Flaneur as Witness: Cengiz Çekil's Visual Tracks Installation

Mehmet Dere

Article Details

Flaneur as Witness: Cengiz Çekil's Visual Tracks Installation

Authors:

Mehmet Dere

Publisher:

Dokuz Eylul University

Main Topics:

Disiplinlerarası Sanat | Enstelasyon/Yerleştirme Sanatı | Plastik Sanatlar (Diğer)

Journal:

Yedi Issue 34, pp.41-54

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

7/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001343158

pISSN:

1307-9840

Keywords:

Abstract:

 Cengiz Çekil is one of the significant figures in Turkish conceptual art and is known for his contributions to contemporary art. Çekil has worked across various mediums, particularly in performance, photography, found objects, and installations. His art adopts an approach that questions everyday objects, local culture, and societal structures. While addressing philosophical, psychological, and social themes, the artist positions his work as a witness to individual and collective memory. This article aims to provide an art historical reading through Cengiz Çekils installation work Visual Tracks 1979. The work represents a process in which the artist attempts to understand his existence and otherness through the act of walking; in this context, the concept of the flâneur is considered a metaphor for Çekils artistic practice. Relationships involving the artists body, the city, and the other are central to this study of his artistic practice. Çekils act of walking is viewed not only as a daily routine but also as an attempt to inventory the city as part of his life and production practice. Visual Tracks offers a critical approach to the speed, anonymity, and monotony of modern life in Izmir while standing out as an extraordinary work that documents the artists active participation in street life and his personal and collective memory. This study focuses on understanding Çekils relationship with modern and contemporary cities and societal structures while examining the phenomenon of flâneur from philosophical and anthropological perspectives.

 Cengiz Çekil is one of the significant figures in Turkish conceptual art and is known for his contributions to contemporary art. Çekil has worked across various mediums, particularly in performance, photography, found objects, and installations. His art adopts an approach that questions everyday objects, local culture, and societal structures. While addressing philosophical, psychological, and social themes, the artist positions his work as a witness to individual and collective memory. This article aims to provide an art historical reading through Cengiz Çekils installation work Visual Tracks 1979. The work represents a process in which the artist attempts to understand his existence and otherness through the act of walking; in this context, the concept of the flâneur is considered a metaphor for Çekils artistic practice. Relationships involving the artists body, the city, and the other are central to this study of his artistic practice. Çekils act of walking is viewed not only as a daily routine but also as an attempt to inventory the city as part of his life and production practice. Visual Tracks offers a critical approach to the speed, anonymity, and monotony of modern life in Izmir while standing out as an extraordinary work that documents the artists active participation in street life and his personal and collective memory. This study focuses on understanding Çekils relationship with modern and contemporary cities and societal structures while examining the phenomenon of flâneur from philosophical and anthropological perspectives.

 Cengiz Çekil is one of the significant figures in Turkish conceptual art and is known for his contributions to contemporary art. Çekil has worked across various mediums, particularly in performance, photography, found objects, and installations. His art adopts an approach that questions everyday objects, local culture, and societal structures. While addressing philosophical, psychological, and social themes, the artist positions his work as a witness to individual and collective memory. This article aims to provide an art historical reading through Cengiz Çekils installation work Visual Tracks 1979. The work represents a process in which the artist attempts to understand his existence and otherness through the act of walking; in this context, the concept of the flâneur is considered a metaphor for Çekils artistic practice. Relationships involving the artists body, the city, and the other are central to this study of his artistic practice. Çekils act of walking is viewed not only as a daily routine but also as an attempt to inventory the city as part of his life and production practice. Visual Tracks offers a critical approach to the speed, anonymity, and monotony of modern life in Izmir while standing out as an extraordinary work that documents the artists active participation in street life and his personal and collective memory. This study focuses on understanding Çekils relationship with modern and contemporary cities and societal structures while examining the phenomenon of flâneur from philosophical and anthropological perspectives.

 Türk kavramsal sanatının önemli figürlerinden Cengiz Çekil, çağdaş sanat alanlarında verdiği eserlerle tanınmaktadır. Çekil, özellikle performans, fotoğraf, buluntu nesne ve yerleştirme gibi farklı üretim teknikleri kullanmıştır. Sanatında gündelik yaşamın nesnelerini, yerel kültürü ve toplumsal yapıyı sorgulayan bir yaklaşım benimseyen sanatçı; felsefi, psikolojik ve sosyal temaları işlerken, sanatını bireysel ve toplumsal hafıza üzerinde bir tanık olarak konumlandırmaktadır. Bu makale, Cengiz Çekilin 1979 yılında gerçekleştirdiği Görsel Parkurlar adlı yerleştirme çalışması üzerinden sanat tarihsel bir okuma yapmayı amaçlamaktadır. Çekilin eseri, sanatçının yürüme eylemi aracılığıyla kendi varlığını ve ötekiliğini anlamaya yönelik bir süreçtir; bu bağlamda flanör kavramı, sanatçının sanat pratiği için bir metafor olarak ele alınmaktadır. Sanatçının bedenini, kenti ve ötekini içeren ilişkiler, bu çalışma özelinde sanatsal pratiğinin merkezinde yer almaktadır. Çekilin yürüme eylemi, bir günlük rutin olmanın ötesinde, yaşam ve üretim pratiği olarak kent üzerinde bir envanterleme girişimi olarak incelenmektedir. Görsel Parkurlar, İzmirdeki modern yaşamın hızına, anonimliğine ve tekdüzeliğine eleştirel bir yaklaşım sunarken; sanatçının sokak yaşamına aktif katılımını ve kişiseltoplumsal hafızasını belgeleyen sıra dışı bir iş olarak öne çıkmaktadır. Çalışma, flanör fenomenini felsefi ve antropolojik bir bakış açısıyla incelerken, Çekilin modern ve çağdaş kentle kurduğu ilişkiyi ve toplumsal yapıyı anlamaya odaklanmaktadır.

Article Details

Flaneur as Witness: Cengiz Çekil's Visual Tracks Installation

Authors:

Mehmet Dere

Publisher:

Dokuz Eylul University

Main Topics:

Disiplinlerarası Sanat | Enstelasyon/Yerleştirme Sanatı | Plastik Sanatlar (Diğer)

Journal:

Yedi Issue 34, pp.41-54

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

7/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001343158

pISSN:

1307-9840

Cengiz Çekil

flâneur

contemporary art

installation

walking practice

Turkish conceptual art.Cengiz Çekil

flanör

çağdaş sanat

yerleştirme

yürüme eylemi

Türk kavramsal sanatı.

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Mehmet Dere

Publisher: Dokuz Eylul University

Main Topics: Disiplinlerarası Sanat | Enstelasyon/Yerleştirme Sanatı | Plastik Sanatlar (Diğer)

Journal: Yedi Issue 34, pp.41-54

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 7/2025

Document Language: Turkish

Document ID (Org No.): 2001343158

pISSN: 1307-9840

Issues

Authors:

Mehmet Dere

Publisher:

Dokuz Eylul University

Main Topics:

Disiplinlerarası Sanat | Enstelasyon/Yerleştirme Sanatı | Plastik Sanatlar (Diğer)

Journal:

Yedi Issue 34, pp.41-54

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

7/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001343158

pISSN:

1307-9840