Philosophy Seminars - “Thinking with Paintings”
Painting and Philosophy: The Mimetic Anatomy of a Profound Relationship
Speaker: Oğuz Haşlakoğlu
Moderator: Emre Şan
Is painting an incomplete copy of the visible world, or a mimetic stage of truth that brings the invisible into appearance? Drawing on the final chapter, titled “The Truth of Mimesis,” of Oğuz Haşlakoğlu’s Commentary on the Politeia (Politeia Şerhi), this talk addresses the intricate relationship between painting and philosophy. As Plato’s distinctions between the original, the likeness and the imitation are reassessed, it is argued that painting is not merely a representation that copies what is seen, but can also be thought of as an activity that allows truth to come into appearance. Through the relations of distance and assimilation that the commentator establishes with the text, the painter with the visible, and the viewer when approaching the painting, the shared mimetic structure of the acts of commenting, painting and thinking is explored.
Biography
Oğuz Haşlakoğlu was born in Trabzon in 1964. He graduated from TED Ankara College in 1983 and attended the Department of Philosophy at Boğaziçi University from 1983 to 1986. In 1986 he entered the Department of Painting at Mimar Sinan University (MSGSÜ), where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1991 and his master’s degree in Painting in 1993. He completed his master’s degree in Philosophy at Boğaziçi University (BÜ) in 1999, and in 2003 he received the Proficiency in Art degree in Painting at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University (MSGSÜ). He has held numerous solo and group exhibitions in Turkey and abroad, taken part in mixed exhibitions, led workshops, and given conferences and seminars. His most recent solo exhibition, ‘Dirim Biçim – Selected and New Works’, took place between 6 January and 6 February 2025. His numerous articles on his main fields of theoretical work—Philosophy of Art, Aesthetics, Theories of Art and Design, Ancient Philosophy, Plato, Kant, Hegel, Adorno and Archaic Greek thought—have been published in various international peer-reviewed and national arts and culture journals. His philosophy books are “Tekhnē in Plato’s Thought” (Platon Düşüncesinde Tekhnē, 2016), “Writings on the Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics” (Sanat Felsefesi ve Estetik Yazıları, 2019), “Felsefece: Philosophy Essays” (Felsefece: Felsefe Yazıları, 2021), and “Commentary on the Politeia: A Study Centred on Mimesis” (Politeia Şerhi: Mimesis Ekseninde Bir İnceleme, 2025). He has also written several artists’ books and artist catalogues, contributed book chapters, worked as a copywriter and editor, and written art criticism. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, at Istanbul Technical University, and also serves as Head of the Department of Fine Arts at ITU. He teaches courses in Philosophy of Art, Aesthetics and Basic Design, and continues his research in his own fields of study.
* The seminar will be held in Turkish. To attend this seminar, you can create your registration by using the "Register" button on the page and receive your free event invitation. Registrations will open 1 week before the event date (12.11.2026, at 18:30) and the "Register" button will become visible. Participation is limited to a quota of 70 people.
* Participants who have completed the event registration and received their invitation are kindly requested to be at the venue at least 15 minutes before the event. The doors will be closed at the event starting time.