ARTWORKS
by ERGUN AKLEMAN
Overview

My artwork has been featured across a wide variety of media, including comic magazines, news magazines, books, and newspapers, reflecting the diverse scope of my creative output. Two of my research-inspired art pieces have been showcased on the covers of academic proceedings, blending artistic innovation with scholarly contributions. My sculptures have been exhibited at prestigious venues such as SIGGRAPH and Bridges, highlighting their relevance in the intersection of art, technology, and mathematics. Additionally, my cartoons are published monthly in the IEEE Computer magazine and weekly in Herkese Bilim ve Teknoloji magazine, demonstrating the integration of humor and storytelling with scientific and technological themes.

In this section, I have focused primarily on my conceptual contributions to the fields of cartooning and caricature, as well as some of my earlier artistic work. To present these works coherently, I have organized them into three main categories: Caricatures, Cartoons, and Illustrations. My artistic endeavors are also recognized internationally; my profile is featured in Lambiek Comiclopedia, a comprehensive encyclopedia of comic artists, accessible at Lambiek Comiclopedia: https://www.lambiek.net/artists/a/akleman_ergun.htm. Moreover, my 50 cartoons published in IEEE Computer can be accessed through Google Scholar, serving as a testament to the unique fusion of my artistic and academic pursuits.

Through these works, I aim to explore the boundaries of artistic expression, combining humor, narrative, and visual communication to engage audiences from both creative and technical communities. My artwork not only reflects my passion for storytelling but also serves as a bridge between science, technology, and art, inspiring new ways to communicate complex ideas effectively.

Conceptual Contributions in Caricature

  • Caricatures by Morphing: In this work, my goal is to identify the principles of making caricatures. The caricatures in this series are done by using photoshop and a morphing program. There are two continuing projects:
    • The caricatures of the Presidents of United States which includes George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Bill Clinton.
    • Computer Graphics Researchers which includes Pierre Bezier, Jim Blinn, Jim Foley, Andy VanDam and Benoit Mandelbrot.
    • Extreme caricatures of Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore.
  • Animalization of Faces: In these caricatures, the main idea/challenge is to change both the face and the name of a person into the face and the name of an animal. Some of them are used in fables/stories I have written.
  • Puppet Caricatures: These caricatures are created by sawing stockings around 1985's. Ayetullah Khomeini is published in Yeni Gundem. Also includes Ronald Reagan and Turgut Ozal.
  • 3D Caricatures by Ray-Linears: The caricature of Turgut Ozal and Ronald Reagan. Note that these are from early 1990's. The challenge was to show the power of ray-linears. I lost all original images and models.
  • Collage Caricatures: These caricatures are created as a collage from magazine clippings in 1987. Saddam Hussein caricature is published in Yeni Gundem. Ronald Reagan caricature created from a picture of a hand.
  • Painted Style: These caricatures are created by painting using tempera type paint. From early 1980's.
  • Cartoon Style: These caricatures are created using my cartoon style during late 1980's.
  • Caricature From Name: These caricatures are created using character's name. Just two examples as proof of concept.

Cartoons

  • Rhyming Cartoons: In these relatively new approach, the goal is to show that starting with two rhyming words, we create a simple story
  • Computer Graphics Cartoons: These cartoons are used in my popular science articles on Computer Graphics in Cumhuriyet Newspaper Science & Technology section during 1997.
  • Shipwreck Cartoons: These are cartoonists' cartoons. It is said to be that you cannot make anymore shipwreck and deserted island caricature. There are four cartoons in this page.
  • Caricatures in Cartoons: Editorial cartoons and beyond.
  • Makara Cartoons: A few examples of cartoons that are published in Milliyet Newspaper's Makara section in early 1980's.
  • Bilim ve Teknik Cartoons: A few examples of weekly series that are published in Cumhuriyet Newspaper's Science & Technology section in 1987.
  • Miscellaneous: Some additional cartoons.
  • Others: I do not have copies of my cartoons published before 1984. I have huge number of cartoons published in Girgir and Ses. I also have a few published in comic magazines suc as Firt, Carsaf, Mikrop, Limon and Hibir. When I found cartoons, I will scan and include some of those.

Illustrations

  • Posters: These are scaled down unpublished large illustrations.
  • Cats: Some examples of cat illustrations that I have drawn for Georgia Tech International Festival.
  • Children's Book: These are a few frames from a teapot story that I have drawn and wrote. Book was published more than 25 years ago.
  • Fantastic Stories: In 1987, I have started to draw and write a few fantastic stories from NewYork published in Cumhuriyet. This is one of them scanned directly from newspaper.
  • Book Illustration: In 1993, I illustrated "Yetiskin Cocuklar," one of the books by Dogan Cuceloglu, a famous author in Turkey. These are some of the illustrations from that book. The tite of the book can roughly be translated as "GrownUp Children".
  • Magazine Illustration: These are illustrations I have created for news stories for Turkish news weekly magazine, Yeni Gundem.