Safa Bute (pronounced szafa bootay) himself, like his work, has inspired respect and admiration as he emerged from the obscurity of humble beginnings to become one of the most widely recognized and beloved artists in his homeland, Turkey.

Although Bute was unable to pursue the educational path he dreamed of as a child, he created a new style of art that has been the subject of increasing interest all over the world, as collectors in Europe and the United States follow his marks.

Rather than concentrating on accumulating wealth for himself, Bute works towards making it easier for people living in the mountains near his home to transport drinking water to their villages. Many things we take for granted living in cities are unavailable to the mountain villagers, among them fuel for heating and cooking and access to drinking water. After learning that water for drinking and washing had to be transported from miles away, Bute put facilitating transport at the top of his priorities after learning that the government had been unsuccessfully drilling for water in these regions for many years. Tzia artist Ginger Jensen is working creating an embroidery pattern from a photo taken by a friend who visited Turkey a few years ago, which shows a woman carrying firewood and a man leading the donkey bearing water.

To understand why Bute is more concerned with earning money to benefit the villagers than to benefit himself, it helps to review his life. Here are some of the highlights of that life:

1958 Born 24 September 1958 in Nigde, which is a small city near Cappadocia, Turkey. Ever the romantic, Bute will cite his birthplace as Anatolia, an alternative name for Turkey.

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1961 New Artist Safa Bute creates his first art using pencil and watercolor. From that day to this, Bute has spent several hours each day creating art, except as noted below.

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1969 First solo exhibition, sponsored by Remzi Akpinar, his schoolteacher.

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1970 First art lessons begin in secondary school with Cengiz Ogut and Bahriye Kaynas. Kaynas in particular encourages Bute to work with pen and ink in the style precedes the style which bears his name today.

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1976 Bute’s family moves to Adana, where he still resides today. There are no art classes available at the local school, but Safa continues to work several hours each day developing his skills.

Although Bute passes all the entrance examinations for the Fine Art Academy in Istanbul, there is not enough money to pay tuition, room and board – and also support his mother. And instead of attending the Fine Art Academy, Bute attends the University of Anatolia and graduates with a major in Business Management on 30 June 1990.

1990 to present After his duty in the army, Bute works as a technical translator at the Afsin-Elbistan Power Plant. Bute is currently employed as the controller in Customer Services at the Incirlik Air Base. The income helps him care for his mother and allows him the freedom to create.

1987 Safa Bute, Emerging Artist

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In the summer of 1987, Bute emerges as an artist and creates the art technique now known throughout Turkey as “Safa Bute style.”

After a vivid dream leaves him worried he may succeed as an artist but never know happiness, Bute packs his art supplies and works-in-progress and stores them under the house.

For three days Bute does not touch his brushes, paints, or canvases.

At the end of that time, Bute knows he can not be happy unless he is producing art, either.

While pondering the problem of possibly being unhappy if he becomes an artist and being miserable if he does not pursue his vocation, Bute pencils lines and circles on white paper, and discovers new ways to express his artistic vision.

Sale of work in the style no research reveals a name for encourages Bute to continue developing the style.

Each work is composed of thousands upon thousands of perfectly formed lines, creating an equally perfect three-way gestalt. The work leads the viewer visually and emotionally, creating sensations of wonder at the beauty of the whole, fascination with the elements that are its foundation, and most of all astonishment at the way these simple forms, laid out precisely in their preconceived places, emerge again into a whole that is sometimes whimsical and humorous, frequently serious and powerful, and always capble of cutting through transcultural boundaries and speaking to the viewer directly with its own voice.

Intense concentration is required, because there is no way to sketch the work, or erase even a single line in the drawing. The complete piece must be held in Bute's mind as it makes its way from concept to finished piece.

And it takes months to complete even small work, so it is some time before a body of work develops.

1990 First professional solo exhibit at Akbank Art Gallery in Adana.

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Between 1990 and 2000, Bute's work has been featured in more than 25 exhibitions in Turkey. Art critics reviewing exhibits agree that the style is unique. Some comment that Bute’s work is “better than Esher.”

1997 Two American admirers and a Turkish art collector collaborate with Bute to make four of his works available in limited edition print so that others can afford to collect it. Bute considers the prints a failure artistically. Although the prints capture the detail of “Safa Bute style,” the work loses life in the transition process.

1998 American artist Victor Hesieh discovers Bute’s work and arranges for Bute to compete for the Featured Artist exhibition spot at ArtQuest, a leading on-line art listing virtual gallery. Bute becomes the featured artist in September, 1998.

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1999 Bute is nominated to the Time magazine online poll in the category of Most Influential Artist of the 20th Century. More than 100,000 of his countrymen turn in a vote and Bute learns that he is #6 on this prestigious list [which is a separate list from the list compiled by the Time magazine staff].

“They should not have done that,” Bute told Tzia when they discussed this unexpected honor. “I think they recognized my name and knew that I was Turkish, and voted for me for that reason without knowing anything about my art.”

2000 Bute's original work is still available only to people who make substantial investments in art. Bute and Tzia begin a collaboration to test a different printing process that may retain the liveliness of his original work and yet be affordable to Bute's increasing number of admirers around the world. The first proofs should be available in the fall of 2000.