Semih Balcıoğlu is dead...

Photo by Massoud Shojai Tabatabai

One of Turkey’s most renowned cartoonists, Semih Balcıoğlu in October 27,2006 is dead. He was born in Istanbul in 1928. After graduating from Iþýk High School, he entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul. There he studied Graphic Arts and graduated in 1952. His first cartoon was published in 1943 in Akbaba, a famous humor magazine of the time. He worked for various newspapers and magazines among which we can cite Akbaba, Karikatür, Taþ, Akþam, Vatan, Dünya, Tercüman and Hürriyet. Balcýoðlu is presently with Yeni Yüzyýl Newspaper.

Semih Balcıoğlu has so far won 41 awards both at home and abroad of which can be cited the “Silver Dove” (Skopje). “Golden Medal” (Pescara), “Golden Palm Tree” and “Golden Date” (Bordighera), “Türkiye Ýþ Bankasý Great Award”, “Abdi Ýpekçi Peace and Brotherhood Award”, “Tüyap Honour Award”, and the “Cartoon Fund Honour Award”.

Semih Balcıoğlu was selected as one of the best among 106 cartoonists in the world following a poll conducted by Gabrovo Humour House.

His works can be found in cartoon museums in Tolentino, Italy; Gabrovo, Bulgaria; Basel, Switzerland and in Warsaw, Poland.

Some of his drawing have been displayed at the Wilhelm-Busch Cartoon Museum.

Semih Balcıoğlu is the first artist to have drawn a three-dimensional cartoon in Turkey. His ceramic cartoons were displayed in Ankara and Istanbul for three successive years (1964-1965-1966)

Semih Balcıoğlu has staged 55 personal exhibitions, seven of which were abroad (Skopje 1972, Paris 1975, Frankfurt 1981, Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra 1994). Among the 19 books of cartoons he has published, the one entitled “Bye Bye Istanbul” received the first prize in the contest of cartoon books held in Pescara, Italy.

In 1969, he along with two of his colleagues, established the Association of Cartoonists and was chairman of the Association for seven terms. In 1966 he became Honorary Chairman of the Association. Semih Balcıoğlu also served as the Chairman of the Turkish Journalists’ Association between the years 1973-1979. He is married and has one doughter.

1)Semih Balcıoğlu Cartoon Album (1952) 2) Semih Balcıoğlu Cartoon Album (1957) 3)Semih Balcıoğlu Cartoon Album (1961) 4) Cartoons with no remarks (1971) 5) From March 12 to Elections (1973) 6) Turkish Cartoons in the last 50 years (1973) 7) The First National Front Government (1977) 8) Bye Bye Istanbul (1979) 9) Turkish Cartoons in the Republican Era (1979) 10) Out of My Sight (1983) 11) Caricaturgut (1990) 12)Gallery Çiller (1993) 13) Book on Semih Balcıoğlu (1993) 14) Semih Balcıoğlu (1994) 15) Game Cards with cartoons 16) Hacý-Bacý (1997) 17) The Clowns (1997) 18) Cappadocia (1998) 19) 75 years of Turkish Cartoons (1999)

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