Samurai commiting seppuku (hara-kiri) in Japan, circa 1880. (Photo by adoc-photos/Corbis via Getty Images)

Marianne Brauns jumping a breakwater on the beach, wearing a structured blue swimsuit with white trim. (Photo by Carl Sutton/Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Circa 1950

Istanbul-based Ali Gulec is a graphic artist with a difference. His surreal illustrations are like identikit drawings aiming to prosecute the material arts. Working on the margins of what is possible with his medium, Gulec's forms, figures, and situations are remarkable for their clarity and strength of purpose, and maintain an iconographic intensity that would make any rock band bereft of an album cover salivate with admiration.

Hollowed pumpkins float on a lake Ludwigsburg Castle on September 19, 2010 in Ludwigsburg, Germany. (Photo by Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images)

A person dressed as Santa Claus jumps into the sea during the Copa Nadal (Christmas Cup) swimming race in Barcelona, Spain on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bruna Casas/Reuters)

British singer M.I.A. poses during the red carpet for the film ”Sacrifice” as the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) returns for its 50th edition in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on September 6, 2025. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Reuters)

Jockeys spur buffalos during the Makepung buffalo races at Jembrana in Bali, Indonesia on October 23, 2016. Makepung is a tradition for farmers to celebrate a bumper harvest in Bali. (Photo by Kadek Raharja/Xinhua/Barcroft Images)

A woman walks past a giant Pac-Man in Tokyo's Shinjuku area, Wednesday, August 12, 2015. The three-meter (about nine feet and 10 inches)-tall Pac-Man and other video game characters, made of Lego bricks, were on display to promote the upcoming movie “Pixels”. (Photo by Ken Aragaki/AP Photo)