The Art of Ebru Is Being Passed On to Future Generations

Ebru Art Is Being Passed on to Future Generations At the "Living Human Treasures Award Ceremony: Representatives of Heritage Passed on to the Future" held at the Beştepe National Congress and Cultural Center with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, numerous important craftspeople received awards. At the ceremony, Tevfik Alparslan Babaoğlu was presented with an award for his contributions to ebru art. Babaoğlu, who became a student of the late ebru artist Mustafa Düzgünman in 1985, is by profession an electronic engineer. After Düzgünman's death, Babaoğlu took up the torch and is passing his art on to future generations. Stating that he began ebru art as a hobby, Tevfik Alparslan Babaoğlu said, "I became a student of Mustafa Düzgünman. He was the last master of ebru art. In 1989 I received my certificate from my teacher. He passed away in 1990. Since 1990, I have been working to preserve and teach traditional Turkish ebru along the lines of my teacher. I have taught at universities. I have written and published books on ebru. I am committed to serving ebru. Currently, I am pursuing a doctorate at Istanbul University Faculty of Letters History Department to research the history of ebru." Reminding that craftspeople serve as bridges in transferring important cultural heritage facing extinction to future generations before it is lost, Babaoğlu said, "There are people from many different art groups. This year, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism found me worthy of an award in the field of ebru. They presented the award to me yesterday. I was invited to the Complex, and we received our award from our esteemed president. I was very happy. There is a quatrain that goes like this: 'In the lifetime of many skilled artisans, there is not even a pinch of salt in their food. They kill them first with hunger. Then they build a shrine over their head.' It carries the meaning that people's worth is not recognized during their lifetime. After they die, people say 'what a great person' and compose praises afterward. Being appreciated while alive, while here, is a very beautiful and profound feeling. I have experienced this and am very happy," he said, adding "I want to display it in the most beautiful place in my home in proportion to its value and feel proud every time I pass by it. That is why I put it in the most beautiful corner of my house, and I will look at it constantly."

"I Am Committed to Passing Ebru Art on to Future Generations"

Expressing that his family was extremely pleased with this award and proud of him, Babaoğlu said he is committed to passing on his knowledge of ebru art to future generations. Babaoğlu said, "That is what I want to do anyway. I want to pass on ebru art to future generations exactly as I received it from my teacher, before it disappears. This has been officially verified as something I am doing correctly. The colleagues to whom I have granted certificates have also begun to grant certificates to their students whom they have taught ebru art. I have grandchildren in ebru. There are 2nd generation, 3rd generation ebru practitioners. There are ebru practitioners continuing from my line. We are fully meeting the purpose of the award." Babaoğlu said, "In our ebru tradition, making ebru to hang on walls does not exist. There is making ebru with consideration for its use. Ebru art is used in the restoration of books 300-400 years old. For example, it is used in the restoration of the Quran. If there is acid in the paints or on the paper, this acid will burn the paper over time, and the binding will have to be repaired again. For example, you repaired a binding that is 400 years old and used the wrong materials. Fifty years later, that binding will need to be repaired again. Those acids burn and damage the paper," he explained.