Well-known Turkish artist wounded in knife attack in Istanbul

PanARMENIAN.Net - Bedri Baykam, a well-known Turkish artist, was wounded in a knife attack in Istanbul on April 18 as he left a meeting held in protest of the demolition of a controversial sculpture in the city of Kars, Turkish media reported.

Baykam, 53, was taken to an Istanbul hospital after being stabbed in the stomach by an unknown assailant.

A prolific painter and multimedia artist, Baykam is a prominent fixture in Turkey's contemporary arts scene and is known internationally.

He was stabbed after leaving a meeting organized by artists in protest of the demolition of the 'Monument to Humanity' in Kars, a city in eastern Turkey near the border with Armenia.

Built by sculptor Mehmet Aksoy as a friendship monument to promote Turkish and Armenian reconciliation, the sculpture became the subject of political controversy after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Kars earlier this year.

Erdogan called the sculpture - which consists of two 30-meter-high concrete figures - a 'freak' and said it was not in keeping with the historical character of the city, prompting Kars' municipal assembly to later vote to tear down the sculpture.

The sculpture's demolition began over the weekend and is opposed by artists and civil society groups, who say nationalism, not aesthetics, is what lies behind the decision to take it down, according to monstersandcritics.com.

Baykam, who is also a newspaper columnist known for his outspoken political views, had strongly criticized the destruction of the monument at an artists' meeting, which was held at a cultural centre in Istanbul.

“We are here to prevent an artistic massacre,” Baykam was quoted by private broadcaster NTV as saying.

“If this sculpture is torn down, the whole world will hear of this as Turkey's 'Buddha assault', after the destruction of the Buddha monuments by the Taliban,” Baykam said, referring to the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan.

The artists' group had announced that they were planning to hold a march to the 'Monument to Humanity' on April 23 in protest of its destruction.