Since the ancient times, perhaps the most important object of art has been the human body. In art, which is a product of the human mind, the reflection of the body is a manifestation of the relationship between the mind and the body, at times characterised by love, but often formed through the clash of these two. The way the human body is explored in art also reflects the social characteristics of the era in which it is studied. Undoubtedly, corpulence is a feature of the body that is judged the most, deemed as other, and burdened with a load of meanings. The connotations of corpulence, its evaluation, and the status of overweight people in society have undergone significant transformations throughout history, which, in turn, was reflected in works of art. Today, being overweight is labelled both as a disease and as a major aesthetical problem. Overweight people are experiencing the most difficult times in history. In this conference, the perception of corpulence in contemporary society, and its historical, social and environmental origins will be evaluated through works of art.
Prof. Dr. Taner Damcı was born in Zonguldak in 1964, and completed his secondary education at TED Zonguldak College. He graduated from Istanbul Faculty of Medicine of Istanbul University in 1988, and received his post-graduate degree from the Department of Internal Medicine of Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine in 1993. In 1995 he received the “Young Investigator Award” of International Diabetes Federation and worked at the Diabetes Clinic of the University of Manchester in the UK.
He became an associate professor in 1997 and a professor in 2003. He is currently a faculty member of Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, and the chairman of the Turkish Obesity Foundation. He is also a member of the Turkish Diabetes Association, the Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism of Turkey, the Diabetes Obesity Nutrition Society, the American Diabetes Association, the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), and the Mediterranean Group for the Study of Diabetes (MGSD).
Prof. Taner Damcı ran ultra-marathons in various parts of the world, including deserts. These include races held in the Sahara, Atacama, and Gobi Deserts and the Antarctica. He is the founder and race director of the first international ultra-marathon in Turkey, “Lycian Way Ultra Marathon”, and another international ultra-marathon “RunFire Cappadocia”.
His interest in mindfulness began in 2004, and he participated in various educational programs on the subject in the USA. Since 2013, as a founding director, he has been working with COGNITA, which is a program that utilises “mindfulness”, to empower people who want to lead a healthy life to permanently change their way of life. The programme also has a “COGNITA business” module conceived to increase efficiency and success at work.