is to emphasize subjective approach.

He evaluates limited color fields in the frame of a diversifying perception where he turned into undulated or degraded tones using light and dark values of the same tone and therefore he is able to add a new dimension to the technique that he used including a different forming type in each of his Painting.

M. Ali Doğan had opened his first exhibition in 1996 just after the art training.  The point that he has reached  in the working duration that has lasted for a duration longer than twenty years since that date  is informative adequately about his level of investigative and experimental in the context of form and color that envisage always change and metamorphosis. While he was endeavoring in the direction to for bringing efforts of professional organization to a more systematic level, he is giving private  lessons in his personal studio beside his works contributing to formation of a conscious environment in the capital.    Furthermore, being active in the field of decorating the locations with wall paintings that he applied from time to time indicates that he has assumed a function in this direction to spread the art in a vast environment.

Not going far from active artistic personality is the requirement of a confident artistic personality while living within cases (limits) of the environments that are mostly unnerving and discouraging but sometimes encouraging. I think, the level that Ankara has reached in 1980s to proclaim its name such that to draw attention of Istanbul with intense artistic activities followed by shrinkage backward and proceeding again to  a line (level) reminding previous position is an indication that it needs artists (painters) like M.Ali Doğan.

In a period in which young generation displays improvements, I am of the opinion that the art-lovers are following closely devoted studies and works of M.Ali Doğan in the art of painting as an active individual of this generation.