26/08/2026
Prof. Dr. Selçuk Artut, a faculty member at Sabancı University's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, has published his book " I don't have a system," which examines the life, art, and production practice of Teoman Madra, one of the pioneering figures of multimedia art in Türkiye. Based on the Teoman Madra Archive, which Artut has been working on for approximately five years, the book comprehensively brings together the artist's production spanning different periods and technologies.
The study, which aims to make Teoman Madra's place in art history visible, focuses on the artist's production spanning decades, starting from the 1960s. From light effects and experimental photography to computer art, digital productions, and generative art, Madra was among the pioneering figures who closely followed technological changes and incorporated new tools into his artistic production. Madra's innovative approach and creative use of technology are also important for understanding the historical development of multimedia art in Türkiye.
Five Years of Archival Research Turned into a Book
Prof. Dr. Selçuk Artut's work on Teoman Madra is based on a media archaeology and archiving project he initiated in 2020. Working on the Teoman Madra Archive, which encompasses visual, auditory, and textual materials from different periods of Madra's work, Artut conducted studies to digitize, classify, and preserve thousands of slides, hundreds of hours of video recordings, CDs, and numerous contents stored on various technological media.
"I don't have a system," which emerged after approximately five years of work, presents this accumulated knowledge to the reader in a broader context. Prepared with a chronological structure, the book allows readers to trace Teoman Madra's artistic production alongside the development of the technologies he used. Prof. Dr. Selçuk Artut also establishes connections in the book between the emergence of different technologies and the periods in which Madra incorporated these technologies into his work.
Teoman Madra: A Pioneer of Multimedia Art in Türkiye
Teoman Madra, who passed away on April 23, 2025, at the age of 93, holds a unique place in Turkish art history with his art practice shaped by different disciplines and technologies. One of the first artists to use digital technology in art production, Madra became one of the pioneering names of experimental art in Türkiye with his photography, video, sound and light installations, as well as multimedia-based works.
Teoman Madra, who continued his production from the 1960s to the 2010s, interpreted new technologies that emerged in different periods within his own art practice. The artist, who continued to produce with new technologies in his advanced age, also made the iPad one of the tools of his artistic production.
The Title of the Book is Based on the Words of Teoman Madra
The title of the book is based on an anecdote from the period when Prof. Dr. Selçuk Artut was working on the Teoman Madra archive. While Artut was working in Ayvalık, classifying and gathering information about photographs in Madra's archive, Beral Madra asked Teoman Madra why his work was so disorganized. Teoman Madra's short reply was, "I don't have a system."
For Prof. Dr. Selçuk Artut, this phrase eventually became a key expression explaining Teoman Madra's artistic understanding and production method. This expression, reflecting Madra's production practice of turning to different tools, technologies, and forms of expression without adhering to a specific system, also gave its name to the book that emerged after approximately five years of archival and research work.
Further information: teomanmadra.com
