In the eye of the businessman, author, photographer

What makes a person a good photographer? Do you have to have extensive training? Know the ins and outs of an expensive camera, lenses and filters? Be experienced in the darkroom? Or does having beautiful blue eyes help you become a better photographer?

Perhaps the answer is all of the above, while the blue eyes are symbolic of what is more important than anything Ğ what is in the eyes (and mind) of the beholder.

As one ponders the subject, even researches what others have said, it becomes clear that the simplest explanation is that a photograph must tell a story and the longer one looks, the deeper the meaning. On the contrary, no matter what kind of equipment and training you bring to that photograph, if you don’t have an eye for composing a photograph, you might as well forget it. Perhaps one should add that a dollop of luck is necessary too, so that you and your equipment are ready when that fantastic picture suddenly confronts you. There is many a story about the one that got away Ğ not that anyone cares.

Speaking of blue eyes, these happen to belong to Mehmet Günyeli, businessman, photographer, philatelist, author and collector. Born in Istanbul and a graduate from Saint Joseph Lycee, he was still attending Saint Joseph’s when the photography bug hit him and somehow he knew that he wanted to become a photographer.

Günyeli turned to photography as a career in the 1980s and has never looked back, although he has added other arrows to his bow. Although he is often referred to as a businessman, he is best known for his photography work, which has been shown in Turkey and abroad. He has also delved into the history of photography and has assembled a large collection of photographs.

Günyeli exhibitions
Günyeli’s first solo photographic exhibition was entitled "Viva Cuba Libre." He has a strong interest in traveling and came to the conclusion that he should concentrate on three particular countries that he believes have maintained their originality in the face of globalization Ğ Cuba, India and Morocco. He has been to all three and photographed extensively. For Cuba and India he has brought out two books that document his work. He is planning a third exhibition and book, on Morocco, for next year.

Another exhibition this year, sponsored by VIP Tourism at its revamped travel center, brought together photos that he had taken in many places around the world and included India, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Cuba. The exhibition was entitled "Colors of the Earth." One specific aspect of Günyeli’s work was particularly striking and that was his passion for vibrant colors. Striking shades of red, pink, yellow and how they stand out in photos in which the background seems gray or white, or in other words, uninteresting. People seem to be more exciting to him than buildings or nature but if he is photographing a building, it becomes the center of his attention and he treats that image with the same care that he would a human posing for him.

Günyeli’s most recent exhibition has been shown this past week at the prestigious Miami-Basel Art Fair. But due to conditions related to the global economic crisis, the fair was not the success that promoters thought it would be, although it is considered the most important art stage in the U.S.

If anything, the artist’s use of vivid color suggests his passion for photography. He would even go on trips to satisfy himself. He claims as well that he has never dropped a camera that he was either holding or had slung over his shoulder. He says, "My passion for the photograph comes from my love and ties to life and man. Taking a photograph is my area of freedom where I can express myself. I let the winds of other geographical locations carry me. I try to reflect the sides that a country experiences: color, feelings and rhythm."

Turkey is somewhat different to other countries in that its people have usually not had the capital to invest in art even if they had thought about it. It is very likely that more than half of the people in Istanbul have never been in a museum, or if they have, it is because of a school outing and they never thought of going again. Istanbul locals were way too busy earning a living and providing a more comfortable life for themselves and their dependents. One has to remember that Turkey had no capital base following the end of World War One and the War of Liberation. The only capital available for the arts was either from the government or from a major bank that was usually owned by the state anyway. It was only in the 1980s that individuals began to turn their attention to something other than their own businesses.

Future based on art
Günyeli decries the lack of relations between businessmen and artists but clearly there are historical reasons for that, not to mention the stereotypes of leftist artist vis-?-vis conservative businessman. In fact he believes that a country’s future is based on investing in art but because of a lack of art education throughout the system people do not know what they are doing. Even the Sakıp Sabancı collections were based on the advice of experts and how many people can afford a consultant.

Because of his concern about the lack of interest in the arts in Turkey, he is known to put his money as well as his work where his mouth is. Not long ago, at a special evening auction arranged to raise money for autistic children, well-known names from Istanbul’s society donated nearly 40 items that were produced using ebru, a particularly popular form of art during the Ottoman period. Günyeli’s wife Leyla Alaton had contributed a drawing and he gallantly purchased it for 2,500 euros. In total, that evening at the Italian Cultural Center brought in 230,000 euros for the cause.

Günyeli is an avid collector and he has managed to acquire a large collection of photographs from auctions in Turkey and abroad. At one point, it had reached 2500. He has been working with friends to establish a foundation devoted to photographic history and has, for example, given the proceeds he received from his Cuban exhibition. Once the foundation is opened the goal is to open Turkey’s first photograph museum.

A particular interest recently has been the International Knidos Culture and Art Academy in Datça. Many artists are involved in this project and Günyeli has been made honorary chairman of the organization that was originally started by Nevzat Metin. The ancient city of Knidos was famous as the center for the worship of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. It was a thriving city that relied on trade and temple tourism. Metin felt that it was the ideal place to connect the past and the present by offering an academy devoted to culture and arts. In fact the origin of "academy" was in the ancient Greek city states and these academies were devoted to various schools of philosophy in which students would study with masters.

Metin and others like Günyeli took part in an exhibition at which each artist had donated two or three of their works in order to raise money for the Academy. When enough money was collected and the Academy was opened, the plan was to apply for European funds. Other sources of money will be gotten from sale of works produced at the academy and events and workshops.

One has only to look at Günyeli’s being one of the founding members of the Ephemera Society in Turkey, a group devoted to collecting, studying and preserving ephemeral items, that is, paper items. If nothing else, such a move goes hand in hand with his collecting fervor for stamps, postcards, badges and photographs. He has been described as a social historian. And as such, he is doing his all to contribute to Turkey’s social history.