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Süleyman Saim Tekcan, a leading figure in Turkish original printmaking and modern painting, an academic, painter and film actor, died today. He was born in Trabzon on October 6, 1940.

Tekcan left a lasting mark through his academic work, his art and a celebrated role in Metin Erksan's film "Sevmek Zamanı," and developed a printing method known internationally as the Tekcan Technique.

From art school to the cinema screen

After studying in the Painting and Crafts department of Ankara Gazi Education Institute, Tekcan completed his undergraduate and proficiency in art training at the Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts, combining academic study with artistic production.

In 1965 he appeared in the films "Çiçekçi Kız," "Sevgim ve Gururum" and "Sevgili Öğretmenim." He is best remembered in film history for the character Başar in "Sevmek Zamanı," a cult work by director Metin Erksan.

Academic career and faculty leadership

After his brief spell in cinema, Tekcan concentrated on academic and artistic work. He began as an instructor at Istanbul Atatürk Education Institute in 1968, carried out research on printmaking in Germany, and from 1975 continued his work within Mimar Sinan University's Faculty of Fine Arts.

Tekcan later served as dean of that faculty and was the founding dean of the fine arts faculties at Yeditepe University and Işık University. He also led the establishment of Anatolian Fine Arts High Schools.

"I turned down the film offers"

In an interview with an Anadolu Agency (AA) reporter on January 19, 2023, as part of AA's "Türkiye'nin Çınarları" project, which photographed veteran figures, Tekcan described cinema as a field that contains all the arts and called "Sevmek Zamanı" a feast in which every frame is a painting.

"After acting in that film I received many offers, but I would have either spent my life in cinema or chosen one of the fields I had trained in. Had I not had a good education, I might have become a filmmaker. I had set my mind on being an academic, and I turned down the film offers," he said.

Tekcan, who said art should be started at a young age, described art as a process learned within a certain atmosphere. "If you cannot carry what you learn in an art atmosphere into a dimension of your own later on, you do not become an artist, you become a performer. In my view, an artist is someone who can be themselves," he said. He also saw artistic production as a debt to his country that would never end. "You do not become rich by saving money in the bank. Wealth comes from passing on culture. I have kept this debt in mind all my life," he said.

A printing method that carries his name

The method Tekcan developed in the late 1970s, based on layering wet paints before they dry, entered international literature as the Tekcan Technique. He founded the Istanbul Museum of Graphic Arts (IMOGA), an international center for carrying original printmaking into the future, and used horse figures and Anatolian motifs in his works.

Tekcan received many awards, including the Presidency's Grand Award for Culture and Arts in 2022. His funeral prayer will be held tomorrow after the afternoon prayer at Marmara University's Faculty of Theology Mosque, after which he will be buried at Mahmut Şevket Paşa Family Cemetery.

Key takeaways

• Süleyman Saim Tekcan, a pioneer of Turkish original printmaking and modern painting, died today
• He was known for the character Başar in Metin Erksan's film "Sevmek Zamanı" and acted in three films in 1965
• His late-1970s wet-layering printing method entered international literature as the Tekcan Technique
• He founded the Istanbul Museum of Graphic Arts (IMOGA) and received the Presidency's Grand Award for Culture and Arts in 2022