Johnson County Community College
Press Release

College Information and Publications
913-469-8500
Julie Haas, Director, ext. 3120
Peggy Graham, Writer, ext. 3425
Tyler Cundith, Sports Information Director, ext. 3122

---

8/13/08
Story by Peggy Graham

Scholar to speak about Turkish rugs at JCCC

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – In 1978, German chemist Harald Boehmer sparked "The Great Anatolian Rug Revolution," transforming the entire Turkish rug industry. Even more than an industrial revolution, it has become a cultural survival project known as DOBAG, a Turkish acronym for Natural Dye Research and Development Project, which has restored the ancient art of handwoven carpets and established the first-ever woman’s rug weaving cooperative in the Islamic world.

Boehmer will give a lecture, Nomads of Anatolia, at 7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 13, in the M.R. and Evelyn Hudson Auditorium of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Johnson County Community College. The lecture is free and open to the public as part of JCCC’s Scholar-in-Residence program. A reception with Boehmer begins at 6 p.m.            

During his Sept. 13-17 residency, Boehmer, a Ph.D. chemist, will also address JCCC textile classes. He will give a second free presentation on textiles for the community, faculty and staff at 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 15, in the Craig Community Room of the General Education Building.

Boehmer’s passion for native rugs began when he was teaching in Turkey. Using thin-layer chromatography, the chemist was able to analyze the dyes used in old Turkish rugs and match the vibrant colors to their original plant sources.

Under Boehmer’s guidance, weavers stopped buying petroleum-based dyes and returned to the natural plant dyes for their wool. The profit-sharing cooperative DOBAG began and now supports about 400 families in western Turkey.

DOBAG rugs are famous worldwide because of their quality wool that is hand carded and hand spun, beautiful colors, traditional Turkish designs and number of knots per inch. Information with the weaver’s name and village is attached to each rug and kept on file at the University of Marmara, Istanbul, which oversees the project.

Copies of Boehmer’s most recent book Nomads in Anatolia: Encounters with a Vanishing Culture with contributions from Josephine Powell and Dr. Serife Atlihan will be for sale on Sept. 13.

JCCC’s Scholar-in-Residence program is designed to bring visiting scholars to students, faculty and the public. For more information about Boehmer’s residency, contact Jan Cummings, JCCC interior design professor, at 913-469-8500, ext. 3941, or e-mail janc@jccc.edu.

###