Deconstruction of traditional carpet art in the context of contemporary art practices

This study aims to examine how traditional carpet art is transformed and re-signified within contemporary art practices within the framework of Jacques Derrida's theory of deconstruction. While traditional carpets historically functioned as carriers of cultural memory and established aesthetic norms, artists of the digital age generate new ontological discussions by disrupting these forms. In this study, utilizing qualitative research methods, specifically document review and visual analysis techniques, selected works of Faig Ahmed, Jan Kath, Rudolf Stingel, and Şakir Gökçebağ were analyzed through purposive sampling. The data were interpreted based on Panofsky’s iconographic analysis method and Derrida’s concept of différance. The findings indicated that these artists employed strategies of "motif deformation," "material contrasts," and "spatial intervention" to eradicate the functional value of the carpet. It was determined that Faig Ahmed liquefied tradition through digital "glitch" aesthetics, Jan Kath erased memory via industrial interventions, Rudolf Stingel transformed the carpet into a spatial surface, and Şakir Gökçebağ reconstructed the form through a ready-made approach. In conclusion, deconstruction in carpet art does not merely create a formal distortion but produces a pluralistic and critical field of meaning that transcends the binaries of East-West, craft-art, and digital-analog.