THE COMPOSITIONAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE KÜTAHYA "DALLI" MOTIF: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS WITHIN A POSTCOLONIAL FRAMEWORK

This study examines the compositional transformation of the Kütahya “dallı” motif across three different variants within a postcolonial framework. The research is based on the assumption that a traditional motif should be understood not merely as a formal pattern, but as a visual system whose representational power and symbolic intensity shift according to changes in its compositional organization. In this context, the central research question asks how transformations in compositional structure reshape the motif’s representational potential. A qualitative visual-morphological analysis method was employed. The three variants were comparatively examined in terms of compositional type, axis organization, hierarchical structure, repetition system, level of stylization, and negative/positive space balance. The findings indicate that while the morphological core of the motif is preserved, symbolic intensity varies depending on whether hierarchical centrality is maintained or dissolved. In grid-based modular arrangements, representation acquires a flattened and horizontally distributed character, whereas in center-emphasized and axis-based compositions, symbolic intensity becomes concentrated. Symbolic Intensity (SI) coding demonstrates that symbolic density is 8/10 in Variant I, decreases to 4/10 in Variant II, and rises again to 7/10 in Variant III. The study reconceptualizes traditional motifs not as decorative surface patterns, but as visual systems that reorganize representational logic through compositional structure. By situating the analysis within a postcolonial framework, the study offers a theoretical contribution from the Anatolian context and proposes an analytical model for evaluating structural integrity and symbolic redistribution in the contemporary reinterpretation of cultural motifs.