Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T20:48:40.917Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Monsters that remember: Tracing the story of the Workers' Monument in Tophane, İstanbul

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2015

Meltem Ahiska
Meltem Ahiska*
Affiliation:
>Boğaziçi University, Department of Sociology, 34342, Bebek-İstanbul, Turkey, [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article focuses on a particular monument in Tophane, the Workers' Monument, which has been subjected to destructions ever since the time it was put in place in 1973 and which still stands in the same place as a crippled and unidentifiable body. Many people have referred to it as a “monster.” The term “monster” points to unacceptable forms of life, cast aside as “abnormal,” and can be of use in tracing how certain memories are crushed or abandoned and become aberrant. Thus, I argue that the story of the destruction of the Workers' Monument cannot be read independently of the performative command of the state, best observed in erecting Atatürk monuments all over the country as visual embodiments of power and furthermore securing and protecting them against destruction by the force of law. Monuments contribute to the closure of the past as a dead body. However, they also forge a regime of memory and desire that serves power. I dwell on the issue of monuments in Turkey in that interstice between life and death, that is, in their “monstrosity,” so as to reflect on what remains unrepresentable within the complex history—in other words, to reflect on the problem of power, history, and memory/counter-memory.

Keywords

Monumentmonsterrepresentationmemorycounter-memory
Type
Research Article
Information
New Perspectives on Turkey , Volume 45: Special Issue on Turkishness and Its Discontents , Fall 2011 , pp. 9 - 47
Copyright
Copyright © New Perspectives on Turkey 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahiska, Meltem. Occidentalism in Turkey: Questions of Modernity and National Identity in Turkish Radio Broadcasting. London: I.B. Tauris Publishers, 2010.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Akagündüz, Murat. “Statue of a Worker: Seventh Man.” In Tactis of Invisibility, edited by Cudrun, Ankele, Emre, Baykal and Daniela, Zyman, 172–179. Köln: Verlag der Buchhandlung, 2011.Google Scholar
Aköz, Emre. –Ucube Heykellerle Dolu Bu Memleket.” Sabah, January 14, 2011, http://www.sabah.com.tr/Yazarlar/akoz/2011/01/14/ucube_heykellerle_dolu_bu_memleket.Google Scholar
Aktay, Yasin. “Tophane ile Besiktas’in Arasi.” Veni Safak, October 18, 2010, http://yenisafak.com.tr/Yazarlar/?t=18.1o.2010&y=YasinAktay.Google Scholar
Aktay, Yasin “ Tophane’de ‘Mahalleye Baski.’” Yeni Jo/ok, September 25, 2010, http://yenisafak.com.tr/yazarlar/?t=25.09.2010&y=YasinAktay.Google Scholar
Alkan, Ahmet Turan. “Atatürk Asil Çimdi,” Truva Cezi Dergisi, 2008.Google Scholar
Ancet, Pierre. Ucube Bedenlerin Fenomenolojisi. Translated by Ersel, Topraktepe. İstanbul: Yapi Kredi Yayinlan, 2010.Google Scholar
Appadurai, Arjun. “The Production of Locality.” In Counterworks: Managing the Diversity of Knowledge, edited by Richard, Fardon, 204–225. London: Routledge, 1995.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Atatürk, Mustafa Kemal. Ataturk'un Soylev ve Demeçleri. Edited by Nimet, Unan. Vol. 2. Ankara: Turk inkilap Tarihi Enstitütüsü Yayinlan, 1959.Google Scholar
Atkaya, Kanat. “Tophane’deki Ucube ve KaderOrtaklari.” Hürriyet, January 11,2011, http://hurarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/goster/haber.aspx?id=1673181&&yazarid=25.Google Scholar
Barthes, Roland. The Preparation of the Novel: Lecture Courses and Seminars at the Collège de France (1978-7979 and 1979-1980). New York: Columbia University Press, 2010.Google Scholar
Benjamin, Walter. Arcades Project. Translated by Howard, Eiland and Kevin, McLaughlin. Edited by Rolf, Tiedemann. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1999.Google Scholar
Berberoglu, Enis. “Basbakan ‘Ucube’de Israrh?” DHA, January 13,2011, http://www.dha.com.tr/haberdetay.asp?tarih=24.09.2011&Newsid=135380&Categoryid=3.Google Scholar
Berger, John, and Jean, Mohr. A Seventh Man. London: Writers & Readers Publishing Cooperative, 1982.Google Scholar
Birkan, Tuncay. “Tophane Saldi risi Sonrasi: Mutenalastirma ‘Tahlilleri.”’ Birikim Cancel (2010), http://www.birikimdergisi.com/birikim/makale.aspx?mid=667&makale=Tophane%20Sald%FDr%FDs%FD%20Sonras%FD:%20Mutenala%FEt%FDrma%20%22%Tahlilleri%22.Google Scholar
Boym, Svetlena. The Future of Nostalgia. New York: Basic Books, 2001.Google Scholar
Braidotti, Rosi. “Signs of Wonder and Traces of Doubts: On Teratology and Embodied Differences.” In Between Monsters, Goddesses and Cyborgs: Feminist Confrontations with Science, Medicine and Cyberspace, edited by Nina, Lykke and Rosi, Braidotti, 135–152. London: Zed Press, 1996.Google Scholar
Ceyhan, Erdal. “Heykeller Ucubedir, IcineTükürülür, Yikilir.” In Milliyet Blog, 2011.Google Scholar
Coronil, Fernando. The Magical State: Nature, Money, and Modernity in Venezuela. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997.Google Scholar
“Carpici Tophane Açiklamasi.” Hürriyet, October 2, 2010, http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/kultur-sanat/haber/15921290.asp.Google Scholar
Çiftçi, Köksal. Tektanrili Dinlerde Resim ve Heykel Sorunu. İstanbul: Bulut, 2008.Google Scholar
Daglar, Ali. “Askeri Egitimi Ankara’da Zir Vadisi’nde Aliyorduk.” Hürriyet Pazar, August 15, 2010, http://hurarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/goster/haber.aspx?id=15552604&tarih=2010-08-15.Google Scholar
Danto, Arthur C. “The Vietnam Veterans Memorial.” The Nation, August 31,1985.Google Scholar
Derrida, Jacques. “Passages: From Traumatism to Promise.” In Points… Interviews, 1974–1994, edited by Elisabeth, Weber, 372–395. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1995.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engin, Aydin. Heykel Oburu: Mehmet Aksoy Kitabi. İstanbul: Turkiye is Bankasi Kültür Yayinlan, 2009.Google Scholar
“Erdogan: Sulukule’yi Ucube Halden Kurtaracagiz.” ntvmsnbc, http://arsiv.ntvmsnbc.com/news/439760.asp.Google Scholar
Ergener, Balea. “On the Exhibition ‘Incidents of September 6-7 on their Fiftieth Anniversary’ and the Attack on the Exhibition.” Red Thread, no. 1 (2009), http://www.red-thread.org/en/article.asp?a=25.Google Scholar
Ergûvenç, Yilmaz. “Heykel Alerjisi.” kenthaber, http://www.kenthaber.com/Haber/Genel/Kose/yilmaz-erguvenc/heykel-alerjisi-/e2e3oe87-3dc5-4cbf-b5b8-0531cbefedea.Google Scholar
Erten, Oguz. “Turkiye Heykellerinin Bahtsiz Tarihi.” Radikal, January 12, 2011, http://www.radikal.com.tr/Default.aspx?aType=RadikalEklerDetayV3&Date=12.1.2011&ArticleID=1036106&CategoryID=41.Google Scholar
Esayan, Markar. “Özet: Aliyev Istedi, Erdogan Yiktirdi.” Taraf, May 1, 2011.Google Scholar
Evren, Siireyyya. “Tophane Saldinsinin Ardindan Belirlenen Resmi Açiklamanin Bir Reddi.” Birikim Giincel (2010), http://www.birikimdergisi.com/birikim/makale.aspx?mid=669&makale=Tophane%20Sald%FDr%FDs%FD%20Ard%FDndan%20%Belirlenen%20Resmi%20A%E7%FDklaman%FDn%20%Bir%20Reddi.Google Scholar
Foucault, Michel. “Nietzsche, Genealogy, History.” In Language, Counter-Memory, Practice: Selected Essays and Interviews by Michel Foucault, edited by Donald, Bouchard, 139–164. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1977.Google Scholar
Foucault, Michel. “Covernmentality.” In The Foucault Effect: Studies in Covernmentality, edited by Graham, Burchell, Colin, Gordon and Peter, Miller. Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1991.Google Scholar
Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality, vol. 1: An Introduction. Translated by Robert, Hurley. New York: Vintage, 1990.Google Scholar
Foucault, Michel. “Preface.” In Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia, edited by Gilles, Deleuze and Félix, Guattari, 11–14. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1983.Google Scholar
Foucault, Michel. Society Must Be Defended: Lectures at the Collège de France, 1975–1976, edited by Mauro, Bertani and Allesandro, Fontana. New York: Picador, 2003.Google Scholar
Giirbilek, Nurdan. The New Cultural Climate of Turkey: Living in a Shop Window. London: Zed Books, 2011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Güven, Banu. “isçi Heykelinin Çilesi.” Radikal, April 3, 2010.Google Scholar
Güven, Dilek. Cumhuriyet Donemi Azinhk Politikalan ve Stratejileri Baglaminda 6-7 Eyliil Olaylan. İstanbul: iletisjm, 2006.Google Scholar
Hizlan, Dogan. “GEç Müzesi Kurulmalidir.” Hürriyet, December 4, 2007, http://hurarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/goster/ShowNew.aspx?id=7806599.Google Scholar
Huyssen, Andreas. Present Pasts: Urban Palimpsests and the Politics of Memory. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
“insanlik Aniti için Toplandilar.” Cumhuriyet, April 23, 2011, http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/?hn=236894.Google Scholar
Issa, Ahmad Mohammad. Painting in Islam: Between Prohibition and Aversion. İstanbul: Waqffor Research on Islamic History Art and Culture, 1996.Google Scholar
Kentel, Ferhat. “Ferhat Kentel ile Tophane Olayi Üzerine.” marksist.org (2010), http://www.marksist.org/dosyalar/2076-ferhat-kentel-ile-tophane-olayi-uzerine.Google Scholar
Lefebvre, Henri. The Urban Revolution. Translated by Robert Bononno, foreword by Neil, Smith. Mineapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2003.Google Scholar
Mahçupyan, Etyen. “Gerçekligin Kaypakligi Üzerine.” Zaman, January 26, 2011, http://www.zaman.com.tr/yazar.do?yazino=1o84344.Google Scholar
Mbembe, Achille. “Necropolitics.” Public Culture 15, no. 1 (2003): 11–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, Timothy. “Society, Economy, and the State Effect.” In State/Culture: State-Formation after the Cultural Turn, edited by George, Steinmetz, 76–97. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1999.Google Scholar
Nancy, Jean-Luc. The Ground of the Image. Translated by Jeff, Fort. New York: Fordham University Press, 2005.Google Scholar
Navaro-Yashin, Yael. Faces of the State: Secularism and Public Life in Turkey. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ogur, Yildiray. “Türk’ün Atatürk Heykelleriyle Imtihani.” Taraf, January 16, 2011.Google Scholar
Ogûnç, Pinar. “Bir Atatürk Büstünün Arkeolojisi.” Radikal, January 17, 2011, http://www.radikal.com.tr/Radikal.aspx?aType=RadikalYazar&ArticleID=1036750.Google Scholar
Ozcan Kaya, Yasemin. “Kayisi Kent A4, Yedinci Sayi Çikti!” Kayisi Kent A4 (2011), http://kayisikenta4.blogspot.com/2011/04/kayisi-kent-a4-yedinci-sayi-cikti.html.Google Scholar
Ózyürek, Esra. Nostalgia for the Modern: State Secularism and Everyday Politics in Turkey. Durham: Duke University Press, 2006.Google Scholar
Parla, Taha. Turkiye’de Siyasal Kültürün Resmi Kaynaklan-i: Atatürk’ün Nutuk’u. İstanbul: iletisim, 1994.Google Scholar
Pender, Stephen. “An Interview with David Harvey.” Studies in Social Justice 1, no. 1 (2007): 14–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pérouse, Jean-Francois, İstanbul’la Yuzlesme Denemeleri: Çeperler, Hareketlilik ve Kentsel Bellek. İstanbul: iletisim, 2011.Google Scholar
Rancière, Jacques. The Emancipated Spectator. Translated by Gregory, Elliott. London: Verso, 2009.Google Scholar
“Resmi ilkogretim Okullan Teftis Rehberi: 2009–2010 Ógretim Vili Resmi Ilkogretim Okullari Rehberlik ve Teftis Kilavuzu.” Mufettisler.net, http://www.mufettisler.net/teftis/teftis-rehberleri/112-resmi-ilkogretim-okullari-teftis-rehberi-.html.Google Scholar
“Saldiriya Ugrayan Sanatçilar: Organize isler.” Radikal Online, September 22, 2010, http://www.radikal.com.tr/Radikal.aspx?aType=RadikalDetayV3&ArticleID=1020231&Date=22.09.2010&CategoryID=77.Google Scholar
“Sanat Aksiyonu Akim Kaldi.” Radikal, March 24, 2010, http://www.radikal.com.tr/Radikal.aspx?aType=RadikalHaberDetayV3&Date=24.O3.2010&ArticleID=987344.Google Scholar
Shildrick, Margrit. “This Body Which Is Not One: Dealing with Differences.” Body & Society 5, no. 2–3 (1999): 77–92.Google Scholar
Sommers, Margaret. “The Privatization of Citizenship: How to Unthink a Knowledge Culture.” In Beyond the Cultural Turn, edited by Bonell, Victoria E. and Lynn, Hunt, 121–164. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sorularla, Islamiyet, http://www.sorularlaislamiyet.com/.Google Scholar
Sturken, Maria. “The Wall, the Screen and the Image: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial.” In Visual Culture Reader, edited by Nicholas, Mirzoeff, 163–178. London: Routledge, 1998.Google Scholar
Tan, Pelin. ‘The Closing in of an İstanbul Neighbourhood.” In Sarai Reader 07: Frontiers, edited by Monica, Narula, Shuddhabrata, Sengupta, Jeebesh, Bagchi and Ravi, Sundaram, 484–489. Delhi: Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, 2007.Google Scholar
Tan, Pelin. “Possibilities of Counter-Culture: Dissemination of Localities.” In Tactics of Invisibility, edited by Gudrun, Ankele, Emre, Baykal and Daniela, Zyman, 145–150.Köln: Verlag der Buchhandlung, 2011.Google Scholar
Tekiner, Aylin. Atatürk Heykelleri: Kült, Estetik, Siyaset. İstanbul: iletisim, 2010.Google Scholar
Tophane, Haber, www.tophanehaber.com.Google Scholar
Trouillot, Michel-Rolph. “The Anthropology of the State in the Age of Globalization: Close Encounters of the Deceptive Kind.” Current Anthropology 42, no. 1 (2001): 125–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tuğal, Cihan. Passive Revolution: Absorbing the Islamic Challenge to Capitalism. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2009.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
“Türkone 'Ucube’yi Bakin Nereye Tasidi?”. GAZETE5, January 14, 2011, http://www.gazete5.com/haber/mumtazer-turkone-ataturk-heykelleri-ucube-yazisi-14-ocak-2011-75631.htm.Google Scholar
Yoksulabakan, Refik. “Isçinin Elleri.” .Google Scholar
Young, James. The Texture of Memory. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993.Google Scholar
Zamponi, Simonetta Falasca. “Of Storytellers and Master Narratives: Modernity, Memory, and History in Fascist Italy.” In States of Memory: Continuities, Conflicts, and Transformations in National Retrospection, edited by Olick, Jeffrey K.43–71. Durham: Duke University Press, 2003.Google Scholar