Circular Letter

Since Antiquity, pigments have been a source of fascination and creativity, some of them especially renowned because of their attractive color and the exquisite results that they  could provide. One of these was called in ancient texts miltos sinopensis, the “red earth of  Sinope”, a multi-purpose pigment which was in fact extracted from quarries in Cappadocia and  traded from the harbor of Sinope. Its reputation lasted for so long that even in the Renaissance  the red outlines made on frescoes before painting were called “sinopia”. It is possible to identify today this pigment as the “yoşa” of Cappadocia, which has been used through time on the frescoes of the churches and on the facades of the dovecotes. Today the potters of Avanos dilute it to decorate their vases.  

Such was the importance of this particular Anatolian pigment in antiquity that it and  other colors provide the main theme for an event organized by the Faculty of Humanities and Letters, and the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture to celebrate the centenary of the Turkish Republic, to be commemorated on the 29th October 2023. With red and white being  the two national colors of Turkey, pigments, colors and ideas will be explored in this  International Symposium on the 23^rd and 24^th of November. The multi-layered use and impact  of the colors will be demonstrated according to the interest of the user. The point being that all  colors evoke some kind of response in an observer, whether the archaeologist, art historian,  artist, architect or an interior designer, to name some examples. 

Art exhibitions will run parallel with the Symposium. Students and faculty members of  the Faculty of Art, Design, and Architecture at Bilkent University, together with well-known national artists will present works of paintings, graphic art, print-making, ceramics, and in other  media more specifically devoted to the use of “yoşa”, the red pigment of Cappadocia. 

The inaugural lecture of the Symposium and the first exhibition will be held on the 23^rd November in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. The Symposium will be held on the 24^th November in Bilkent University and followed by the opening of second exhibition in the FADA Art Gallery of the University.