Abstract:

The aim of this study is to analyze axises which define identity seeking towards Turkish society in essays on plastic arts. In this context, essays of critics are made depending on a qualitative analysis and the axises about identity problem are determined. The East - West dichotomy is accepted as an exist which surrounds the plastic arts in this study. The understanding that problematic of the adaptation - articulation to Western civilization determines, and aims to reach universality from nationality in art, constructs the first axis of the study. The second axis becomes concrete in tendency which gives priority to ethnic identities fed by national culture instead of national identity, and internationalization in art. The study is categorized as two pe-riods that the year between 1950-80 is the first axis, and the years after 1980 is the second axis. According to evaluations got by essays which are analyzed in this study, the identity seeking of Turkish plastic arts concretize in the context of form and subject is continued to be taken up as a civilization problem in the context of continuity although concepts and definitions change. In definitions of social identity which are evaluated by both national identity and locality context, Western criteria are the basic reference points.

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