Visual History Destroyed by Overthrowing 20th-Century Monuments

Abstract

Monumental sculptures, which are positioned at the dominant points of living centers, sometimes depicted with aim of religious and sometimes ideological propaganda, and applied from with reference to the leader figures, have existed in almost every period. Modernn people began to see and perceive the city sculptures, which consist of depictions of leaders and heroic stories most intensely in the 20th century. The relationship of each period and regime with sculptures clearly reveals the relationship of power with society and society with the individual. The study area of this research covers the attacks and destructions made after the changing conjuncture and new regimes to the large statues, which are understood to have been built by the one-man regime of the single-party governments, especially in the post-twentieth century period. It is observed that the sculptures discussed in the research are depicted in very large dimensions and positioned at important points of the settlement area, and ideological, religious or one-man meanings are attributed to these practices. In the examples of ruined and destroyed monuments, the concern for destruction of historical reality, traces of the past and visual history is clearly observed. In the study, how the destroyed monuments reflect the current power and how they are used as an ideological tool has been examined based on the indicators and a current situation assessment has been made.