Interview: Orhan Dagli

THE COLOURS OF TEZHIB

"The people of the 21st century did not do anything but just consumed the heritage of the past. This should not be the answer. We have to know and understand our past and leave good works done with the love of Allah as heritage." (Orhan Dagli)

IAM: Tezhib (illumination) with calligraphy, presents the trademark of the Ottoman art. How did you develop your love towards that kind of expression?

ORHAN DAGLI: My interest in this art started with Islam religion... Before, because of the way I was brought up, I used to be related with art in my childhood and dream of being a famous artist in the future. But around the age of twenty when Allah gave me the blessing of understanding and living Islam religion everything changed. I knew our roots, the arts; calligraphy, illumination and miniature that existed with the love of Allah... The first time I had seen the illuminated plate I fell in love with this art. I said to myself “Allah created me for this”... still with the same love my interest is increasingly going on.

IAM: Except fundamental ornaments hattai and rumi, from 16th century, we notice in your art the naturalistic motives of flowers, typical for the later period of Ottoman art. On the other side, we notice in your work very bold compositional schemes. How do you choose the ornaments for your work?

ORHAN DAGLI: I admire the classical term especially the herat school... I think 16th century is an incredible era...

The rest of the article you can read in the magazine.