Friday, 4/11/97
Capturing a Tragedy
Kerckhoff Art Gallery’s newest photography exhibit depicts one
of the most violent events in Greek history.
By Kathleen Rhames
Daily Bruin Contributor
Photographs have a way of revealing bitter truths. Since its
invention, the camera has documented history, immortalizing the
crux of changing civilizations.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in Kerckhoff Art Gallery’s
latest exhibit, "The Smyrna Affair: The Catastrophe of 1922."
Depicted through a series of revealing photographs and postcards,
the exhibit tells the story of the Turkish massacre that drove 1.5
million Greek and Armenian citizens from Asia Minor.
Presented by the Hellenic American Students’ Organization, the
exhibit is an attempt to educate and expose UCLA students to what
some call the most pivotal event in Greek history.
"The deportation of Greeks ended 2,000 years of Greek history in
Asia Minor," says Helena Findikaki, external vice president of the
Hellenic American Students’ Organization. "We tried to bring an
unbiased opinion to this exhibit by using photographs. The camera
doesn’t lie."
Smyrna was a city located in Turkey as part of Asia Minor. A
flourishing town bordered by a busy seaport and scenic landscapes,
it also suffered intense persecution from Turks who sought to
cleanse their native land of ethnic minorities.
In 1922, Turkish officials finally succeeded in sealing off the
city and setting it on fire, destroying most of the Greek and
Armenian populations living there. A treaty signed soon after
resulted in a mass deportation of 1.5 million Greeks and 400,000
Turks, each forced to retreat back to their native countries.
And the camera caught it all.
In a chronological display that takes the viewer on a pictorial
journey through this Greek tragedy, Kerckhoff’s walls feature
photographs of the city before the Turkish attack and in the
aftermath, which left millions of people homeless and desolate.
"Traditionally, history is told in terms of the winner," says
Kerckhoff Art Gallery co-director Amy Burnham. "This is a unique
exhibit because it isn’t necessarily portrayed from the winner’s
point of view but rather shows the effects of the conflicts."
One of these effects involved masses of panic-stricken Greeks as
they frantically tried to escape from Smyrna in the wake of the
massacre. One series of photographs features hundreds of thousands
of people crowding onto seaport docks, the only part of the city
that wasn’t burning. Desperate to board a navy ship out of Smyrna,
boats would often times sink from the weight, sending many to their
doom. Some never even made it to the ships. Swimming out to sea,
many pleading citizens were turned away by ship captains who feared
their ships would sink.
Other photos depict the mood of a solemn people marching out of
Turkey. The camera indiscriminately allows their true emotions to
be captured on film. In addition, many photos also show the
gruesome effects of Turkish brutality, boldly portraying injured
and mutilated bodies of Greek citizens. This quality of artistic
documentation is what Findikaki finds fascinating.
"With photographs you can capture the moment," Findikaki says.
"When you think about something like a massacre, it doesn’t seem
completely real but when you see photographs of what happened and
how it happened, it really hits home."
While the exhibit does an incredible job portraying the city of
Smyrna in its state of destruction, it also gives the viewer a
sense of the city before the Turkish intrusion. The exhibit
features Smyrna as a prosperous city, booming with business and
brimming with culture. Beside each photograph is a descriptive text
that explains the history.
Findikaki, along with members of the Hellenic American Students’
Organization, had originally planned to display the exhibit during
the week of Greek Independence Day, but plans were put on hold
because of UCLA’s spring break. Now finally able to give this
exhibit the attention she feels it deserves, Findikaki states the
postponement was worth the chance to educate students about Greek
culture.
"A lot of people don’t really know the history of Greece,"
Findikaki says. "We decided that we really wanted to inform people
about this terrible massacre that changed so many lives, especially
because it was so ignored by history texts."
Burnham agrees, adding, "Because there are a lot of photographs
featured, there will hopefully be an image that students can
identify with on some level. Whether they agree with the exhibit or
they disagree with it, they will get something out of it that is
relevant to what they are interested in."
ART: The Kerckhoff Art Gallery presents "The Smyrna Affair: The
Catastrophe of 1922." Call 825-6564 for information.Kerckhoff Art
Gallery
"Commercial street in Frangomahala," 1982
Kerckhoff Art Gallery
"The long line that lead to death. Deportation of Christians
from their houses to the arid wastes to die" 1926.
Kerckhoff Art Gallery
"The Wharf" 1982.
Kerckhoff Art Gallery
"The Wharf" (above) is part of the Kerckhoff Art Gallery’s
latest exhibit, "The Smyrna Affair: The Catastrophe of 1922. Below:
The story of the Turkish massacre is depicted in "The long line
that lead to death. Deportation of Christians from their houses to
the arid wastes to die."