Piyale Madra
"I make smiles with bitterness."
Date of Birth: 1958
Place of Birth: Ankara
Date of Death:
Place of Death:
Burial Site:
Field of Activity
Caricatures
"Due to the fact that cartoon is a branch of art based on intellectual capabilities, it has to be open to the outside world. It is important to notice the contradictions brought about through changes in society, and the inconsistencies, by observation.
Rather than show a solution, the aim is to display the problems and to make the reader uncomfortable... (...) For the sole outlet of these caricatures are contradictions, inconsistencies and conflicts. (...) All kinds of conflicts, from conflict between people to conflict within a single person, can provide material for drawings. Generally speaking, I like to use details. Rather than use very obvious comedy, I prefer to use a tiny act, a look, a word, the plan behind the scenes, which I think is more effective than displaying the big picture. And this, (...) forms fine humour. On top of this, if the subject of the drawing brings to attention a sad situation, (...) I cause smiles through bitterness. I frequently do drawings on the topics of consumption, lack of communication and global warming. (...) If it has a contribution to the joke, then I highlight the female sex. Other than this, I do not see the need to use the topic.
(...) I could say that my drawings are the reflections of problems which are constantly arising due to a rapidly changing world, within the household. These are political drawings, but far from daily or local politics."
PİYALE MADRA
Hatice Saka, "Acıtarak gülümsetiyorum", yenisafak.com, 22.8.2009 (access 21.2.2012).
Published books of Piyale Madra:
- Piknik (Picnic), İstanbul, 2007
- Ademler ve Havvalar 1 (The Adams and the Eves), İstanbul, 1998
- Ademler ve Havvalar 2 (The Adams and the Eves), İstanbul, 1999
- Ademler ve Havvalar 3 (The Adams and the Eves), İstanbul, 2003
- Ademler ve Havvalar 4 (The Adams and the Eves), İstanbul, 2005
- Ademler ve Havvalar 5 (The Adams and the Eves), İstanbul, 2007
- Ademler ve Havvalar 6 (The Adams and the Eves), İstanbul, 2009
- Ademler ve Havvalar 7 (The Adams and the Eves), İstanbul, 2011
- Küçük Ademler Küçük Havvalar (Small Adams and Small Eves), İstanbul, 2001
- Piyale Madra has had her Cartoons and her comic strips published in the Milliyet, the Cumhuriyet, the Yeni Yüzyıl and the Radikal newspapers.
Exhibitions
- 1994 Forte dei Marmi, İtaly, solo exhibition
- 19956. Biennale Donna di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
- 1995 Women's Libraray, Istanbul, solo exhibition
- 1995Ghent, Belgium,, solo exhibition
- 1996 Heusent, Belgium, solo exhibition
- 1996İstanbul Galeri BM, "A table", group exhibition
- 19977. Biennale Donna di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
- 1998Paris, France, Turkish Women Illustrators Exhibition
- 1998Berlin, Almanya, Turkish Women Illustrators Exhibition
- 1999Lyon, Fransa, solo exhibition
- 2000İstanbul, exhibition with Paul Gillon
- 2000Amiens, Fransa, solo exhibition
- 2006Paris, Fransa, exhibition with Jean Plantu
- 2006Nancy, France, group exhibition
- 2007Atlanta, ABD, "Cartooning for Peace", group exhibition
- 2010New York, ABD, "Women and Power", group exhibition
Awards
1994 "Premio Satira Politica" The Award for Political Satire, Forte dei Marmi, Italy
Memberships
(No information available)
Education
- 1974 Ecole des Beaux-Arts (Grenoble, Fransa) (Grenoble, France)
- 1977The State Academy of Fine Arts of Applied Industry Arts in the High School Graphics Department
- 1981 Graphics Studies, Stockholm, Sweden
Contributions to Society
(No information available)
Family and Friends
Projects in her Honour
(No information available)
Further Reading
- "Piyale Madra", probil.com, Eylül 2010, http://www.probil.com.tr/tr-TR/PressRoom/InterviewsAndGuestWriters/Sayfalar/p%C4%B1yalemadra.aspx (Erişim 21.2.2012).
- Yıldırım Türker, "Çizginin Zarafeti", Radikal, 11.7.2009, http://www.radikal.com.tr/Radikal.aspx?aType=RadikalYazar&ArticleID=944535&Yazar=%20&Date=12.07.2010&PAGE=10 (Erişim 21.2.2012).
- Mithat Sarcan, "Piyale Madra", mithatsarcan.blogspot, http://mithatsarcan.blogspot.com/search/label/-Piyale%20Madra 21.2.2012).
- Semih Balcıoğlu, Cumhuriyet'in 75. Yılında Türk Karikatürü. Ankara: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları, 1998
- Piyale Madra web page, http://www.piyalemadra.com/index.asp
Sources
Quoted Sources
- "Piyale Madra", probil.com, Eylül 2010, http://www.probil.com.tr/tr-TR/PressRoom/InterviewsAndGuestWriters/Sayfalar/p%C4%B1yalemadra.aspx (Erişim 21.2.2012).
- "Piyale Madra ile söyleşi", http://www.kedimveben.com/soylesi10.htmKedimveBen.com (Erişim 1.2.2011).
- Hatice Saka, "Piyale Madra", haber7.com, 22,8,2009, http://www.haber7.com/haber/20090822/Piyale-Madra-Ask-benden-gecti-artik.php 21.2.2012).
- The source for Piyale Madra's drawings on the introductory page: Piyale Madra internet site http://www.piyalemadra.com/index.asp
Source of Visual Images
- Privat archive of Piyale Madra, Istanbul
Acknowledgments
The Women's Museum Istanbul would like to thank Piyale Madra for her support in compiling this introductory page.
Translation into English: Stephanie Sedef Davidson, London, England ©2012 Meral Akkent