Turcology Research

Öz

Throughout history, various differences have always existed between Eastern and Western civilizations. This distinction has been the subject of significant studies in various fields of social and human sciences. In today’s increasingly globalized world, the ongoing differences in perception and worldview between these two civilizations are explained differently across disciplines. The most prominent reason for this divergence is the difference in belief systems and the resulting perceptions of life shaped by those beliefs. The human domain where this difference becomes most apparent is undoubtedly art. In all artistic productions, the East and the West reveal themselves in distinct ways. The novel, as a form of artistic expression, also serves as a vital social medium that reflects and animates the dynamics of life.
Orhan Pamuk’s sixth novel, My Name Is Red, stands out for its subject matter, narrative structure, and technique. Its most striking aspect is the author’s perspective on Eastern and Western artistic sensibilities. The historical doctrines that continue to shape today’s artistic and existential dynamics are positioned at the novel’s conceptual core. The central conflict of the novel revolves around the dilemmas experienced by Ottoman miniature artists (nakkaşes) in the 16th century, torn between a traditional Eastern aesthetic and the emerging influence of Western artistic thought. Through the fictional framework of a murder committed in the royal atelier (nakkaşhane), the novel expresses the inner conflicts of the artists as well as their struggles with one another.
This study examines, through the novel’s narrative, the influence of two major philosophical traditions: Plato’s Theory of Ideas—deeply connected to Islamic mysticism and miniature art—and the teachings of his student Aristotle, which underpin Western rational and representational aesthetics. The slow dissolution of the East’s abstract, non-dimensional, depthless, and idealist art conception in the face of the West’s logical, multidimensional, concrete, and materialist approach forms the central theme of the study.
Within the framework of mimetic theory, the study evaluates the trajectories of Islamic and Western artistic conceptions through the lens of My Name Is Red. A qualitative research methodology was adopted, with literature review, theoretical analysis, and document examination as the principal research techniques.