tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34309460294981293352024-03-05T20:22:31.262+03:00fresque köşesiLara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-10935149833514975162014-04-30T23:46:00.000+03:002014-07-29T23:48:35.855+03:00Resistance Technology<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw2EMEwtq1DMqeKGnRT0D74RylP6FZWgo1yERUO_VUmnV2xd9p4UdLz_3tzyp1bKcHzhAoT-l0erunzvpYUv0FGJmtsKg-rHkWFBd7Evmnotb7RGE1RHYz3sAYmfWygB2jirkIO9uk-qfs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-07-29+at+23.36.53.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw2EMEwtq1DMqeKGnRT0D74RylP6FZWgo1yERUO_VUmnV2xd9p4UdLz_3tzyp1bKcHzhAoT-l0erunzvpYUv0FGJmtsKg-rHkWFBd7Evmnotb7RGE1RHYz3sAYmfWygB2jirkIO9uk-qfs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-07-29+at+23.36.53.png" height="280" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="http://bit.ly/1aCe8rh" target="_blank">Networks of Dispossession</a></i>, an interactive map tracking private and state <br />partnerships in projects that dispossess the commons in Turkey.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Like Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring, the popular protest movements that have shaken Turkey’s political establishment in recent months have been inextricably bound with new technologies, especially social media. As thousands of activists encamped in Gezi Park this past summer, much attention focused on the protesters’ simultaneous occupation of virtual space. Of course, like their counterparts in Tahrir Square and Zuccotti Park, most participants in Istanbul’s “Twitter Revolution,” as it was often dubbed, knew that digital communication could be a double-edged sword. The same networked devices used to coordinate a massive march overnight also facilitate more comprehensive state surveillance; the tools used to voice demands for social justice also empower the corrupt. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Several recent projects by Istanbul-based artists have highlighted the limitations and possibilities of digital technology for both social activism and personal expression. A collective project called “Networks of Dispossession” and a solo exhibition by Ali Miharbi suggest that artists in Turkey are casting an ambivalent gaze at technology even as they exploit its potential for disrupting social norms and political power structures. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">First exhibited at the 13th Istanbul Biennial (2013), the ongoing “<a href="http://bit.ly/1aCe8rh" target="_blank">Networks of Dispossession</a>” project comprises data visualizations that chart behind-the-scenes relationships between Turkish government officials and corporate entities. The first such work, <i>Projects of Dispossession, </i>diagrams the complex financial machinations behind Istanbul’s urban transformation, which has been as rapid as it has been divisive. <i>Partnerships of Dispossession, </i>meanwhile, highlights individuals who serve on the boards of multiple companies, revealing a highly incestuous business community in which seeming competitors are united by their common leadership. The project has recently expanded to include a third chart, <i>Dispossessed Minorities. </i>As the title suggests, the focus is on how state policies have systematically hobbled nonprofit foundations aimed at supporting minority religious and ethnic groups throughout the history of the Turkish republic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">These visualizations present vast amounts of obscure data in a simple, graphic form. Color-coded nodes of varying diameters represent individual actors—usually investors or politicans—and the size of their stakes in a given development project or company. Spokes connecting the nodes convey the questionable links between Turkey’s political, cultural and financial elite. Interactive versions of the diagrams hosted online allow users to highlight individuals or companies, isolating their positions within the dense webs of power, money and influence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Though administered by a core group of artists, academics, activists, journalists, lawyers and students, the project welcomes—and collectively vets—contributions from anyone. Even the technology that enables this crowd-sourced data mining, Graph Commons, is an open-source software developed by the artist Burak Arıkan, who helped initate the endeavor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The results are compelling enough aesthetically to belong in a biennial of contemporary art. (Some of the nodes in <i>Projects of Dispossession </i>indicate which developers also fund the arts in Turkey, aligning the piece with a tradition of institutional critique.) Still, the project’s implications reverberate well beyond the confines of the gallery. The visualizations have recently become the talk of Istanbul, because they serve as a handy guide to the unending series of convoluted scandals concerning the government’s handling of lucrative contracts. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who held such a hard line in Gezi Park, is now facing ouster over exactly the kind of corrupt practices detailed with meticulous precision in “Networks of Dispossession.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The first solo exhibition by Ali Miharbi, an artist from Turkey trained in the U.S., opened at Istanbul’s Pilot Galeri last November. “On the Mechanical Operation of the Spirit” (all works 2013) examined a nexus of technology, state power and human affect. Like the “Networks of Dispossession” project, Miharbi employs quantitative data in some of his works. His intention, however, is not just to make facts visible, but to explore the modes of emotional and physical confinement that persist in a supposedly globalized world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A large circular swirl of text printed directly on the wall and titled <i>Dream of a News Agency </i>consisted of words appropriated from articles published by the government-affiliated news source Anadolu Agency. This whirlpool of language was dense but meaningless, the syntax having been determined by an algorithm. Words were arranged based on the frequency with which they appeared in a selection of the agency’s past articles, creating a bizarre string of official-sounding nonsense phrases. If <i>Dream of a News Agency </i>dramatizes barriers to meaning, a nearby sculpture examined the concrete barriers that separate people across the world. <i>The Maze </i>represents a number of high-profile border walls—including those separating the U.S. from Mexico, India from Pakistan and Israel from Palestine—joined in a single spiraling line. Miharbi reproduced the precise contours of each fortification in a fragile foam construction. But once reduced to the uniform scale of the tabletop model, each individual barrier became part of a continous, forbidding blockade. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In two corners of the gallery, the white walls were stimulated by a pair of mechanical arms: <i>Machine that tickles the wall </i>held a long feather, while <i>Machine that whips the wall </i>was armed with a leather whip. The humorous S&M relationship conjured by these automatons could be interpreted as a deliberately ambigous allegory for the public’s relation to the state. In this reading, the walls could be the apathetic citizenry that remains unresponsive in the face of threats and bread-and-circus politics. Conversely, the walls could represent the state, which remains unfazed in the face of protests and continues steadfast in its corruption, despite the public’s trust in democratic procedures. In a closed system devoid of any meaningful response, movement, change and progress appear impossible. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This sense of deadlock is underscored by the constant clicking noise that was audible from behind a glass door. Inside a small screening room was a projection showing a Web browser failing to load each and every one of the many sites that are blocked by the courts in Turkey. The work is aptly titled <i>13532 Clicks</i>, after the number of sites officially banned by the Turkish government at the time of its installation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Miharbi’s work captures a feeling that has become increasingly familiar to residents of Istanbul since the summer’s uprising. We have witnessed walls going up around the city, a height-ened police presence in the streets, more government intervention in the media and onerous restrictions on the Web. All of it adds up to a frustrating sense of enclosure on every front. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The different ways that technology is utilized in art reflects the diverse ways that resistance has been organized and exercised in Istanbul. While making information available and easily understood is one way to fight in the sociopolitical arena, another is through satire. Miharbi’s works sport a wry sense of humor that is just as amenable to the spirit of the resistance as any serious-minded critique of the government. His focus on human response to technology also points to a closing of the gap between street and screen. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Ali Miharbi, <i>Machine that Tickles the Wall</i>, 2013.<br />
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<i style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">This essay was first commissioned by and published in the Atlas column of Art in America, April</i><i style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">, 2014</i></div>
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Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-43605308597909096212014-03-18T23:37:00.002+02:002014-03-19T01:22:44.186+02:00Nazlı Gürlek ile Trocadero üzerine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nazlı Gürlek’le <a href="http://bit.ly/1j0DvXX" target="_blank">Nesrin Esirtgen Koleksiyonu</a>’nun Mısır Apartmanı’ndaki mekanında gerçekleştirdiği sergi hakkında konuştuk. Sergi mekanında gezerek, rehberli bir tur gibi gerçekleştirdiğimiz sohbette, işler ve serginin küratöryel tutumuna odaklanmayı hedeflesek de yer yer Nazlı ve benim bugüne, eserlere, sergilere ve genel olarak sanat üretimine nasıl baktığımız gibi konulara da uzandık. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-0af41d1a-d376-10c2-188b-d607cf107e05" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nazlı Gürlek: Sergiye aldığım Serhat Kiraz’ın “Artistik Turistik Bir Taşıma için Öneri” adlı işi, 1980 Paris Bienali için hazırlanmış bir iş. Efes Antik Kenti’nin yerinden sökülüp Paris’e taşınması ve orada yeniden kurulmasına dair hesaplı kitaplı bir öneriden ibaret. Bienal’de, başvuru olarak gönderilmiş öneri/taslak halinden yola çıkılarak bir yerleştirme kurulmuş. Yerleştirmede Serhat Abi’nin kendine özgü görsel anlamlandırma sisteminden yola çıkarak, hayalinizde Efes’i kurabiliyorsunuz. İzleyici bir dairenin ortasına çekiliyor, dairenin etrafında bir takım numaralar dizili ve bu numaraların denk geldiği Efes’te çekilmiş fotoğraflar da dosyalar halinde orada. Numaralarla fotoğrafları eşleştirerek çevrende kenti 360 derece hayal edebiliyorsun. İş, tek tek objeleri orijinal bağlamlarından koparıp bir başka yere taşıyamazsın, taşıyacaksan bağlamın tamamını götürmen gerekir, diyor. O zaman onu Paris’te o şekilde kurmak anlamlıymış, fakat onu bugün burada tekrarlamak çok da anlamlı olmayacaktı. Zaman farklı, yer ve şartlar farklı. Dolayısıyla, işin araştırma ve öneri kısımlarını içeren arşivi göstermeye, yani onu yeniden bir öneri halinde sıfırlayarak göstermeye karar verdik. Bu anakronik hareket hoşumuza gitti. Bugüne yeniden bir öneri olarak getirip bırakmak ve onu sonlayıcı bir tanım getirmeden sunmak ilgimizi çekti.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lara Fresko: Türkiye'deki bazı tarihi müzelerin halini düşününce bugün yeniden, ya da hala, bir öneri olarak son derece anlamlı bir iş.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Evet, bu taslak haliyle bugün içinde bulunduğumuz şartlara dokunabiliyor. Bundan 20 sene sonra da o zamana dokunacak. Serhat Kiraz’ın işlerinin her biri kendi içinde kesintisiz işleyen birer sistem. Her şey bütünüyle matematiksel ve mantığa dayalı, her şeyin bir başkasının karşılığı olduğu sistemler bunlar. Görsel veriler arasında bir anlamlar sistemi bir başka deyişle. Her bir öğe, bir araya geldiklerinde ortaya çıkan bütünün içinde anlam kazanıyor. Bu anlamda işler çok ritüelistik.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Bu işte aslında çelişkili bir durum da var, değil mi? Yani bir yandan yurt dışına gitse de bakılsa, görülse, yağmalanmaya bırakılmasa düşüncesi var; bir yandan da aslında Batı’nın kolonyalist bir güç olarak daha önce alıp götürdüğü bir takım durumlara tepki gösteriyor. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Evet, kolonyal bakışa yönelik direkt eleştiri var burada. Hem alınıp verilen şeyi çok önemsiyor, hem de ‘bunu mu istiyorsun, al senin olsun’ gibi neredeyse umursamaz bir tavrı var. Blöf yapar gibi biraz. Bu çelişki işi ironik bir düzeyde askıda bırakıyor ki bu bana göre bu işi bu denli güçlü yapan yanı bu.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: O dönemde hala çok görünür olan ve bence aslında hala etkisini sürdüren, bir Doğu-Batı çatışkısı var orada. O gecikmişlik hissi, yetişme arzusu… Daha öncekileri alıp götürülmekten kurtaramamış, ama şimdi de başka bir kayıptan, ilgisizlikten kurtaramıyor.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Serhat Abi ilginç bir şey söyledi konuşmalarımızdan birinde; o zaman kızgınlık ağır basıyordu ama şimdi olsa “neredeyse alın götürün diyeceğim” diye düşünüyorum demişti. Bugün, yeniden kurmak istemeyişinin sebebi böyle bir çelişki aslında. Fikrin, zamanın şartlarına göre değişmesi. İronik bir öneri olarak bugün bu işin bize daha spekülatif bir alan açtığını düşünüyorum. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Kolonyal öznenin geri dönüşü gibi bir şey bu. Birden bire, yeniden kendinle özdeşleştiremediğin bir Türkiye karşısında Avrupa’ya yeniden teslim olma güdüsü mü oluşuyor acaba?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Buradaki mesele bu mu emin değilim doğrusu. Avrupalılık yada Türklük değil buradaki dert bana göre. Daha ziyade sanatçı olarak veya yalnızca kültürü seven bir insan olarak kendini ait hissettiğin birikim ve o birikimin nerede, kimin tarafından, ne şekilde insanlığa açıldığıyla ilgili. Yani saklamanın ve sergilemenin kurumlarıyla ilgili. O tarihsel bütünlüğün içinde sana ne kadar hareket alanı bırakıldığıyla, kendi yaptığının daha öncekilerden nelerle ilişkilendiği, hangi kurumlara takıldığı veya hangilerini aşabildiği, yani sanatın güç odakları arasındaki manevrasını sağlayan o performatif doğasıyla ilgili. Yani daha açıkçası, Serhat Abi, sanat yapmaya özgü o performatif oluş içinde devam ederken dürten içgüdüsel bir takım tepkilerin açığa çıkmasına izin vermiş diye düşünüyorum. Kavramsal sanatın salt zihin odaklı olduğu düşünülür, fakat insan aklı güdüden ve duygudan bağımsız değil ki. Matematik içinde yolumuzu bulmamızı sağlayan güdülerimiz ve duygularımız var, bunu Sarkis’in işlerinde de hep görürüz. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Bu korumacı güdünün biraz kendine zarar veren bir yanı var mı? </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Neyi nasıl koruduğuna bağlı bu. Şehsen değerli bulduklarını korumak seni besleyen bir şey aynı zamanda. Hatta bir hayatta kalma çabası. Aslında histeriyi zorlayan işleri çok değerli buluyorum ben. Sanatın tam da kendi gerçekliğimizden çıktığımız ve sınırlarımızı itip zorladığımız bir şey olduğunu unuttuk sanki. Sanatın sırf çözüm üretecek ve hayatımıza netlikler getirecek bir şey olduğunu düşünmeye başladık. Bu bilimin işi. Sanat esasen histerik ve irrasyonel bir süreç. Düşünsene, bir kere hiçbir talep olmadan takıntılı bir şekilde yapılan bir şeyden bahsediyoruz. Efes’in toptan Paris’e taşınması gibi bir talep olmadığı gibi, Sarkis’te gördüğümüz malzemenin kendine ait süreçlerini görünür kılmaya dair de dışarıdan dayatılan hiç bir talep yok.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Kiraz’ın işini yeniden göstermekteki en önemli nokta belki de bu. Hem sanatçının kendi o zamanki algısıyla yüzleşmesine vesile oluyor, hem bizim o zamanki bir algıyla yüzleşmemize vesile oluyor. Algının ne şekilde, nasıl bağlamlar üzerinden değiştiğini görebildiğimiz bir izlek sunuyor. Zaman kapsülü, test çubuğu gibi bir şey.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Test çubuğu çok güzelmiş. Evet, bu 1979’de burada hazırlanmış ve 1980’de ülke sınırları dışında gösterilmiş bir iş. 1980 sonrası doğmuş kuşaklar olarak bizim bugün bununla, sıfırdan bir öneri olarak karşılaşmamız enteresan bir algının yolunu açabilir. Bu sıfır deneyimi belki bir hesaplaşma, yüzleşme, idrak etme ve tarihle ilişkilenmenin yolunu açabilir.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Arkeoloji aslında bu alana bakmak için çok ilginç bir girizgah, çünkü ana akım devlet söylemiyle çok bastırılmış bir alan. Yazılan ve yazılmayan...</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Aslında bu, serginin merkezini kuran bir iş. Bu merkezde, kolektif bilince ait olan veya idealde öyle olduğu düşünülen kültürel üretimlerin yerlerinden sökülüp tahrip edilmesi, yok edilmesi fenomeni var. Bu alıştığımız üzere bu coğrafyada sıklıkla devlet eliyle oluyor, fakat bireyler de daha küçük hatta gündelik ölçekte bunu yapıyor. Bunun tam karşısında ise var olanın, yani geçmişte yapılıp kültür dediğimiz o devasa vücuda bırakılmış bir şeylerin üzerine eğilme, inşa etme, ekleme, dönüştürme gibi bir süreç var. Bu biraz daha kadınsı bir süreç belki de. Diğer yandan, böyle bir çabanın kültürel muhafazakarlığa kayma riski taşıdığı aşikar. Lawrence Weiner ile New York’da atölyesinde buluştuğumda bu noktada bıçak sırtını bulma konusunda uzun uzadıya tartıştık. Bu mesele üzerine düşünmem tabii tesadüfi değil. Devlet sistematik bir yıkma, yıktığını kopyalama ve yerine koyma çabasına kendini kaptırmış gidiyor. Bunun ideolojik ve psikoanalitik yansımalarını bir kenara bırakıyorum. Sonuçta o gün Lawrence Weiner’in yanından aklım tamamen karışmış olarak çıktım, fakat hemen sonrasında inanılmaz bir netlik geldi. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bu serginin izleyende benzer bir düşünce sürecini tetikleyebileceğini umuyorum. Net bir mesajımız yok, korkutmaya, şaşırtmaya, güldürmeye veya bir şey öğretmeye hiç çalışmıyoruz. Sansayon peşinde değiliz. Gündem eleştirisi, şok edici efektler, sloganlar veya direkt mesajlarımız hiç yok. Bunlar daha ziyade reklamın alanı. Bence, iyi sanat senin içinde olanı dışarı çıkarır ki bu da, bıçak sırtında gezinme riskini göze almak demek; spekülatif ve anlamı muğlak bir alan açmak demek. Oralarda gezinmek bizi çok başka bir algı ve tatmine götürür. Bilmediğim ve tamamen anlamadığım şeylerin üzerine gitmeyi seviyorum. Bunlarla ilgili projeler yapıyorum. Tüm süreç benim için çok sezgisel. Sergiye gelen de buna açık olsun isterim.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Weiner demişken, 1990 tarihli bir işini Türkçe tercümesini tasarımına ekleyerek sergi için buraya uyarladı. Üç kısa kıtalık ufak bir şiir bu. Sergi boyunca bu işe gelen en güzel yanıtlardan biri, bir arkadaşımın şiiri şarkı olarak söylemek istemesiydi. Hep heykel yaptığını düşünen birinin işine verilen bu cevap bence süper!</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Tıp, arkeoloji, resim, şiir, haber…</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Sergideki her bir iş, ya kendi içindeki biçim ve içeriği tekrar edip, üzerine ekleyerek yoluna devam ediyor ya da kendilerinden önce başkalarının yaptıkları işleri alıp onların üzerine ekleyerek onları dönüştürmenin yolunu arıyorlar. Bu kimine göre tarihsel anlatılar, kimi için ise biyografik detaylar, malzemenin kendi süreci veya salt biçim arayışı. Tüm bu tekrarlarda başta bahsettiğimiz obsesif dürtünün payı büyük. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leyla Gediz’in işi tarihsel bir figür olan Hale Asaf’ın portresine gidiyor. Hale Asaf işini gösterebilmiş ilk kadın ressamlardan. Ailesinin desteğiyle Berlin’e sanat okumaya gidiyor, sonradan devlet sahiplenip Paris bursu verdiği ilk kadın sanatçı oluyor. Genç yaşta hastalıktan ölüyor. Ölmeseydi, o tarihten bir hafta sonra bir solo sergisi olacakken ölümü üzerine 37 tane resmi kayıt altına alınmadan kayboluyor. Leyla, Asaf’ın bir portresini fotoğrafından yola çıkarak yapıyor ve onu İstanbul’daki 37 iç ve dış, kamusal ve özel mekana yerleştirilip fotoğraflıyor. Mekan değişse de, hep siyah beyaz kalıyor. Dolayısıyla mekan bize hep soyutlanmış halde geliyor. Portre ise hep gerçek renklerinde, parlak yeşil, tekrar ediyor. Bu, Leyla Gediz’in Asaf’a bir bağlılık göstergesi olduğu kadar resim nesnesine karşı da öyle. Resmin, sanatçının elinden çıktıktan sonra içine düştüğü bir hayat var. Bu hayata yönelik düşünsel bir çaba bu iş.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Bana da biraz ölüm korkusu var gibi geldi bu işte. Hem esas anlamıyla, hem de Barthes’ın yazdığı ‘yazarın ölümü’ anlamıyla.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Yazarın ölümü ihtimali, yani işin yapandan bağımsızlaşması işi hep açık tutuyor. Mesela bu anlattığımdan bambaşka anlamlar da çıkarabilir işe bakanlar. Bir de yine çok romantik olacak belki ama, temelde bir ölümsüzlük arayışıyla ilişkili değil mi zaten sanat yapma dürtüsü…</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sokakla ilişkilenen bir iş, Sun Ra’nın 1990 yılında İstiklal Caddesi’nde kamyon üzerinde verdiği konserin kaydı. Bunu Vasıf Kortun çekmiş ve YouTube’a koymuş. YouTube’dan rip ederek indirdiğimde onun çektiğini bilmiyordum, sergiye geldiğinde bana söyledi. YouTube gerçekliği işte. Neyse, kayıtta görüyoruz ki konseri görenler kamyonun arkasına katılıyorlar, dans ediyorlar, birlikte yürüyorlar. Sun Ra’nın öyle bir sahne aurası var ki caddenin o kaotik halinde bile insanların gücüne kapılıp takip etmesini sağlıyor. Bu kayıtla ilişkilenmesi için, Sun Ra’nın 1970’de Fransa’da verdiği bir konseri yorumlayan Lili Reynaud-Dewar’ın </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Interpretation </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(2010) işini getirdim. Annesi konserdeymiş ve ilgili deneyimini anlatıyor. Kostüm Sun Ra’dan esinli, ve arada konserden kesitler girdiğinde dans etmeye başlıyor.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Sanırım hareketlerinin müzikle alakasızlığında biraz özümseme, benliğinin bir parçası haline getirme çabası var. Bu müzede yapılmış bir performans sanırım.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Evet, Kunsthalle Basel.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Biraz da müzede nasıl davranılacağının rahatsızlığı içinde sanırım. Onu da yansıtıyor. Bir işe nasıl bakılır, nasıl dinlenir? Yakın mı dursam, uzaktan mı baksam, daha uzun mu seyretsem yoksa hemen geçip gitsem mi?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Bu canlı bir performans ve karşısında bizim görmediğmiz bir izleyici kitlesi var aslında. O dediğin rahatsızlık, performansın müzeye yada x bir sanat mekanına girince yaşadığı rahatsızlık da olabilir. Çok ilginç bir nokta bu. Müzede sergilenen şeylerin tamamen objeleşmiş olmaları ve canlı bir performansçının o objeleşmeyle nasıl hesaplaştığı meselesi baya görünür halde burada, haklısın.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deniz Gül, Jeanne Dunning’in “Toe Sucking Video” (1994) adlı bir video işinden yola çıkarak yeni bir iş üretti. İş Dunning’inkine cevap verme isteğiyle yola çıkıp, kaynağından git gide uzaklaşarak bambaşka bir şeye dönüştü. Dunning, videosunda, kamera karşısında dakikalarca sağ ayak baş parmağını emiyor. Deniz bu eylemin hem performans açısından, hem izleyici açısından, hem de mecranın kullanımı açısından olarak kendi için sınırlayıcı olduğunu düşündü ve bunların hepsini açıp esneterek daha özgür bir alana gitmeye çalıştı. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Neden kısıtlayıcı bulduğunu merak ettim.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Tekil bir mesajdan ibaret olduğunu düşündü. Bu parmak emme işi, çocuğun parmağını emmesi ya da annesinin memesini emmesi ya da hayvanların kendini temizlemesi yada kendi kendini tatmin etme gibi şeyleri akla getiriyor ki bunların hepsi birbiriyle bağlantılı. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Yani benzer bir semptom farklı anlamlara gelebilir aslında. Bilemiyorum şimdi, çok kültürel bir şeyden bahsediyoruz. Taklide dayalı bir şeyden bahsediyoruz sonuçta.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Şimdi sen de buna cevaben başka bir şey üretebilirsin. Aslında tam olarak bu gibi ikilikleri ve ayrılıkları arıyorduk. Bunlar yani bütün yakınlıklar ve ayrılıklar bir araya geldiğinde ortaya çıkan bütüne kültür deniyor. Bu serginin ilgilendiği şey de işte tam bu oluşum. Kültür nasıl oluşur, yakınlıktan ve ayrılıktan neden korkmamalıyız, tekrarları neden kopya olarak algılamamalıyız, dönüştürme, cevap verme ve tepki gösterme kültürel üretimin doğal süreçleridir gibi bir kullanım kılavuzu olarak al bunu. Bazen temel dertlere dönmek gerekiyor.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bu, zamanın ruhundan hiç de farklı değil bakarsan. Buradaki işlerde, temel bir bilinç ve etrafımızda ne olup bittiğini değerlendireyim güdüsü var. Bu bilince çok ihtiyaç duyduğumuz bir zamandayız. Sanatta arşivlere duyulan ihtiyaç, geçmişe dönüş ve yorumlama. Etrafımızda olan bitenle veya daha önceden yapılıp bırakılmış olanla nasıl ilişkileniyorum, kendimi buna göre nasıl konumlandırıyorum, o bana nasıl geliyor veya bensiz hayatını nasıl sürdürüyor. Zaman ilişkiler kurma zamanı; tahrip etmek değil, onarma, büyütme, ekleme çıkarma ama olanla ilişkilenme zamanı bana göre. Yepyenilik hep baştan çıkarıcı, fakat bunlar bazen, o çok ihtiyacımız olan birliktelik bilincini söküp atıyor. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Yeni ve devrimci gibi sıfatları çok kullanmıyoruz artık. Nitekim kurumsal alanda yapılanlar bile daha arşive dayalı bir hale geldi. Kurumlaşmak ne demek dendiğinde, ilk iş bir takım dosyaların ortaya serilmesi oluyor. Bir tarihi olması... O zaman da tarihi deşip yeniden yorumlama noktasına geliniyor. Belki de varolan bir tarihi yeniden kabul etmektense...</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Çünkü sanırım nihayetinde aradığımız bugünün anlamı. Bunu da geçmişle ilişkili olarak bulmak istiyoruz. Çünkü hem ancak o zaman varlığımız bir değer kazanıyor hem de geçmiş ihtiyacımız olan mesafeyi bize veriyor. Jim Morrisson’un çok beğendiğim bir sözü var, ‘Gelecekte insanlara çok güzel görüneceğimize inanıyorum’ diyor. Gerçekten de 60lar bize şu anda çok güzel görünüyor. Aynı şekilde, gelecekte insanlar geçmişe baktıklarında bizim bugün yaptıklarımız bugünü anlatan izler olacaklar. Sanat yapmak bana göre temelde şimdiye/bugüne dair bir bilgi üretim biçimi. Sanat yapıtından yola çıkarak biz yazarlar, çizerler, küratörler bireyi veya toplumu ilgilendiren daha geniş konularla bağlantılar kuruyor ve bir takım kültürel kodlar üretiyoruz. Böyle bir sürekliliğin içindeyiz işte. O yüzden bugün yaptıklarımızı biraz da geçmiş ve gelecek bilinci ile yapmak gerek diye düşünüyorum ki belki geç bile kaldık, dünyanın hali malum, su yok, kaynaklar tükendi, yani artık çoktandır böyle dertlerin zamanı.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Andy Warhol’un kapsül kutuları geliyor aklıma. Ama bunların hepsi tabii daha geniş bir alana yayılan bir tarihin içinden okunduğunda anlam kazanıyor. Yoksa objeler, kayıtlar, izler… Şimdi sanat bağlamında bahçe yapıyoruz mesela. Aslı Çavuşoğlu da bunu geçenlerde Güncelleme programında sormuş mesela, bahçeden sanat olur mu? Aynı şekilde sanattan bahçe olur mu? Her şeyin sanat olabileceği bir alan var sanki…</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Bence sanat kafamızın içinde olan biten. Bahçenin çiçek böceği kendiliğinden sanat değil, ama ona nasıl baktığımız ve onu nasıl algıladığımız sanat. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Mesela merak ediyorum, bu tür ekilebilir bahçelerin olması için neden sanata tahsis edilmiş bir alan olması gerekiyor? Ne anlama geliyor bu? Orayı sanat kisvesi altında kamusal mı yapmış oluyorsun yoksa tam tersine aslında özelleştirmiş mi oluyorsun? Çok büyük bir kafa karışıklığı yaratılıyor bu kategoriler üzerinden.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Buradaki şey sanki sanat alanında çalışan insanlar olarak bir şeyi yapıp da göstermeye çok alışmış olmamızla ilgili. Bu gösteri kültürü, o bahçe yapıldı ve göstermeliyiz inancı, ancak gösterince sanat olacak ve yaptığımızın kabul göreceği inancımız var. Halbuki oradan bir adım daha geriye gelsek, her birimizin aklında bir takım sorgulamalar tetikliyorsa da o bahçenin sanat olduğunu kabullensek biraz rahatlayacağız. Bu, gösteri kültürünün kurumsal süsleri ve zorunluluklarını biraz olsa geri planda bırakmakla ilgili sanıyorum. Çok hızlı ve çılgınca proje üretme isteği de buna bağlı...</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Bir de bunu haklı çıkarmak için belki biraz da kullanışlılık arayışı içine girdik. Halbuki öyle olması gerekiyor mu?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Sanat aslında hiç de kullanışlı bir şey değil. Hatta iyisi sıklıkla sorun çıkarıyor. Sorun dediğim sırf pratik sorun da değil, aklımızı veya diğer insanlarla ilişkilerimizi rahatsız etmesi anlamında da. Yaptıklarımızı haklı çıkarma çabamız ve kullanışlılık arayışımız ise sanat sistemini ileri götüren şey. Sanatın etrafında gelişen dünya, yani sanatın sergilenme, alınıp satılma işlerinden ibaret sistem, bizzat sanat yapmak pratiğinden veya sanata özgü dertlere çoğu zaman tamamen yabancı. Biz yapılan edileni sistem içine oturtuyor ve gerekçelendiriyoruz ki öğretilir bir şey haline gelebilsin, insanlar gelip görsünler, sergilenebilsin, alınıp satılabilsin, hakkında yazılıp çizilsin, toplum içinde bir yeri olsun, yani kabul edilir bir konum edinsin diye. Fakat aslında, yakında bildiğimiz haliyle sanat yapmak diye bir şey kalmayacak ve dolayısıyla bu sistem de çökecek gibi görünüyor. Dünya çok farklı bir yere doğru gidiyor.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Sergi kurulumun çok mütevazı.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Evet, buraya daha önce koleksiyon için gönderilmiş bir işin kasası, depoda bulduk ve üzerine hem projeksiyon aletleri ve media player’lari koyduk hem de Lili’nin videosunu izlemek için bank olarak kullanılıyor. Kabloları saklamamız gerektiğini hiç düşünmedim. Hiçbir şeyi süslemeye çalışmadık... Bu işi aydan inmiş bir şey gibi görüp görmemekle alakalı. İşin doğumu kirli, dağınık bir süreç ve belli ki, bu görüntü sihir değil, buradaki sistem sayesinde yansıtılıyor. Bunları neden izleyiciden saklamak zorunda olalım?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Durduğumuz noktadan serginin bir fotoğrafını paylaşmamız gerekecek.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZqsWGQkX7EeSGWaN9Tgfll9d6eo0QwKZTHocGQUvBk62KMMuGQ_h1p8tfbImJcHTE3tXV3wC21Pk5KSBGZ0zuT_F0NpsomSIHAb9Gcxu9uwUqKWRfOnoRCXJn0oh9JYoyIqZGwFqhKQK/s1600/DSC_1742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZqsWGQkX7EeSGWaN9Tgfll9d6eo0QwKZTHocGQUvBk62KMMuGQ_h1p8tfbImJcHTE3tXV3wC21Pk5KSBGZ0zuT_F0NpsomSIHAb9Gcxu9uwUqKWRfOnoRCXJn0oh9JYoyIqZGwFqhKQK/s1600/DSC_1742.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Bu nokta biraz serginin mutfağı gibi. Her şey görünüyor ama arka cepheden. İzliyorsun ama izlenmiyorsun!</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Aslı’nın </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stendhal Sendromu</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’nu gördüğümde çocukluğumda hissettiğim ve beni uzunca bir süre bırakmayan bir hissi isimlendirebildim ilk defa. 8 ya da 9 yaşındayken annemlerin bugün oturduğu eve taşındığımızda arka odada bir kitaplık yapıldı ve annemle babamın senelerdir okuduğu kitaplar yerleştirildi. Tam da benim okumaya başladığım dönem tabii, bir gün çok net hatırlıyorum kütüphanenin karşısında dikilip ‘yok bu olmayacak, hiçbir zaman bunların hepsini okuyamayacağım’ diye düşünüp bayılmadım ama kısa süreli bir vazgeçme yaşadım. Arkamı döndüm, çıktım.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Çok saygı duyduğumuz bir şey karşısında duyduğumuz o </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sublime</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> bir his, değil mi. Alman romantiklerini sever misin, Caspar David Friedrich mesela. O dağ manzaraları karşısında dolup taşan, aşkın duygular hissedilir. Çok da fotografik bir görüntüdür o, kendisi resmin içinden çıkmış, kendini dağlara bakarken resme taşıyor. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Herhalde buna en yakın hissi Ağrı dağına tırmanma girişimimde hissettim. Göğe çok yakın, güneş doğarken dağın gölgesi bütün ufku kaplıyor belli bir noktada.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Mardin’de de gece olunca, ilerisi deniz gibi görünüyor.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Evet, zaten biz orada yemeğe gittiğimizde deniz ürünleri dolması diye tanıttıkları yemeğin içinde tahıl varmış. Mardin denizi diyorlar şehri çevreleyen düzlüklere.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Koleksiyon yerinde koleksiyondan hiçbir eser olmayan ve tamamen mekana dayalı bir sergi bu.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Fikir buydu, evet. Olan bir şeyi tekrardan söylemek ya da doğrulamak yerine, orada olmayan bir şeyi getirip koymak ve yeni bir düşünce alanı açmak. Bir eylem alanı yaratmak ve çeşitli türden eylemlerin eşzamanlı olarak aynı mekanı paylaşmaları. Özlem Altın’ın yerleştirmesi, anonim buluntu imajlarla bir tiyatro sahnesi kuruyor. Ölü taklidi yapan bedenler, yaşayan bedenler ve performansın alanına taşındığımız anda sınırların belirsizleşmesi; taklit ile gerçek, özne olma ile nesneleşme, rol yapma ve doğallık gibi ikilikler etrafında gidip geliyor. Performans nerede başlar, nerede biter sorusu var. Onun hemen yanında mimar Tuncay Çavdar’ın LCC tiyatrosu için 1968’de tasarlayıp inşa ettiği sahnenin çizimleri. Tiyatro, Abdi İpekçi Caddesi’nde bugünkü Midpoint’in yerindeymiş. Kurucuları Muhsin Ertuğrul, Ayla ve Beklan Algan. Türkiye’nin ilk deneysel tiyatrolarından. 5-6 yıl devam etmiş, bu sahne de kalıcı olması için yapılmış fakat Tuncay bey işin mühendisliğini çok iyi çözmedik o yüzden tek bir oyun, Marat Sade oynanıp kaldı dedi. Fotoğraflarının da peşindeyim şu anda. Fikir, tiyatrodan kopan, sinema ve televizyonla haşır neşir izleyiciyi, sinema ve televizyonun konforuna tiyatro mekanında yaklaştırmak. Yani o konfora alışmış seyirciyi tiyatroya geri çekmek için bir deney. Mekanının zemininde üç daire var. Yanlardaki daireler dönebilir, ki bunlar seyircinin oturduğu yerler, ortadaki ise sabit. Dairelerin döndürülmesi ile dil, meydan, ters, çapraz ve sırdaş gibi farklı sahne biçimleri oyun sırasında oyunun akışına göre oluşturuluyor. Buralarda oturan seyirci kendi isteği dışında oyun sırasında sürükleniyor, hareket ettiriliyor. Çok benzerini geçen Kasım’da Performa’da Ryan McNamara’nın performansında yaşadım. Performans sırasında biz seyircileri oturduğumuz sandalyelerin altından el arabaları kaldırıp sahneye, sahnenin farklı köşelerine, oradan tekrar aşağıya ve mekanın içindeki farklı köşelere çekip durdular. Bu sırada mekanın her bir tarafında 5-6 ayrı grup dansçıdan oluşan eş zamanlı dans gösterileri devam ediyordu. “Internet için bir bale”ydi adı. McLuhan’ın medya diskurunu ve internetin dünyasını 60’ların sonlarında keşfetmesine şaşırıyoruz; Çavdar’ın bu tasarımı aynı fikri McLuhan ile aynı zamanda dönüştürüyor. Bu çizimleri bugün görenler bunu bilerek baksınlar isterim. Keşke bir de oyunun bir video kaydı kalsaymış.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Evet, bir dönem hiçbir şey kaydedilmezdi. Halbuki kayıt cihazı yok değildi. Şimdi de kaydetme fazlası var belki de, bazen düşünüyorum ki bazı şeyler de uçup gidebilmeli.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Anı yaşamaktan çok kayıt altına alma ve öteleme gibi bir moda girdik.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Çok fazla şey oluyor bir yandan da, o yüzden ister istemez kayıt ve öteleme oluyor. Halbuki anı paylaşmayınca </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">zeitgeist</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’ın içine girmiyorsun aslında.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Belki de </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">zeitgeist</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> bu. Fridericianum’da devam eden </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Speculations on Anonymous Materials </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">adında bir sergi var. Post-internet çağı üretimini bir araya getiriyor. Önemli bir sergi çünkü bunu bir akım olarak tanımlıyor.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Oradaki zorluk herhalde anonim imajları kullanmaktaki seçki kriteri. Belki daha küratöryel bir şey yapıyorlar. Başkalarının diliyle konuşmak. Eskiden ‘yeni bir dil geliştirmek’ gibi bir iddia vardı.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Yeni bir dil önermiyor belki ama o işler yeni bir iş yapma biçimi öneriyor. Anonim malzemeyi alıp, dönüştürmek. Öznellikten uzak bir üretim biçimi bu; stock imajları kullanarak o soyutlama üzerinden dünyayı anlamak. GCC çeşitli Emirliklerden 8-10 kişilik bir kolektif. Kimi New York’ta yaşıyor, kimi Londra’da, Berlin’de. Bu da demek oluyor ki internet üzerinden birlikte kalıyorlar. Sadece internetten malzemeyi alıp uyarlamaktan öte, üretim hatta varoluş biçimleri bu.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Posta değil, internet. Kolaj ve posta sanatının dönüşmüş bir hali. Aslında anonim malzeme kullanımı olsa gerek sanat tarihinde, değil mi?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Evet, yalnız burada daha temeldeki mesele interneti problematize ederek kullanmak. Internet üzerine, yine interneti kullanarak üretme meselesi. Bu bir performans, performansı problematize etmek demek. Özlem Altın’ın işine tekrar bakabiliriz buradan. Bu fotoğraflar buluntu, internetten. Kaynaklarının ne olduğu hiç önemli değil. Alınıp, biraz craft ile birleştirilip, yeni karakterler, yeni konfigürasyonlar veriliyor. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LF: Ali Miharbi’nin işi 'Haber Bandı' Geçen yılın sonunda Pilot’taki sergisi beni çok etkiledi. O sergide klostrofobi ve çaresizlik mekanize olmuş gibiydi. Çok kuvvetliydi.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NG: Evet, Ali’nin hissiyatı makineleştirme fikri cidden çok kuvvetli. Burada internetten toparlanmış geniş bir haber arşivi söz konusu; bu arşivden bilgisayar üçer kelimelik öbekler seçiyor ve bunları ortak kelimeler üzerinden birbirine eklemliyor. LED ekranda görmeye alışık olduğumuz, mesaj, propaganda, reklam vb gibi akıcı metnin yerine bu anlamı sürekli olarak kırılan, içi boş, ironik metin yerleşiyor, fakat bu kırmızı ve hareketli haliyle bayağı hükmedici. Bir de ilginçtir, o süreklilik hissiyatı ve ritim neredeyse güven telkin ediyor. Mekanda sergiyi kurduğumuz günler boyunca bunu hep açık bıraktık. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Serginin ortasında, İris Ergül ufak bir tiyatro oyunu sahneledi. Kadavranın incelendiği tarihi anatomi tiyatrolarının seyirlik eğlenceye dönüşmesi fenomeninden yola çıktı. Rembrandt’ın resminden hatırlarız bu sahneleri. Performansın ve tiyatronun özü beden, özne ve nesne, yaşayan beden ve ölü beden, teori ve pratik arasındaki dinamikler üzerinden ve İris’in canlandırdığı deşilen kadavranın gözünden kurcalandı. Dekor ve propları sergi boyunca mekanda bıraktık. Bunlar arasında bulunmuş ve çoğaltılmış tıp el yazmaları var. Son olarak, İz Öztat’ın işi ise, sadece sergi kapalı olduğu zamanlarda yakılan bir lamba. Adı “Hayalet Işığı”. Her tiyatronun hayaletleri olduğuna inanılırmış ve gece boyunca açık bırakılan bu lamba bu hayaletlere eşlik edermiş. Gerçek bir tiyatro geleneği bu, İz bunu sergi mekanına uyarladı ve mekanın eskiden tiyatro olduğu haliyle zamanlarötesi bir ilişki kuran çok sade bir jest bu. </span><br />
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Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-6627737483822617242014-02-25T17:03:00.000+02:002014-03-18T17:04:00.303+02:00On the move<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXi2jvoGdrmFWTJ3VPT4x3qCU2PxqaTVkBu5MCtgMx7fKS02IeLvhpXDDvdzMrN6xf4RwpwxMNOZTwSPWowEUAapjrKLDGkcHG0gxZaODAEWH3oxNksA5LkfSxP88cNXu7YMBU-HiFDwa2/s1600/IMG_5948.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXi2jvoGdrmFWTJ3VPT4x3qCU2PxqaTVkBu5MCtgMx7fKS02IeLvhpXDDvdzMrN6xf4RwpwxMNOZTwSPWowEUAapjrKLDGkcHG0gxZaODAEWH3oxNksA5LkfSxP88cNXu7YMBU-HiFDwa2/s1600/IMG_5948.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gülsün Karamustafa, Mystic Transport, 1992</td></tr>
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From forced displacement to international emigration, mobility has become a central feature of life in 21st-century Turkey. In cities, the poor have been relocated to facilitate an unceasing process of “urban transformation.” In rural areas, whole villages have been uprooted to accommodate infrastructure projects designed to sustain the metropolises. As economic migrants struggle to enter Europe, the Turkish government is fortifying the country’s southern borders against an influx of refugees fleeing the humanitarian crisis in neighboring Syria. In this context, three recent exhibitions in Istanbul highlight how the experience of migration has been a defining personal and political issue for several generations of Turkish artists. </div>
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Gülsün Karamustafa’s long-awaited retrospective, “A Promised Exhibition,<i>” </i>opened this fall at the two Istanbul venues of SALT, a two-year-old institution founded by the Garanti Bank that has become known for exploring the histories and roots of Turkish contemporary art. Surveying more than 40 years of her work, “A Promised Exhibition” highlights the ways in which Karamustafa (b. 1946) has addressed the issue of displacement. The title of the exhibition refers to “Promised Paintings” (1998-2004), a series of works that resemble Byzantine icons. By adopting the conventions of an ancient art form that thrived in Anatolia, Karamustafa created what appear to be impersonal images, detached from her own authorship. </div>
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Yet in many of the works on view, one can sense an intertwining of the artist’s personal history with that of Turkey. The exhibition is a poignant reflection on the different phases of migration that have transformed the country since before the Republic was established in 1923. This is especially the case in Karamustafa’s intricate installations and poetic video works, which complement the more conventional paintings. <i>Courier </i>(1991) is an installation comprising three children’s vests suspended on thin wires so that they appear to float a few feet above the ground. Sewn into each of the ghostly white garments are pins, film fragments and letters. Printed on the floor directly beneath the vests is a brief text: “As we crossed the frontiers, we used to hide what was important for us by sewing these things inside children’s vests.” Women and children appear frequently in Karamustafa’s oeuvre as the bearers of memory for displaced communities. In a recent tour of the exhibition, she explained that this tale of hurried migration—an experience that has been critical to the making of modern Turkey—originated in the stories that her own grandmother would tell. </div>
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Karamustafa draws extensively from traditional culture, but her work strikes an uneasy balance between time-honored aesthetic forms and the products of urban mass culture otherwise known as kitsch. Decorative wall carpets emblazoned with Western television icons, satin bed covers stuffed in metal baskets, collages of wrapping paper printed with leopard spots and zebra stripes, and paintings of rural women wearing <i>Star Wars </i>T-shirts as they do housework are among the pieces that suggest a hybrid culture born of waves of rural migrants to Turkey’s cosmopolitan cities. </div>
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Despite its occasionally lighthearted tone, Karamustafa’s art can carry an undeniable moral weight. Her series “Prison Paintings” (1972-78) is one of many works suggesting that militarism is the root cause of much 20th-century migration. Produced right after Karamustafa served a six-month prison sentence for political organizing in the wake of one of Turkey’s coups, the paintings, which depict mundane scenes of incarceration from the women’s ward, were shown in public for the first time at SALT. Following her imprisonment, Karamustafa was barred from leaving the country for 16 years. This severe restriction on her own movement is perhaps one reason the artist pays such close attention to the movement of others.</div>
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As exhibitions in some of Istanbul’s smaller galleries attest, migration, hardly a relic of the past, remains fundamental to the experience of younger artists working today. Vienna- and New York-based Nilbar Güreş is particularly concerned with the effects of migration on women and Turkey’s ethnic minorities. This fall at Rampa Gallery, she exhibited “Open Phone Booth” (2007-11), one of the most widely discussed series of works of the past year [see review this issue]. In photographs and a three-channel video, the artist documents the Alevi-Kurdish village of Bingöl, whose residents are doubly disenfranchised due to their ethnicity and religious beliefs. Güreş’s work depicts a quotidian struggle to locate a “zone of reception” where mobile phones can connect to a network. To communicate with family members in Istanbul and other big cities, the citizens of Bingöl have to wander a mountainous landscape in search of a signal. In the video, people who connect with their loved ones on the phone speak pithily about the difficulty of communication and seek assurances of their relatives’ well-being. </div>
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<i>Goddamn it. No signal today either.</i></div>
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<i>I’m so unlucky.</i></div>
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<i>What are we going to do?</i></div>
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<i>Wait, now it’s working </i></div>
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<i>Hello!</i></div>
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<i>Hello!</i></div>
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<i>Gülten, do you hear me?</i></div>
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<i>There’s no reception here.</i></div>
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<i>Do you hear me?</i></div>
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<i>There’s no reception here.</i></div>
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<i>I’m going to the hill across. I’ll call from there. </i></div>
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At face value, the work critiques a system that deprives these people of basic technological infrastructure. On a deeper level, Güreş’s project conveys the difficulty of maintaining personal ties at a time when economic opportunity often comes at the cost of displacement. The images of endless snow-covered mountains are romantic, but in “Open Phone Booth,” the pristine landscape is also a barrier to movement and communication.</div>
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Meriç Algün Ringborg’s take on mobility arises from her personal experience of living and working in Stockholm, away from her hometown of Istanbul. Algün Ringborg is fascinated by tedious processes, and it is through the bureaucracy of migration that she engages the thorny question of what it means to be foreign. For <i>The Concise Book of Visa Application Forms </i>(2009), she bound all the relevant paperwork she could gather from various immigration agencies around the world. <i>Becoming European </i>(2012) is a meticulous record of her own legal status as it evolved over a five-year period in which she lived in Sweden as a tourist, a temporary resident, a permanent resident and finally a citizen. </div>
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For “The Apparent Author,<i>” </i>her most recent show at Galeri NON, Algün Ringborg created a series of texts (all works 2013), including the book-length <i>A Work of Fiction (Manuscript)</i>, using sentences and phrases appropriated from the latest edition of the <i>Oxford English Dictionary</i>. A wall text, aptly titled <i>Metatext </i>and also derived from the dictionary, welcomed the viewer into the mind of the apparently obsessive author MARR (composed of the initials of the artist’s name and a surplus R). A recording of affectless voices reading <i>Metatext </i>played in a gallery furnished with a modular sofa and a modernist desk. The text works exaggerated the sense of claustrophobia felt by many nonnative speakers who struggle to express themselves fully in a language despite lacking a command of its idiomatic expressions. The cool overall aesthetic of “The Apparent Author,” meanwhile, evoked an airport transit lounge or an IKEA outlet—standardized, functional spaces that today can be found near affluent urban centers anywhere in the world. Algün Ringborg’s poetic yet bizarre—if technically correct—use of a foreign language heightened the sense of alienation underlying a certain affluent, globalized culture. Despite the artist’s own freedom of movement across international borders—a freedom shared by too few in her home country—the ability to communicate and to make real contact with another culture can still be profoundly constrained. </div>
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<i>This essay was first commissioned by and published in the Atlas column of Art in America January, 2014</i></div>
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Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-78590028448691106772013-11-28T06:57:00.000+02:002014-03-18T07:01:19.519+02:00Voices of Dissent<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The debates surrounding the 13th Istanbul Biennial (through Oct. 20) reach far beyond matters of art. The heated criticisms that the Biennial organizers have faced represent only one front of a larger series of protests that materialized this summer in Gezi Park. A small open space in central Istanbul, Gezi Park became a rallying point for a massive public uprising that inflamed Turkish society. What began as an effort to protect the park from being torn down to make way for yet another shopping mall turned violent as protesters were attacked by police multiple times. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Taksim Square, located adjacent to the park, soon became a place to air a range of grievances. LGBT activists, members of the anarchist soccer fan club <span class="s2">Ç</span>ar<span class="s2">şı </span>and advocates for urban reform banded together with many others to hold the square against the police, who attacked any and every small gathering with tear gas, water cannons and even rubber bullets. In concurrent assemblies across Turkey, protesters voiced concerns about everything from gentrification and rural ecological destruction to police brutality and violence against women. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The 13th Istanbul Biennial, titled “Mom, Am I Barbarian?,” found itself in the middle of this turmoil, and for good reason. In early January, Biennial curator Fulya Erdemci, who is from Turkey but who has worked abroad for the better part of the last decade, announced plans for Public Alchemy, a series of talks, symposia and performances that would explore how public space can be used as a political forum. Co<span class="s2">-</span>curated with Andrea Phillips, a professor of fine art at Goldsmiths, University of London, the programs kicked off some eight months before the main exhibition was due to open (and four months before Gezi Park erupted). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Public Alchemy raised a potentially rich topic, coming on the heels of the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street and growing local resistance to the neoliberal policies of Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The essential idea was so pertinent, in fact, that some members of the public in question had reservations about the Biennial’s appropriation of their voices.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From the get go, the Biennial faced criticisms over its finances, labor practices and attempts to co<span class="s1">-</span>opt radical political movements. These criticisms came to a head on March 22 during a Biennial program titled Public Address. A group of protesters stormed the stage and prevented the scheduled talks from continuing, despite the curators’ attempts to cajole them into the conversation. At stake were competing claims to the meaning of “public.” The outraged curators claimed that the activists were censoring the forum. But by subverting the highly organized event, the protesters insisted on a public forum defined by dissent. There were more specific grievances as well. Among the occupiers were residents of neighborhoods targeted by real estate developers like those owned by the Koç Group, the main sponsor of the Biennial. Protesters who faced displacement pleaded directly with the curators to stop the bulldozers that were tearing down their homes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The International Istanbul Biennial, organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV), has drawn protests before, mostly for its close ties to corporate sponsors. Founded in 1987 after the last of three military coups (1960, 1971, 1980), the Biennial aims to place Istanbul’s history and cultural wealth on the map. A product of the free market introduced after the coup, the Biennial has thus always been closely associated with Istanbul’s power structure and the developers who have remade the city over the past few decades.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of the most memorable protests targeted the 2011 edition, co<span class="s1">-</span>curated by Jens Hoffmann and Adriano Pedrosa. Kamusal Sanat Laboratuvar<span class="s1">ı</span>(Public Art Laboratory), an art collective, and Niyazi Selçuk, an artist, distributed a copy of a letter Vehbi Koç, founder of the Koç Group, had sent the Turkish president in the 1980s. Disseminated in the form of a Biennial invitation look<span class="s1">-</span>alike, the card required the recipient to scratch the Biennial’s logo off, revealing a historical document that exposed Koç’s disdain for leftists and ethnic minorities, including Kurds and Armenians.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This year, though the protesters’ object of criticism hasn’t changed, the reasoning has shifted from a critique of historical politics to the more urgently pressing issue of urban transformation. Low<span class="s1">-</span>income families are being pushed out of central Istanbul to the periphery in order to make way for gated communities, shopping strips and sterile public spaces. The Koç Group is contributing to this process via six new contracting companies set up specifically for aggressive urban redevelopment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On May 10, I walked past the Marmara Hotel on Taksim Square, where the Biennial was hosting the first day of its program titled Public Capital. According to a press release, the event aimed “to examine the relations between private capital and contemporary artistic production and the making of publics in the context of Istanbul’s burgeoning art scene.” Right outside, a small group of women with purple banners that read, “We will put an end to the murder of women!” stood against a larger group of police in riot gear. Minutes later, they were chased off with pressurized water and tear gas. The square and the pedestrian İstiklal Avenue, where chants of protest typically ring at least once a day, had been closed off to demonstrations since May Day, and purportedly nonlethal weapons had become a daily tool in the hands of the riot police. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Inside the Biennial forum, a performance by Belgian artists Katleen Vermeir and Ronny Heiremans was also interrupted by a protest. This time the demonstrators, who came onstage one by one, raised pieces of cloth with names of neighborhoods undergoing transformation along with placards bearing the names of development companies. The protesters then lay on the ground, prompting IKSV personnel to drag them out of the building. Selçuk, who was among those at the forefront of these protests, filmed Erdemci in close<span class="s1">-</span>up as the events progressed, precipitating a conflict that ended with both parties filing police complaints. Erdemci claimed harassment, and Selçuk claimed he was excercising his right to record a “public” event. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While biennial organizers responded to these protests with conciliatory statements posted online, another strand of criticism, which the Biennial team did not publicly acknowledge, was articulated in print. In two landmark articles (links <a href="http://bit.ly/16vq7kz" target="_blank">1</a> and <a href="http://bit.ly/XT1OvO" target="_blank">2</a>) published in <i>BiR+BiR, </i>an alternative culture magazine, IMeCe—a group of urban activists, including artists and academics, who take their name from the Turkish word for collective work—gave a detailed historical account of the relationship between real estate and the arts, from Hans Haacke’s Guggenheim debacle in New York in 1971 to the ongoing struggles in Istanbul. Offering a well-grounded critique of Richard Florida’s theories about how creative industries supposedly contribute to the economic development of cities, IMeCe cited examples of the art world’s exploitative use of “voluntary” labor, including at the Istanbul Biennial. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yahya Madra, an economics professor, also weighed in on <i>BiR+BiR</i>’s website with an extensive summary of a presentation by Robert Sember of the sound<span class="s1">-</span>art collective Ultra<span class="s1">-</span>red. Speaking at the Public Address event on the day following the first storm of protests, Sember defined listening as an exploratory practice of recognizing constructive, dissenting voices. In that light, he posed an important question: “What did you hear last night?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Madra’s article tied Sember’s ruminations on listening to IMeCe’s line of criticism, underscoring the latter’s vision for organizing publics independent of corporate sponsorship. A local example of this would be a coalition called Mü<span class="s1">ş</span>terekler (the Turkish word for “commons”), which held forums during the first four months of 2013 to discuss topics like public higher education, solidarity economies, self<span class="s1">-</span>governance and labor. These forums were attended mostly by like<span class="s1">-</span>minded members of art and activist collectives, but the core message resonated more broadly; indeed, Mü<span class="s1">ş</span>terekler played an active role at the Gezi Park protests from the very beginning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s common practice for art organizations to take credit for “creating a platform” when a conversation happens around them, yet this time around, the credit is due elsewhere. The Gezi Park protests, while raising concerns similar to those articulated in Erdemci and Phillips’s curatorial framework, were neither hosted by nor centered on the Biennial. The experience of being part of the public in Gezi Park suggested a transformative power that could indeed be called Public Alchemy. Yet this experience plainly exceeded what the Biennial could accomplish. The cross<span class="s1">-</span>class encounters that made this public so vital were only possible within a temporary autonomous zone where the voices of curators and artists joined a diverse chorus of opposition. </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This article was first commissioned and printed in the Atlas column of Art in America, October 2013</span></i></div>
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Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-85511202089717341132013-10-31T06:44:00.000+02:002014-03-18T06:44:57.005+02:00Welcoming the Unthinkable<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Public Space: Where Artists Live<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In his most recently translated book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Aisthesis</u> </i>(2011 French/2013
English),<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>Jacques Rancière writes:
‘Thinking is always firstly thinking the thinkable – a thinking that modifies
what is thinkable by welcoming what was unthinkable.’ The events that took
place in Istanbul at the end of May, and spread across Turkey this summer, were
one of those instances when a large number of people started welcoming the
unthinkable, simply by experiencing it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It’s too soon to tell what the Gezi Park events will
amount to. It is, however, possible to look back upon what led to them by
reviewing a recent history of Istanbul’s contemporary art scene – a scene in
which welcoming the unthinkable has been a practice, not only in works of art, but
also through the ways in which artists relate to each other and their worlds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Urban
Transformation, Communities and Collectives<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Let’s begin with the most visible trigger for the
events of this summer: the reaction to the initial threat against the
destruction of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘a couple of trees’
in the proposed redevelopment of Gezi Park, was both literally and symbolically
the product of </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">stanbul’s
experience of urban transformation, an issue with which many artists,
collectives and institutions have grappled. And since the first instances of
welcoming the unthinkable occur in conversation, beyond the singularity of self
(even if it is a conflicting one), I would like to begin by outlining some of
the artists’ collectives based in </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">stanbul.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Hafriyat is a collective founded in 1996. The name –
which literally means excavation – is most commonly used to designate the
debris extracted when digging for foundations or the detritus of destruction
and construction. In keeping with this, the members of Hafriyat tackle issues
of urban transformation and the displacement – human, cultural and material –
that it entails. Early works by members such as Murat Akagündüz, Antonio
Cosentino, Hakan Gürsoytrak and Mustafa Pancar depicted their urban
surroundings, and the changing fabric and moments from daily lives situated
within it. Consumerism was integral to their critique. A work by Neriman Polat,
shown in the Hafriyat exhibition <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Your
Eyes Are Bigger Than Your Stomach </u></i>(2007, part of the 10th Istanbul
Biennial) spelled out <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Mülk Allahındır</u></i>
(<u>All Possessions Belong to God</u>), using mosaic tiles to mimic the
decorative aesthetics associated with the ‘liberal’ architectural style –
simultaneously referring to the new rising Islamic bourgeoisie of the time, the
economic network that brought that bourgeoisie about, the ideology that secured
it and that ideology’s internal contradictions. Nalan Yırtmaç, another member
of Hafriyat, has long been working with children in neighbourhoods undergoing
gentrification. Her most recent exhibition, titled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">'Lütfen Arkaya Dogru Ilerleyiniz II: AFETŞEHIR </i>(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Please Move Towards the Back II:
Disastercity</u></i>) (2012) in x-ist Gallery linked urban transformation,
immigration and economic insecurities in paintings and collages based on
photographs taken in Anatolia and </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">stanbul’s transforming neighbourhoods. The collective
set up its own space, Hafriyat-Karaköy, in 2006, holding exhibitions and
gatherings, and hosting other artists and collectives who deal with similar
issues – many of whom I mention below. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Oda Projesi, founded in 2000 by members who had been
together since 1997, work with issues of urban transformation. Like many other
artist groups, they experienced the gentrification process of Galata, the
neighbourhood of Istanbul in which they had a space until being forced out in
2005 as a result of the selfsame gentrification. They continue their work as a
mobile collective. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Atıl Kunst, an all-female collective established in
2006, has, alongside other work, long been emailing weekly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Gündem Fazlası</u></i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>(Surplus
of Agenda)</u></i><u>, digital images that can be printed out as stickers,</u>
whose content engages with current and ongoing issues in social, political and
quotidian life. Extending their interest in the digital medium, the collective
has also exploited the Internet as a space in which to invite other artists and
collectives to contribute. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">KABA HAT, a very young collective, founded in 2012 by
artists who have been working together since 2010, followed yet another method
of opening the ground to others while engaging with issues of urban
transformation. They issued an open call for projects in honour of the mayors
of </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Istanbul </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">and Ankara. (The
collective was taken to court by the mayor of Ankara.) These practices – of
sticker production and public projects – aim at existing within a larger public
sphere, beyond what we think of as the traditional venues for the display of
art, and into the streets. Ha Za Vu Zu, a collective best known for their sound-based
live performances, takes this up in the performance piece <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cut the Flow</i>, performed on several occasions in different cities,
with the creation of a human barricade to block the flow of a pedestrian road. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Essential to what each of these collectives does is
the way in which they relate to each other – by inviting other artists and
collectives into their venues and collaborating with them on projects, and also
how these groups of artists relate to their environment – materially,
culturally and personally. That is to say, it isn’t solely their artistic works
that are significant, but the ways in which their practice extends beyond art
into social and political formations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Institutions,
the Public and the Protest<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Institutions whose programming focuses on uncovering
the historical archive as well as creating a current one, exploring issues from
Turkey’s recent past – such as urban transformation as well as the aesthetics
of resistance and revolution – have also been important in the lead-up to the
Gezi Park moment. SALT, for example, which consists of three previously
separate initiatives – Osmanlı Bank Archives, Garanti Design Gallery and
Platform Garanti – focusing, respectively, on historical archives, urban
studies and contemporary art, has held many talks and exhibitions exploring the
urgency of these issues in our daily lives. Depo, a nonprofit space that
focuses on social issues alongside the arts, has also hosted many gatherings by
artists, such as Açık Masa (Open Table), a platform for discussion set up by
Mürüvvet Türkyılmaz in 2000, as well as curated exhibitions that bring together
works that are pertinent within the context of sociopolitical engagement in the
arts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Especially valuable to the conversation now have been
exhibitions that present archives and histories of previous moments of
resistance and revolution in Turkey, because they have provided context and
dialogue for the current generation of artists. </span>Afişe Çıkmak, 1963-1980:
Solun Görsel Serüveni<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> <span lang="EN-GB">Let's Go to Postering, 1963–1980: The Turkish Left's Visual
Adventure</span></span></u></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">at
Depo, and Duvar Resminden Korkuyorlar, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Scared
of Murals</u></i> at SALT, which followed the half-decade history of the Visual
Artists Association (GSD) up to the 1980 coup, and which explored the
relationship between the artists community and the workers movement, are two
such examples just from 2013. Talks held in the context of these exhibitions
brought together artists of different generations in an interaction that marked
gaps and traced continuities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Scared of
Murals</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">, which I worked on as a research assistant, triggered
protests by student collectives and a group of art activists who claimed that
an institution with ties to capitalist enterprises such as a bank, whose two
historical buildings SALT occupies and is in most part funded by, couldn’t or
shouldn’t appropriate leftist aesthetics. Part of this group would later also
protest against this year’s 13th </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Istanbul </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Biennial and its public programmes, which tackle
issues of the public sphere in its curatorial framework. Talks and performances
that began almost seven months ahead of the main exhibition aimed to start a
conversation around the public domain as a political forum, hosting artists,
activists, architects, musicians, poets and thinkers from around the world. The
initial critique of this year’s biennial followed on from protests that may
have gone unnoticed in previous editions – that the big corporation(s)
financing this critical art event are the perpetrators of urban transformation
themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Another group that has played a role in the criticism
of the biennial’s choice of topic and execution, though from a different angle
and in a different manner, has been ImeCe (Turkish for ‘collective work’), a
group known for its urban activism, which, in an essay published in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Bir+Bir</u></i> magazine, articulated its
position to be one of ‘turning their backs’ on the biennial in order to foster
‘another public’. The group which is primarily an urban movement includes
artists, academics, and art activists and has been a prominent voice in this
debate. Their statement thus opened another aspect of the debates on what is
public, what are different publics and how do they relate to our commons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In responding to the biennial and the protests that it
drew from such a multiplicity of different views, a conversation ensued,
perhaps best foreseen by Robert Sember of Ultra-red (a sound-art collective,
founded in LA in 1994 by AIDS activists now concentrating their activities on
what they call <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deep listening</i>) who
was a speaker at the set of lectures held on 22 and 23 March within the public
programme of the biennial. Speaking on the second day, after the protests
against the biennial, he asked: “How can we listen to the protests yesterday?”
It seems now, in retrospect, that even if the protests were heard by most
simply as noise, it has become an intervention from which a much larger debate
emerged.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Reframing the
Writings on the Wall<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Though by no means an exhaustive account, this limited
history gives a glimpse of what have been long years of dedicated search for,
and practice of, alternative art strategies that directly act upon and engage
with the world both socially and politically. The ongoing moment of Gezi Park,
which during its short-lived occupation was transformed into a place where
everything was free, has changed many to the core, in that they experienced
firsthand the possibility of a different economy, and related to each other in
new ways. It has also given us a lens through which we can reread previous
histories and practices where this may have been explored.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Looking into the future I believe the moment of
heterotopia, with all its flags, banners, slogans and writings on the walls,
will remain in our psyche for a long time to come. We will probably not be able
to articulate what transpired instantly; it will surface through daily routines
and latent epiphanies. Which is why the historical trajectory of what came
before is valuable to establishing what might be done in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Nowadays people are being drawn back to their local
parks, where they are meeting their neighbours for the first time; and to their
communities, where they will continue their struggle. ‘Art is not political
because it deals with political matters or represents social and political
conflicts,’ Rancière writes, ‘it is political first and foremost because it
reframes the distribution of space, its visibility and habitability.’ It seems
the moment of Gezi Park has, in turn, reframed the way we look at contemporary
art practices.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Adobe Garamond Pro;"><i>A version of this essay was first commissioned for and appeared in the September 2013 issue of ArtReview.</i></span></div>
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Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-4952488490810051452013-06-30T02:49:00.000+03:002014-03-18T06:37:41.448+02:00Gezi Wrap Up (June 28th, 2013)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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(This response was first commissioned by and appeared on <a href="http://bit.ly/NptnJr" target="_blank">Frieze blog</a> in June 28, 2013.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUgFhRQcK6tN37i4AGDolFkga1HbfrjVaDgLbzzAS3dP27D_CSNa4xNXvjSf7Zz1516t876GSy7ZSUvOymcqbdQ6e8pON-PnfxsRmAO_-8fdTPNphZ0KtMAAx4OSiT0s_9yMBrVRCpapON/s1600/IMG_9377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUgFhRQcK6tN37i4AGDolFkga1HbfrjVaDgLbzzAS3dP27D_CSNa4xNXvjSf7Zz1516t876GSy7ZSUvOymcqbdQ6e8pON-PnfxsRmAO_-8fdTPNphZ0KtMAAx4OSiT0s_9yMBrVRCpapON/s1600/IMG_9377.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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It’s important to note that, though unexpected, this movement didn’t appear out of thin air. It’s the cumulative outburst of many little movements in many aspects and geographies of life. Its roots extend from struggles against urban transformation and displacement to rural grassroots movements against small-scale hydroelectric dams, nuclear plants and other projects that indiscriminately consume and which obliterate our common resources. It incorporates experiences from the workers’ movement that extend from the <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">avant la lettre</em> Occupy-style<span class="caps" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">TEKEL</span> strike which lasted 78 days in Ankara’s cold winter months to the still ongoing Turkish Airlines strike (see video below) as well as the 30-year Kurdish freedom movement which has recently evolved into a peace process. The Gezi Park events have grown to embrace all of these deeply rooted issues and movements. Even if it was at some point most directly about urban tranformation, the underlying neoliberal policies have connected these movements.</div>
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It’s possible to trace these issues in the sphere of contemporary art, in works as well as the conversations among the community. Many artists as well as institutions have been engaged, some very closely, with the effects of urban transformation. Histories of the urban cultural landscape, architecture and the idea of a public sphere have all been central issues. Yet the active responses to and protests against, especially institutional attempts at tackling these issues, have also played a role in shaping what is now become a new political movement.</div>
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These protests are perhaps also in concert with the questioning of the economy of art and how it relates to capitalism. This has been an issue around the globe for a while now, and yet we saw a tendency at Gezi Park to embrace artistic practices that were outside of the institutional network and the gallery circuit – which seems to me to be a more serious dent to the system than any critique made from within.</div>
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At the end of the day we saw that the public sphere had its own ‘general intellect’, a common sense that guided it through negotiation and deliberation – and thus could not be controlled by persons, institutions or singular causes. This is fascinating to watch at a time when the İstanbul Biennial has committed itself to a project on the public sphere, and it will be interesting to see, as my friend and colleague Seda Yörüker says, how the biennial will transform itself, perhaps even by turning itself upside down and inside out.</div>
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It’s necessary to acknowledge this depth of history and engagement, if only to counter the defeatism that may seep into our hearts from time to time. Looking ahead, it seems our small actions will keep on accumulating. It’s not fair to expect for a revolutionary moment to change things all at once. We must keep working at it, as we have been for so long.</div>
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Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-3836632864467406622013-06-05T13:18:00.000+03:002013-06-05T13:18:07.850+03:00#DirenGeziParkı Notes and Reflections from June 2nd<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div id="titre-article-gauche" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 40px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 40px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 50px; text-transform: uppercase; width: 250px;">
<strong style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">Some notes and reflections on what has so far transpired during #occupygezi as we enter the 6th day:</strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQjAnDhIeHfNsd9oDNAr3U5uO-ur_c1y2V0bswSjgtyZIfbiYz2dmkmuvlmFrVFBzATkVnbGiFUXNLRY8YN2gdI41nOotdiz0HlpQtle-Fyq1DsIzIi-iajjNjUdtYpZ4eNlZZauhZlsZZ/s1600/IMG_9082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQjAnDhIeHfNsd9oDNAr3U5uO-ur_c1y2V0bswSjgtyZIfbiYz2dmkmuvlmFrVFBzATkVnbGiFUXNLRY8YN2gdI41nOotdiz0HlpQtle-Fyq1DsIzIi-iajjNjUdtYpZ4eNlZZauhZlsZZ/s320/IMG_9082.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The occupation began with a few dozen people protesting the demolition of trees in Gezi Park by a private company at 2 AM. Gathered under the group <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TaksimDayanismasi?fref=ts" style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;" target="_blank">Taksim Dayanışması</a> (Taksim Solidarity), they called for support and some stayed the night in order to keep guard of the park and the trees. That morning, the bulldozers came back and tried to continue demolishing the patch of land on the far edge of the Park. This drew more protesters to the park; they came with tents, books, musical instruments, and food supplies. On Mat 28th we started peacefully occupying the park, taking shifts during our time off work during the day and trying to stay the night as well.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That day we had also heard that the historical, public and still-in-use<a href="http://www.emlakkulisi.com/besiktastaki-kadikoy-iskelesi-shangri-la-otele-satildi/168975" style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;" target="_blank">Kadıköy port in Beşiktaş was sold off to a nearby hotel for private use</a>. On the second day (the 29th), construction on the third bridge, which will destroy millions of trees and bring more traffic congestion to the city, <a href="http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/groundbreaking-ceremony-for-3rd-bosphorus-bridge-today.aspx?PageID=238&NID=47801&NewsCatID=345" style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;" target="_blank">kicked off with a ceremony</a>. That evening the occupation in the park grew bigger; people danced and cheered throughout the night. At dawn, riot police intervened with intense tear gas and water cannons, chasing occupiers down streets with riot control vehicles. The riot police also burnt many tents, private equipment and musical instruments inside the park, creating a fire hazard.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On the third day (May 30th), after this first police attack on a peaceful occupation, we gathered once more to hold an assembly. That evening, the occupation was even bigger than before, and many stayed the night. At some point it was reported that 30,000 people were in the park. By the time the riot police intervened, once again at dawn, there were still more than 2000 people. Tear gas and water cannons were used heavily, injuring several people. Riot police later barricaded the park and kept a large number of troops within.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We gathered across the park (on the Divan Hotel side) at 10 am in protest to read and listen to a press briefing by the Taksim Dayanışması Platform. The riot police intervention on a mere 500 people was brutal. At some point I saw five tear gas canisters beside me and was subjected to pressurized water (also chemically enhanced). As we ran towards safety I felt I couldn’t go much further and took refuge on the side of a building not too far from the tear gas clouds. Immediately I was attended to by three people who were running by me, providing me with antacid-water, lemon and emotional support. It was quite a relief to see such an intense encounter with tear gas – which causes stinging in the eyes, skin and throat as well leaving you nearly asphyxiated – washed away so easily. I derived strength from this solidarity even though I still felt terrible.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Gezi Park is right next to Taksim Square, which is considered the main center of the city. It is reached through at least four main routes and some sub-routes. Throughout the day the crowds trying to reach Taksim in protest from all sides grew. The riot police kept using tear gas and pressurized water to keep people away from Taksim. This was reminiscent of what transpired on <a href="http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/police-stage-crackdown-on-may-day-protesters-in-istanbul.aspx?pageID=238&nid=45996" style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;" target="_blank">May Day earlier this year</a>, when the government decreed that demonstrations in the square would be banned and then brutally attacked anyone trying to get there (one might add that such a ban is unconstitutional on several levels).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Throughout the night and well past midnight people on the front lines who were gassed pulled back as others from behind took their place. When the police were able to break the wall of people, they would progress towards side streets, gassing residential areas. As they did, people re-gathered their strength and reassembled near the square. There was no apparent ebbing in the action throughout the night. The protests continued into the new day.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
At around 3 pm on June 1st, after almost 40 hours of resistance, many injuries, and numerous lies from government officials, the riot police pulled back. As they did, people flooded the main square towards the park only to find themselves in a cloud of tear gas.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Despite this last ditch effort of retaliation on the part of the riot police, the park was reclaimed from all sides by a heterotopic multitude. This was simultaneously a victory over the riot police against their brutality and violence, a violation of the unconstitutional and authoritarian ban on demonstrations in and around Taksim square, as well as a reclaiming of the May Day that was stonewalled a month ago.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After several hours in the park, we heard of riot police attacking a group in nearby Beşiktaş. Many went to provide their support. The attacks continued from 8 pm well into the next morning and Beşiktaş, a residential area, was subjected to severe tear gas. We got news from friends in the neighborhood of tear gas seeping through windows, making babies cry and even vomit.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Meanwhile in Taksim, some groups remained. There was major debris from the previous clashes. Early Sunday morning Gezi Park, Taksim Square and parts of İstiklal avenue were cleaned up by activists, some of whom had stayed to guard the trees before, and others who were newcomers to the movement.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This morning the city seemed quiet and rain was falling as if to clean the tre</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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es of tear-gas. What seems most hopeful is that such a mobilization was triggered by a will to protect Gezi Parkı. People from all walks of life came to support each other against police brutality and violence. This solidarity in the face of police violence symbolized the materialization of a discontent against neoliberalism and those guarding it. The chants heard during previous nights were filled with rage against the police, the current government and especially the prime minister. They communicated outrage against growing inequality, consuming, painful urban transformation and a total disregard for democratic values of participation.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
02 June 2013, İstanbul</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
this article was first published in <a href="http://bit.ly/10K7wAF" target="_blank">Mashallahnews.com </a>on 02 June 2013</div>
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Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-6687641548577368442013-05-25T01:02:00.000+03:002013-05-25T11:50:53.841+03:00Listening to London <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My arrival in London late last month coincided with the last day of the 4-day exhibition which walked me through <a href="http://bit.ly/172LNZ8" target="_blank">Ultra-Red</a>'s 4 year project commissioned by the Serpentine Gallery's <a href="http://bit.ly/16fcSIk" target="_blank">Edgeware Road Project</a> and in collaboration with the St. Marylebone Church of England School students.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Protocols for a Sound Walk<br />
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The first and last of 12 stops on a map of the neighborhood is the School itself. This is one of the two venues in which the exhibition continues inside and takes the route off the street and into the general routine of the students. The other is the St. Marylebone Parish Church, where the students assemble every Monday morning for prayer.<br />
<br />
The name of the project seems to derive from this very practice of assembly. RE:ASSEMBLY can be read as both an email subject line, regarding assembly; or, as re-organizing, re-making, re-creating, re-jigging assembly. The project aspires to all.<br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
The exhibition within the school building includes several different Protocols, composed by Ultra-Red for organizing certain activities such as sound walks, possible conversations, lessons. The priority in all instances seems to be "organizing for collective listening in the service of collective action". This is the first instance in which assembly is re-imagined, from a religious sermon into a practice of collective listening and of collective action.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYXnaCkcnPhVrhz_CXDRu7GEhSyyJewKheDvy109zWFIV3KQ4h0crQr2KJCleX5VqwsJ_Ftt_Eb2oyqzWJfDo6-Xj7hn0pjzVgiD-xPsXXiXjY7ysetYufkF8XY1Y7cLMlzmySkLRGztlM/s1600/IMG_7537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYXnaCkcnPhVrhz_CXDRu7GEhSyyJewKheDvy109zWFIV3KQ4h0crQr2KJCleX5VqwsJ_Ftt_Eb2oyqzWJfDo6-Xj7hn0pjzVgiD-xPsXXiXjY7ysetYufkF8XY1Y7cLMlzmySkLRGztlM/s320/IMG_7537.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><i>Possible Conversations</i></td></tr>
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In a video work titled <i>Possible Conversations </i>nine participants are involved in an exercise of conversing. They are all filmed on roof-tops, albeit different ones, with a white table in front of them. The technical aspect of the work is that it seems to run on a loop that has been set to randomly shuffle two frames. In most instances the coupling is made between participants who speak and others who listen. Sometimes both frames are silent. Sometimes the same frame with the same participant has been inverted to listen to themselves in silence. The participants who express themselves in song, casual speech or in reading from a piece of paper include activists, the head-teacher of the school, students as well as others. Those who speak -and not all do- articulate their thoughts on the school, the art programme, their individual and collective struggles involving school, church, work, citizenship statuses...<br />
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Behind the area from which we watch this video are table-top, semi-linear panoramic maps composed of photographs <span style="background-color: white;">-current and archival- </span>of the buildings in the surrounding neighborhoods (ie, Edgeware Road, Paddington Basin, Church Street, and Portman Square) that have been part of the sound walks conducted by Ultra-Red in the past 4 years. The images are also annotated to reflect the history of "contemporary struggles against racism, xenophobia, and gentrification" as well as "the sounds heard in situ by student investigations". The project thereby incorporates urban anthropology and oral history. A<span style="background-color: white;">s an</span><span style="background-color: white;"> alternative tool for education, the work </span>functions "as a protocol for sound walks through the area and for further discussions concerning the materiality of class violence in urban settings and how to organize against these processes."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UjPz9cC9dhz_yBm9YAjhqaTKp6IfCYKPC729pbfbDSrRY1cdCJfcwkkhtAxh-eBj2F2C7DDRUoolrwIAu0NwY4kmZ3pauIWbimSTQdCo6nS-iKXr4G17jUKnAmVBx9I1uiuJWpFGmODQ/s1600/IMG_7536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UjPz9cC9dhz_yBm9YAjhqaTKp6IfCYKPC729pbfbDSrRY1cdCJfcwkkhtAxh-eBj2F2C7DDRUoolrwIAu0NwY4kmZ3pauIWbimSTQdCo6nS-iKXr4G17jUKnAmVBx9I1uiuJWpFGmODQ/s320/IMG_7536.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">from The Lost Property Office on Baker St.<br />
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The aforementioned map, along with an mp3 player and headphones delineate a route of excursion by a method of connecting the dots; walking the participant through the neighborhood. They can take the Grotto passage or the Ashland Place to get from site 3 to 4<span style="background-color: white;">; </span>they can take detours, direct or indirect. One can time their walk according to the sounds on the headphones, or stand at their point of arrival as it goes on. This walking path is a core component of Ultra-Red's practice of deep listening, listening to the city -laying the ground for a pedagogy that connects the students to the life outside the walls of education, religion and family.<br />
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As parts of the excursion requires the headphones, other parts direct you to take off your headphones, listen to the city and not talk to anyone until you get to the next site. This proves especially difficult when you really don't want to be rude to the street vendor from whom you just bought a bottle of water, but I for one used my tourist card to overcome this awkward moment. Then I thought, perhaps they are used to people with head-gear walking about in inconvenient yet determined silence. At the end of this silent patch, one arrives at site 5, where The Lost Property Office on Baker Street awaits, one of many gems in the city we walk past every day without paying much attention.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMAiplKXUeazEHmDXt_JSUPswp_ArcwTKNTWRYpnIl0RkuU0NfMCcjx_Vf2rGYmXfQrp2dple6uBO_3QRH9Z29kTnhMEhoJJupsSh4N9UKA0e421l2uAzVNQlYmSCLCJ2OpnyEoU7lEXg/s1600/IMG_7532.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMAiplKXUeazEHmDXt_JSUPswp_ArcwTKNTWRYpnIl0RkuU0NfMCcjx_Vf2rGYmXfQrp2dple6uBO_3QRH9Z29kTnhMEhoJJupsSh4N9UKA0e421l2uAzVNQlYmSCLCJ2OpnyEoU7lEXg/s320/IMG_7532.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Marylebone Parish Church</td></tr>
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By the time one gets to site number 9, the<br />
Church where the students attend weekly assembly, the headphones have uttered some of what you will find in the <i>Hymnal;</i> a book of hymns composed by Ultra-Red from the many pages of notes students took as they roamed through their neighborhood and the city. This little green book practically suggests daily life experiences as an alternative to religious texts. While these hymns were performed live inside the church, a video-work in which these hymns are visualised by students in dance choreography is also shown in life size in the crypt of the church.<br />
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The last quarter of the walk is intended perhaps as a way of winding down, back towards the school where we had begun. Having seen the angels on the copula of the church, which is a reference point for the <i>Possible Conversations </i>piece back at the school, one wonders about the changed status of the church as well as the school and even the neighborhood through these interventions, through listening.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">for more, watch an intro <a href="http://bit.ly/ZjhUk9" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-20545620574032282442013-02-28T16:26:00.003+02:002013-02-28T16:26:57.338+02:00Quoting Zizek<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">"Far from enacting a return to the Real destined to break the imaginary spell of the body, such procedures amount to an <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">escape from the Real</em>, the Real which announces itself in the seductive appearance of the naked body. That is to say, in the opposition between the spectral appearance of the sexualized body and the repulsive body in decay, it is the spectral appearance which is the Real, while the decaying body is merely reality―that to which we take recourse in order to avoid the deadly fascination of the Real as it threatens to draw us into its vortex of <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">jouissance</em>. A “raw” Platonism would claim here that only the beautiful body fully materializes the Idea, and that a body in material decay simply falls away from its Idea, is no longer its faithful copy. From a Deleuzian (and, here, Lacanian) perspective, on the contrary, the specter that attracts us is the Idea of the body as Real. This body is not the body in reality, but the virtual body in Deleuze’s sense of the term: the incorporeal/immaterial body of pure intensities. (One should thus invert the usual opposition within which true art is “deep” and commercial kitsch superficial: the problem with kitsch is that it is all too “profound,” manipulating deep libidinal and ideological forces, while genuine art knows how to remain at the surface, how to subtract its subject from the “deeper” context of historical reality.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">The same goes for contemporary art, where we encounter often brutal attempts to “return to the real,” to remind the spectator (or reader) that she is perceiving a fiction, to awaken her from the sweet dream. This gesture has two main forms which, although opposed, amount to the same thing. In literature or cinema, there are (especially in postmodern texts) self-reflexive reminders that what we are watching is a mere fiction, such as when the actor on screen addresses us directly as spectators, thus ruining the illusion of the autonomous space of the narrative, or the writer directly intervenes in the story to add an ironic comment; in theatre, there are occasional brutal acts (like slaughtering a chicken onstage) which awaken us to the reality of the stage. Instead of conferring on these gestures a kind of Brechtian dignity, perceiving them as versions of extraneation, one should rather denounce them for what they are: <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">escapes from the Real</em>, the exact opposite of what they claim to be, desperate attempts to avoid the real of the illusion itself, the Real that emerges in the guise of an illusory spectacle."</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">Slavoj Žižek</span><span style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.1875px;">,</span><i> Less than Nothing</i>, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">p.33</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />Verso, 2012. </span><br />
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Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-75855098661675835522013-01-07T23:48:00.000+02:002013-01-08T23:35:45.118+02:00Some things I wanted to write about but didn't in 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The past year has gone by faster than any of the previous years of my life. There were many things I wanted to write about in passing, but I always postponed it to the following month when I thought I would have more time... That, of course, never happened.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So here is a list of some of the things I wanted to write about but didn't... and a new years resolution to write whenever I can.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtT1d3VyZlF7iX5peJoM1ULy_PI57fF3fX8f6PKlUldi1ODX9tXPiojpxnKDWjc03_Oh4n8gyLTy2l3NPKX3uTI26rDu-SMeAat7G3T8xI5ThyphenhyphenhCVUGfHyy7NkEgtj7lBhSbGZCXdC6yfa/s1600/IMG_2331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtT1d3VyZlF7iX5peJoM1ULy_PI57fF3fX8f6PKlUldi1ODX9tXPiojpxnKDWjc03_Oh4n8gyLTy2l3NPKX3uTI26rDu-SMeAat7G3T8xI5ThyphenhyphenhCVUGfHyy7NkEgtj7lBhSbGZCXdC6yfa/s320/IMG_2331.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sibel Horada producing "One Last Time", paper matzohs.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Collaboration: In March 2012, Sibel Horada, Eytan İpeker, Reysi Kamhi, Neşe Nogay, Jasmine Taranto and myself collaborated on a show called <i>An Attempt at Exhausting a Place</i>. Here is the <a href="http://bit.ly/K0GHAo" target="_blank">tumblr account</a> where we put all our installation photos and press releases. Elif Batuman wrote an amazing <a href="http://nyr.kr/IB4QKU" target="_blank">article</a> about it in The New Yorker's Blog. But I always wanted to write about the experience of our collaboration, which spun almost a year in the making...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. Money: At around the same times, I was working on a project at SALT called <a href="http://bit.ly/SALTFREE" target="_blank">"One day everything will be free..."</a> and I really wanted to write a response to the reading I did during this project and some of the articles in the <a href="http://bit.ly/VwLI53" target="_blank">reader</a> we produced for it. This would ideally have been weekly, short form commentaries. (Perhaps also engaging other exhibitions, works etc. on the subject such as <i>The End of Money </i>at WDW).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. Summer-time: Short trip to the rainy Berlin to see the much criticized biennial... Same trip also got me to my first Documenta. I was overwhelmed by the whole thing, but was at least able to produce a short </span><a href="http://bit.ly/TE1s7C" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">newspaper article</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> about the work of Cevdet Erek (<a href="http://bit.ly/VbbxeJ" target="_blank">photos</a>). Surely, there was a lot more to write about (To name a <b>few</b>: Tino Sehgal's <i>This Variation</i>, Ayreen Anastas and Rene Gabri's notes, Rabih Mroué's <i>Pixellated Revolution</i>, AND AND AND's contribution to the program -especially in contrast to the Occupy-style designated area at the Berlin Biennial-, Erkki Kurenniemi's work and archive and David Link's experiments, Geoffrey Farmer's monumental American history construction made out of LIFE magazine cut outs, Emily Jacir's <i>Ex Libris</i> and last but not least my surprisingly pleasant thoughts on living in a East European Village Town!)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIyd7iBar_dFtQuyLV9d6OG8GvA2pdD0X744bUae3Mjij0zqILsXYWbvnTdloCKWQ1HRJqaBTmHnTZBi71Z6h13Q5_ycbQJ5CjfKcdKnJXfLqMx3qKLEl5RjdSNg0nKuHxxjZyOS0DtsPS/s1600/IMG_4454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIyd7iBar_dFtQuyLV9d6OG8GvA2pdD0X744bUae3Mjij0zqILsXYWbvnTdloCKWQ1HRJqaBTmHnTZBi71Z6h13Q5_ycbQJ5CjfKcdKnJXfLqMx3qKLEl5RjdSNg0nKuHxxjZyOS0DtsPS/s320/IMG_4454.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Das Logbuch, Documenta (13) published by Hatje Cantz</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Somewhere around early-fall came the long overdue Documenta 13 Logbook which charted out how the show of such a scale was produced -including the curator Carolyn Christov Bakargiev's travel schedule! This book won't be leaving my desk any time soon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. Public Art: While writing about a new series of photographs by Yusuf Sevinçli I got interested in the dynamics of public art. As an introduction, I read about the Worker's Monument in Tophane from Meltem Ahıska's wonderful <a href="http://bit.ly/XerV0c" target="_blank">essay</a> in Red Thread. I think this might be something I'll follow up with in the new year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. Exhibition Shorts: There were several shows I would have liked to write about, even if very briefly. Off the top of my head<a href="http://bit.ly/XEJnew" target="_blank"> <i>Incremental Change</i></a> at NON, <i><a href="http://bit.ly/WEQDkp" target="_blank">All that Shines Ain't No Gold</a></i> at Rodeo, <a href="http://bit.ly/RCAizv" target="_blank">İZ</a> by İz Öztat at Maçka Sanat Galerisi, <i><a href="http://bit.ly/VGtr8F" target="_blank">Fire Chronicles</a> </i>by Sibel Horada at Daire, <i>Materializing 'Six Years': Lucy Lippard and the Emergence of Conceptual Art </i>at the Brooklyn Museum... (I know, I know, I don't remember anything that happened before the summer... see this is why I shouldn't postpone writing)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SloT8pIohoO2mlWGu8-v9PRGLw3CzjQ3hgn-FIYwexPKdnceT1eKd36hdbip_S-3VM3LbIiCfo89kphAqH6T3vITZU-8H_tFM17d9hLYofCYxjnXph4Gn3DndgPxuYJYfcbqXe1xKtGC/s1600/IMG_5303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SloT8pIohoO2mlWGu8-v9PRGLw3CzjQ3hgn-FIYwexPKdnceT1eKd36hdbip_S-3VM3LbIiCfo89kphAqH6T3vITZU-8H_tFM17d9hLYofCYxjnXph4Gn3DndgPxuYJYfcbqXe1xKtGC/s320/IMG_5303.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the notebooks of 2012</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Notes on the margins of books:</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are many books that arrive at my home, only to be shelved until one sleepless night, I am almost magnetically pulled towards them. At this point, when this happens, I know that serendipity is upon us... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Writing about books, I've always wanted to do what <a href="http://bit.ly/13c6Io3" target="_blank">Nick Hornby </a>does for The Believer: each month give lists of </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">books bought </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">books read</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and then do a quick recap in the month in reading. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A few of the books on by night stand at the moment: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. Erdem Taşdelen's two books, <i>Convictions </i>and the most recently published <i>Dear,</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>. Translated By </i>edited by Shumon Bashar, Charles Arsene-Henry and Suna Kafadar.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. <i>Corrections</i> by Jonathan Franzen</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. <i>The Aesthetic Unconscious </i>by Jacques Ranciere</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. <i>Sewn in the Sweatshops of Marx </i>by Thierry de Duve</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. Susan Sontag's diaries</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">etc. etc.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7. Notes taken on the margins of notebooks: The back pages of my notebooks are filled ideas for essays, exhibitions, collaborations, trips and dreams... I wonder how they will eventually sneak into the things I actually write. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's not too late. I can do all this!'^+%&/(=?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy new year everyone, <i>here we go again... </i></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3xygEzLiEvLVkSfPwJds5M0973Vb81Fyrr0yRZA98Pe_zNw_5EjMb9vB6mPpuAYr4tUH22xROLf5bjbzGdrb7_Yp3RDHG8Uy6sIO-xlAD_FA-YNZbQj-V-DlS574g-QBEJNqZnTwYjFF/s1600/IMG_5291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3xygEzLiEvLVkSfPwJds5M0973Vb81Fyrr0yRZA98Pe_zNw_5EjMb9vB6mPpuAYr4tUH22xROLf5bjbzGdrb7_Yp3RDHG8Uy6sIO-xlAD_FA-YNZbQj-V-DlS574g-QBEJNqZnTwYjFF/s320/IMG_5291.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, posing in front of Erdem Taşdelen's work at NON</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-72545843729800169382012-04-21T21:39:00.002+03:002012-04-21T22:47:34.865+03:00Why should I... ?Being young is like being on an endless ride on the swing between feeling lost and feeling sure of oneself. A show by three young artists, Aslı Narin, Fatma Belkıs, and Murat Durusoy captures this in three distinct ways. "Neden aboneliğimi kendi üzerime yaptırmalıyım?"* as the title suggests is a coming of age show. Why should we start paying our own bills? What does it mean to declare financial independence for young people, especially for artists?<br />
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The way the works engage with these issues give a much less direct sense of any sort of answer to this. Nothing in the show, apart from its title, is suggestive of a financial subtext. However, the basic question resonates throughout their works and their positions as young artists...<br />
<br />
I entered the gym slash meeting area slash apartment building entrance slash lounge area slash cafe slash exhibition area where the works were on display with a sort of bewilderment at the multitasking capabilities of such a small space. One bare wall painted dark grey hosted an exhibition that seemed rather out of place and pretty conservative at first glance.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7AOFRR2KJlSZhTjZSP7Jx3qvJ4VgC7yc8xpvmTMuvjqtuxAFfve-wMFBeVbztYgVGQ7KHLIav6KEqul0P0YB0-2crgrv2FeKt5ho1PW7kr-ku5P_02rjuCugUlsYFQvl7aWQ-SU1ectzV/s1600/55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7AOFRR2KJlSZhTjZSP7Jx3qvJ4VgC7yc8xpvmTMuvjqtuxAFfve-wMFBeVbztYgVGQ7KHLIav6KEqul0P0YB0-2crgrv2FeKt5ho1PW7kr-ku5P_02rjuCugUlsYFQvl7aWQ-SU1ectzV/s320/55.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Installation photo</div><br />
I walked to the end of the short but well lit corridor and began inspecting the details of Fatma Belkıs' framed boxes with red velvet backgrounds. Each box contained, pinned onto the red velvet, a photograph of a map and two or three other photographs of disparate objects like a rope, a last photograph from a roll of film, or a bundle of money. The boxes were named with a gold engraved sign with names of people who had disappeared without a trace. Belkıs' works trace these nine unrelated individuals who had disappeared, from several databases that store this sort of information. She works as if she were investigating the disappearances, starting from the geographical location where they were last seen, which is pinned on the maps in each box. After this first instance the investigation lapses into an imaginary scene setup whereby the artist reimagines and recreates their last material possessions. Like a relative of the disappeared or a collector, she brings these evidence - memories together in a sort of shrine, in hope either of making sense, or in hope that it is only the name that is lost... This is why the works are named "The person who once was ...".<br />
<br />
<br />
Right next to these appear nine photographs by Murat Durusoy, who has recently opened a solo exhibition at C.A.M. gallery at Akaretler which display some of the work shown here. Durusoy's photographs are pale, as if they were fading watercolors and distorted, like memories. What brings them all together is the way in which the artist frames them, "what if this were the way I saw the world?" The series titled Ahırkapı consist of photographs that were taken in different times and places but are then edited according to the way in which the artist recalls the experience of taking that picture. This blurred vision that Durusoy presents as a question of "what if this were the way I saw the world?", then becomes a question of "what if this is how I remember?": with faded colors and a distorted vision. Most times you really can't make out what's wrong with the images, but you can't make out what the images are of either. Talking to the artist I realized that he was self-conscious not only about his work, but also about talking about his art. It was as if he was questioning the way he saw, engaged with, envisioned and remembered the material world around him. Presenting such a vision to an audience is quite a feat of coming of age and establishing an identity as a young artist.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGP-ZCgcQLoa56C0-LyYvYfqliOqQi8MpAZEW-XBOGbgIvGGeLaWp-xeqnIwznpTVuCgxtzza_2ixuqZ3G-Q1Ua9DoQxMpMRCDargoVQn6nOuQ7ZRhjwY4UkUgZsxTW2luHmCo66-5R0M4/s1600/Ah%C4%B1rkap%C4%B1+11,+fine+art+print,+62x62+cm,+2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGP-ZCgcQLoa56C0-LyYvYfqliOqQi8MpAZEW-XBOGbgIvGGeLaWp-xeqnIwznpTVuCgxtzza_2ixuqZ3G-Q1Ua9DoQxMpMRCDargoVQn6nOuQ7ZRhjwY4UkUgZsxTW2luHmCo66-5R0M4/s200/Ah%C4%B1rkap%C4%B1+11,+fine+art+print,+62x62+cm,+2011.jpg" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfUehE2wd2aoWFO7H35cn8cznGosg5qdyj82gK1wGgxNI7C_7SS8M-n2nZ6pNNGIq6af3m1H5LTlASAY_aLUcnG57Bv7yYc6b69QviYP_P8Oql7Vy_H7Qxu22SGdbC7LHmd2h3aJPxkWlU/s1600/Murat+Durusoy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfUehE2wd2aoWFO7H35cn8cznGosg5qdyj82gK1wGgxNI7C_7SS8M-n2nZ6pNNGIq6af3m1H5LTlASAY_aLUcnG57Bv7yYc6b69QviYP_P8Oql7Vy_H7Qxu22SGdbC7LHmd2h3aJPxkWlU/s200/Murat+Durusoy.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Murat Durusoy, Ahırkapı series, 2011</div><br />
The first works that had struck me at the entrance of the hall were the even more abstract photographs by Aslı Narin, who likes working with the idea of self-portraiture. She had taken self-portraits that were so far to the abstract that they almost looked like beautifully luminous blue stones shimmering under water.<br />
This was an aesthetic that reminded me of the Bill Viola video I had seen the same day in the Garibaldi building. This shadowy aesthetic that renders the self-portrait within the image almost invisible is perhaps a young artist questioning how much of herself she puts... or pours into her work. This kind of work is carried even further in the artists current show (along with works by Fatma Belkıs and Özgür Atlagan) at GaleriBu, where she transposes her portrait on cavelike images - also evoking a reference to Plato's cave.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisJfJPGbR-Qvt8RaA1sOm0tGwZyOY9PYB_OGY4t4xR2dSCLxJqZ7QduPAKXauwjNoApjj-JGrnhZFXQ8zxCegM5te8VlxPGzu0exZYAScopmN3DPOB_CGe3mupa8hVmfzkaakNpwP6bJko/s1600/Narin_Asli_Escape1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisJfJPGbR-Qvt8RaA1sOm0tGwZyOY9PYB_OGY4t4xR2dSCLxJqZ7QduPAKXauwjNoApjj-JGrnhZFXQ8zxCegM5te8VlxPGzu0exZYAScopmN3DPOB_CGe3mupa8hVmfzkaakNpwP6bJko/s200/Narin_Asli_Escape1.jpg" width="141" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsfjk4NEfqtKtEC2n1Xe_mCeF9cV1gL4KmPNgT5bJaLyYUJ8Nm1xbC9p-nY5uNTjb9iF6hmSMrTV60z3WNSNsZjVAHFLXZQqQQg7fpnLCKXC4x1eDYDgo_yig-BiVgL6yv31eaxwxmi1i8/s1600/Narin_Asli_Escape2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsfjk4NEfqtKtEC2n1Xe_mCeF9cV1gL4KmPNgT5bJaLyYUJ8Nm1xbC9p-nY5uNTjb9iF6hmSMrTV60z3WNSNsZjVAHFLXZQqQQg7fpnLCKXC4x1eDYDgo_yig-BiVgL6yv31eaxwxmi1i8/s200/Narin_Asli_Escape2.jpg" width="141" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_1V-mbd9DGfJ6edHWyg6THEz_Bp33F5ZpU6hZbV_7ATNI-zub0yLBFLhc-0rfdbevdbqOWmkmCHx9eZrB-zN1NTnIQbR2rNKvjHTbeBBpdOXHI0mz3b2EiPpB9mZ-dDJxjikR0AB3lNA/s1600/Narin_Asli_Escape3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_1V-mbd9DGfJ6edHWyg6THEz_Bp33F5ZpU6hZbV_7ATNI-zub0yLBFLhc-0rfdbevdbqOWmkmCHx9eZrB-zN1NTnIQbR2rNKvjHTbeBBpdOXHI0mz3b2EiPpB9mZ-dDJxjikR0AB3lNA/s200/Narin_Asli_Escape3.jpg" width="141" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Aslı Narin, Escape, 2011</div><br />
<br />
"Neden aboneliğimi kendi üzerime yaptırmalıyım?" took place at Nuru Ziya Suites between December 15, 2011 - January 15, 2012.<br />
<br />
"Kat Malikleri Toplantısı" can be seen at GaleriBu on Serdar-ı Ekrem Sokak No.11 Galata/Beyoğlu until May 6, 2012.<br />
<br />
*Why should I register the utilities under my name?Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-4181247642722916332011-11-27T23:23:00.001+02:002011-11-28T09:37:38.080+02:00Untitled / Becoming IstanbulAnyone not pleased with the biennial? Anyone ecstatic about it?<br />
<br />
First impressions are important. In order to get the best first impression possible I got my accreditation for the biennial way ahead of time and attended the press conference as late as possible so that (a) I wouldn't have to wait in an insane line to get my pass and (b) I wouldn't have to listen to any not-so-interesting corporate babble before I went in to see the show. I was being overly cautious you see, and it turned out to be the right call. As most journalists scrambled for their press passes, I started walking in Antrepo 3, among the structures that presented the works that had been kept a secret for so long. Though I wanted to walk fast and see the whole thing, works like Camilo Yáñez's <i>Estado Nacional 11.09.09 Santiago de Chile </i>made me stop and stare for a long time. <i>The Companion</i> that the press package included was also of use, both in guiding me through the show and presenting brief interviews the curators Jens Hoffmann and Adriano Pedrosa had done with the artists.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq1l4nFlxfTmBa-bDa3n84PEFNR7EZqii_K68FggSK8hxPcOZmn-xDnW0gkydgiF6vDuCHKl7Pb162Jf3D5CMl_R50f0LM79J42-53L5Aa4pST1ZAp3HKOmRfuFqv9lVAB3lKS2vnLzliR/s1600/IMG_0398.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq1l4nFlxfTmBa-bDa3n84PEFNR7EZqii_K68FggSK8hxPcOZmn-xDnW0gkydgiF6vDuCHKl7Pb162Jf3D5CMl_R50f0LM79J42-53L5Aa4pST1ZAp3HKOmRfuFqv9lVAB3lKS2vnLzliR/s200/IMG_0398.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Meriç Algün Ringborg <br />
Ö (Ortak Harf)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>The interviews are not necessarily introductory. They are more like the advanced class you take before you get a chance to take the 101, which is always better because then you sort of have to go back and do the basic research yourself. This educational tendency – but not in a i'm with stupid sort of way – is also seen in the curatorial choices made in the show. Expanding around five group shows that take Felix Gonzalez-Torres' five works as their point of inspiration, the show depends on the curatorial strategy of making sense together and in relation to each other; presenting a structure in which the viewer is able to imagine their own additions to the show... for example at some point I really wished Ali Miharbi's <i><a href="http://www.alimiharbi.com/work/last-time/" target="_blank">Last Time</a> </i>were there. But even though it wasn't, the suggestively expanding show seemed to invite such interventions.<br />
<br />
This was my first visit to this year's biennial, where I could only skim through one of the two venues (Antrepo 3). It felt substantial, exhaustingly intense and required rigorous viewing, perhaps even a guide. However, one could just as well walk among the works without even reading the tags, as they would in a museum they go to often, not because the works were all familiar or clichés but simply because most of the show lends itself easily to a narrative or an overarching aesthetic. Most people I spoke to throughout the biennial season – both in and outside of the arts "industry"– said they preferred to read about the works from the companion as they wandered through the venues.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGWxwbcNPHBWirfij1qi1ONaPmGUyeMaQ8goFZG92yc9GplQ4sSAQ6ktI1VuYircmleLcXVPF5Ttgk5T9Afsm5jw5hjRt4F6-Fsn2pNM61KJI6foRerk6F3wD_4YNAva5unAglzxrDt2rT/s1600/IMG_0454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGWxwbcNPHBWirfij1qi1ONaPmGUyeMaQ8goFZG92yc9GplQ4sSAQ6ktI1VuYircmleLcXVPF5Ttgk5T9Afsm5jw5hjRt4F6-Fsn2pNM61KJI6foRerk6F3wD_4YNAva5unAglzxrDt2rT/s200/IMG_0454.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Raymond Pettibon</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>There was certainly a lot to learn from an engaged viewing of the show. Many articles appeared condemning the show of being political, or not political; engaged, or hermetic; educative or self-absorbed. What struck me was mostly the things it accomplished.<br />
<br />
Having begun their process with a conference attended by the curators, artists and viewers of the previous editions of the biennial, Hoffmann and Pedrosa mapped out what they would do and allowed the viewer to judge the show on its own principles.<br />
<br />
From the get-go the curators declared that they didn't want to spread into and engage with the city. Fair enough. I felt this was a legitimate strategy, especially considering the criticisms previous editions got for being tourist attractions, and even making tourists out of local viewers. This was also a risky and inconvenient strategy for them when urban transformation seems to be the hot topics of the times... As a consequence one of the foremost, and widely unchallenged critiques was that the show was "hermetic", that is, sealed off from its immediate surroundings.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVSBnHz3Fzr-U_fM1A5uzh3DULQht0sSwYkgtSn1SBDm4AW1SU4np5gITTe6nMfK2D2KZ6V3erpZ1QHSOJpX6sV9i2k3YFHw9JlhIa3a6hplB4QxZQ9yYayZqNSvPRbdZROVV1IF4asqCj/s1600/IMG_0476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVSBnHz3Fzr-U_fM1A5uzh3DULQht0sSwYkgtSn1SBDm4AW1SU4np5gITTe6nMfK2D2KZ6V3erpZ1QHSOJpX6sV9i2k3YFHw9JlhIa3a6hplB4QxZQ9yYayZqNSvPRbdZROVV1IF4asqCj/s200/IMG_0476.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Milena Bonilla</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Capital / Sinister Manuscript</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Though this is a good point, it doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. Yes, the works engaged with global rather than strictly local issues and yes, the artists chosen were predominantly<br />
Latin American. In defense of its focus on issues of global concern that have yet to become pertinent in İstanbul, I find this show quite premonitory. Though the prime minister of the country may claim that any and every global crisis is bound to pass us by, a rising dissident movement against and an ultimate questioning of the capitalist system are undeniably shaping the global context. Given this background, it seems like it is İstanbul that is hermetic rather than the biennial show it hosted.<br />
<br />
<div>The Latin American experience in alternative economies was a conveniet area to draw from. Not only that, but it was also a geography that the İstanbul art scene was not necessarily familiar with. Once again, this was because İstanbul is hermetically sealed off from the rest of the world despite its booming economy that has integrated itself "successfully" to the global markets. One should keep in mind that the world does not consist of the finance capital New York, Europe the cradle of culture and the oil fields in the Middle East.</div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdM5zbiPS7UKcXpaZ4zzj-1sl8R_gLhijJvK7T9Z4BbYngAuzQZfqBKUabTl0a7qO5lVXULemCFPMRsijVP6Pw89dzMAQYPU6zDgyaC22PQzbCzZdItLkAcCiSmw4wrptW4nJ9Hnk4zqw/s1600/IMG_0400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdM5zbiPS7UKcXpaZ4zzj-1sl8R_gLhijJvK7T9Z4BbYngAuzQZfqBKUabTl0a7qO5lVXULemCFPMRsijVP6Pw89dzMAQYPU6zDgyaC22PQzbCzZdItLkAcCiSmw4wrptW4nJ9Hnk4zqw/s200/IMG_0400.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Ahmet Öğüt</span><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Perfect Lovers</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div>It seems to me, therefore, that the "hermetic"ness of the biennial turned out to be a powerful strategy in surpassing the illusion that placing art into certain parts of the city actually achieves much integration or engagement. It was rather a sense of foreignness that helped us make sense.<br />
<br />
<br />
Simultaneously however, a local institution, SALT did engage with the city once again in a different manner. Instead of placing art in the context of the city; the city – in all its aspects from current statistics to historical debates – was placed into an art space. Viewing of the show gives across only a minuscule part of what SALT's triple programming of Becoming İstanbul, The Making of Beyoğlu and 90, a series of talks, aims to achieve. Its much more ambitious goal seems to get people genuinely engaged with the city, its economy, food, water, people, politics and all the rest.<br />
<br />
Becoming İstanbul is basicly a database of information about the city; images and documents that SALT has gathered and archived over the years. Ranging from news source photographs to art works, the contents of this database will also be available online after the show. Currently it can be accessed from a room full of screens where viewers can weave their own reading of the archive. They are also invited to pitch in their own documents and projects by leaving them inside the boxes available in this room.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg068j_Isu1JS9L0qvyRBEq4RlrBL656uvhNBFuCWjblzTsDSi6LOoc-WJL1sESK4YIbvdYPjUmFEDzL0pN5Gtwa5Iss1MQOIJeTh_YYDu68iyQxi_T5Ix2pnEwK3qtDRK_mjWI5gELxKYC/s1600/IMG_0685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg068j_Isu1JS9L0qvyRBEq4RlrBL656uvhNBFuCWjblzTsDSi6LOoc-WJL1sESK4YIbvdYPjUmFEDzL0pN5Gtwa5Iss1MQOIJeTh_YYDu68iyQxi_T5Ix2pnEwK3qtDRK_mjWI5gELxKYC/s200/IMG_0685.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">SALT Galata Library</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The tripartite show comes with three publications, <i>Becoming Istanbul</i> an attempt at creating an encyclopedia of the city, <i>Tracing Istanbul</i>, which consists of aerial photographs and discussions of the "causes and effects of changes in İstanbul's urban texture" and last but not least, <i>Mapping İstanbul, </i>a collection of aerial maps visualising the city. SALT seems to have taken on an almost endless project of understanding, mapping, visualising, encyclopedizing, and representing the city that is İstanbul. Such endevors have driven generations after generations mad. SALT seems to be taking it one step at a time and what we have seen so far is only a peek into what is yet to come.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhNPp4t5k2mQKchvNyDRCkV8lk864D4eIjDl495ZX5jhodpVai0oyZkP29CCy5BCW3kcTj3koQ1xcgogiUL3Ixs135eFUS6AJTs8VijpcUdwKDj8aR3IQAk7CJGgvS-Dkgi3qql8vFRaD/s1600/IMG_0689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhNPp4t5k2mQKchvNyDRCkV8lk864D4eIjDl495ZX5jhodpVai0oyZkP29CCy5BCW3kcTj3koQ1xcgogiUL3Ixs135eFUS6AJTs8VijpcUdwKDj8aR3IQAk7CJGgvS-Dkgi3qql8vFRaD/s200/IMG_0689.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">from Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin's<br />
rare books collection at<br />
SALT Galata Library</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Already, the newly functioning Galata space is hosting a new show that presents yet another aspect of the city. Tayfun Serttaş's display of the archives of Foto Galatasaray traces the demographic changes of the city through a neighborhood photographic portrait studio; a rather informal and creative approach that has the potential of being read along with data as well as being taken for what it is: a visual documentation that gives us an intimate and personal perspective. The new space also hosts <i>Scramble for the Past: A Story of Archeology in the Ottoman Empire 1753-1914</i>. </div><br />
<div>Both these shows are accompanied by beautifully made books - more great news for those of us willing to give up our beds for new shelves. However, the books can also be read in the new SALT Galata library, which is a gem in its own right. Containing the Osmanlı Bank Archives, the Platform Garanti Library, the Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin archive among others, the library is constantly growing and has great potential to stimulate critical production in İstanbul. </div>Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-23320691536035440752011-09-06T12:27:00.002+03:002011-09-06T13:57:11.338+03:00Reading İstanbul [Biennial]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnedMCf11bPwUFkjd38i9lqfzyrzbQLKCwQXxo6Kvg5KGlvNBr8LYLV22qwmnbfM3CEWgSmZb-AxFFKJYbQQD5O29K7rZla5u77p87aESpNVgtMU9c2lnnp7xedBHw5yPj0IAVSt8dUa7K/s1600/IMG_5757.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnedMCf11bPwUFkjd38i9lqfzyrzbQLKCwQXxo6Kvg5KGlvNBr8LYLV22qwmnbfM3CEWgSmZb-AxFFKJYbQQD5O29K7rZla5u77p87aESpNVgtMU9c2lnnp7xedBHw5yPj0IAVSt8dUa7K/s400/IMG_5757.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Like many others, the İstanbul Biennial has always been situated in reference to the city; trying to integrate itself into it, sparking debate about it, changing it; or nowadays, doing the exact opposite of that and ignoring it. Its first edition, <i>Contemporary Art in Traditional Spaces</i> in 1987 was followed by another with the same title in English, but with a slight nuance in Turkish. While in the first edition the word <i>space</i> referred to buildings or structures (yapılarda), the second referred to surroundings more generally (çevrede) in which the exhibitions were held.<br />
The 9th edition of the biennial was even named after the city. Co-curators Vasıf Kortun and Charles Esche had written at the time that "this biennial is for and about İstanbul". Though they were perhaps talking about a more specific <i>for </i>and <i>about</i> in terms of the strategies they used and decisions they made, this statement was also an echo of the idea of a biennial in the first place. From the get-go the İstanbul Biennial - sometimes because of necessity, sometimes for sake of practicality - made use of the historical quarters of the city. And by history, one shouldn't only think about the historic city that "has been home to such and such many empires". The 10th edition of the biennial (<i>Not Only Possible but also Necessary: Optimism in the Age of Global War</i>), curated by Hou Hanru, had the biennial goers visit the spaces of a much closer history that spun the Republican Era. This was an experiment in making İstanbullus themselves tourists in their own city, seeing as how so few of us local visitors had set foot in the İMÇ before. İMÇ, short for İstanbul Textile Traders' Market was juxtaposed with AKM, short for Atatürk Cultural Center. This space on the other hand was a place İstanbullu biennial goers had probably frequented more often, since it was the main cultural center where the "high-arts" such as classical music concerts, theaters and the occasional opera took place until the twothousandsies. By 2007 when Hanru decided to use it as a venue for the biennial, the building was facing the prospect of a radical face-lift. The debate surrounding the destruction and replacement of this one building in the center of İstanbul's cultural and political life reflected, in crystal clear terms, the culture wars that were being waged since the 90s. A spectrum of opinions about the project ranged from the possessive tendency of "empathizing with the Byzantines and feeling under seige" to advocating for change, which would entail the so called "periphery" to be somehow incorporated in the center of the city and rooting for the <i>underdog</i> from a rather disdainful position none the less. The complex dynamics of the city's inevitable and rapid change was somehow also experienced in going through this edition of the biennial, proposing <i>Optimism</i> in the face of the culture shocks the route it had set itself posed.<br />
The previous, 11th edition of the İstanbul Biennial had seemed to me to be the least involved with the city, both in terms of its thematic <i>red</i>ness and it's use of previously used venues. At a point when İstanbul's Left hadn't yet found good reason to make its leap to confront the "bankers"; the event was more of a global reflection on the state of current affairs elsewhere. No wonder. "<i>What Keeps Mankind Alive</i>" the curators wrote in their introduction, "does not seek to take local specifics as some sort of prism to read the global [...] nor does the exhibition strive to reveal to cultural tourists yet another aspect of this fascinating 'metaphor city', bridge between Asia and Europe, nostalgic symbol of an Ottoman Empire troubled by its unyielding determination to modernise, now an ambitious global metropolis....".<br />
The previous edition of the biennial therefore, constructed its relationship with the city precisely by ignoring it. It isn't easy for me to discern how much of this was purely a gimmick. In retrospect, it feels as if it may have been a turning point in the way the biennial relates to the city. Rather than touting the "culturalisation of politics" as the curators wrote, perhaps it is time for the biennial to "politicise culture".<br />
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In the absolute silence surrounding the upcoming edition of the İstanbul Biennial one is left to ponder on a few leads... the Remembering İstanbul Conference held last November, whose transcripts will be published as the biennial opens, and the thematic - not-so-thematic - framework the curators Adriano Pedrosa and Jens Hoffmann have set: Felix Gonzalez-Torres. One immediate similarity with the previous edition is, perhaps that the biennial is set to revolve around a figure. Though it wasn't somehow perceived as such, 11B had intended to create a "prism for viewing the works, a context in which they can be read in explicit reference to Brecht's conscious political engagement and methods". I don't think anyone really took the time to pick apart the Brechtian aspects of any of the works... Honestly, who even skimmed through<i> </i>Jameson's <i>Brecht and Method </i>or Benjamin's <i>Understanding Brecht</i>?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHB9yItpsyvEWYbn8F6FrtMO1unTfB8N0G0eGWeb1eVDcv-y7joB3ujSvE6Yu4zbM_MhKEe1meKPj2Xd818HX0xZ242mcChjjkspexoBOLVFnUQiIl_RJEyxe9X3-SikARwNkUUyE95ZK5/s1600/IMG_5777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHB9yItpsyvEWYbn8F6FrtMO1unTfB8N0G0eGWeb1eVDcv-y7joB3ujSvE6Yu4zbM_MhKEe1meKPj2Xd818HX0xZ242mcChjjkspexoBOLVFnUQiIl_RJEyxe9X3-SikARwNkUUyE95ZK5/s320/IMG_5777.jpg" width="320" /></a>This time around the curators turned out to be more bookish and imposed this very bookishness onto their viewers by not allowing for the program to be announced before the biennial starts. Instead, in a slight breach of silence, Jens Hoffmann provided a pretty intense reading list on Art21's new column<a href="http://bit.ly/n7bPU5"> <i>Inspired Reading</i> </a> that includes Orhan Pamuk's 2003 memoir <i>İstanbul: Memories and the City</i> as well as a more theoretically dense list of thinkers that range from Marcuse, Arendt, Agamben, Merleau-Ponty and my current favourite Jacques Ranciere.<br />
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This more intellectual pre-press for the biennial, as opposed to announcing big names has, so far, either irritated people or intrigued them. Or both? As the biennial begins, the curators' hope is probably that people will look at and see the exhibitions with no pre-conceptions fuelled by the ranting critics who write things out of their behinds before they even see anything. As the biennial opens, there will also be three other books related to the 12B coming out.<br />
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With the biennial being so low-key pre-opening, however, the parallel events have run amok. Perhaps now these side events will take on the job of dressing the city up for a cabaret.. or maybe strip it bare to expose its not so glamorous faces..<br />
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While the former will be handled by the gazillions of pop-up shows in historical venues scattered throughout the city, the latter, it seems, will be taken on by SALT, in their second comprehensive show <i>Becoming Istanbul</i>. Much like a biennial itself this one show has surrounded itself with parallel programs, such as <i>The Making of Beyoğlu </i>and <i>90,</i> events, and talks. Drawing from the endless resources of the former trio Ottoman Bank Archives, Platform Garanti, and Garanti Gallery which came together under a new multi-faceted, inter-disciplinary SALT earlier this year; the show provides the viewer with a vast ocean of material and an almost infinite number of ways in which to view it. At a point when the Biennial itself has withdrawn from the city (it will only be using Antrepo buildings), this exhibition may just help us recognize how contemporary art today relates to its surroundings...<br />
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Three books will be coming out along with this exhibition, <i>Becoming İstanbul,</i> <i>Tracing İstanbul</i>, and <i>Mapping İstanbul. </i>Put those next to <i>Remembering İstanbul </i>and a lot of people will have to go to IKEA to buy a(nother) shelf!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1tM56THWM-aU-PeY4B7vzj0JSB2x2j9lVzIP1nQ1sFCbkSaRj0-bs6W-POceL4vL8HwuLjF_FnwwlQsj_H2FibLs6A9XpMfRraFwh3SOsL4xnpBZzhpd393uzycnBrrcnWFcHfzs_RLaS/s1600/IMG_5773.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1tM56THWM-aU-PeY4B7vzj0JSB2x2j9lVzIP1nQ1sFCbkSaRj0-bs6W-POceL4vL8HwuLjF_FnwwlQsj_H2FibLs6A9XpMfRraFwh3SOsL4xnpBZzhpd393uzycnBrrcnWFcHfzs_RLaS/s320/IMG_5773.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Well, since this biennial season it's in fashion to be bookish allow me to share my tower of a reading list too!<br />
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Starting from the top are the three small booklets of the last three İstanbul Biennials, followed by a catalog of <i>Becoming a Place</i>, a show which Vasıf Kortun had curated 10 years ago at Proje 4L. Sadly this gem of a book is said to be out of print so I truly hope someone will make it available on the internets. Right below that is the essential translation of Sibel Yardımcı's dissertation <i>Meeting in İstanbul: Cultural Globalisation and Art Festivals </i>followed by <i>Orienting İstanbul, Cultural Capital of Europe?</i> out from Routledge in 2010 and newly translated and in print from <a href="http://www.metiskitap.com/Metis/Catalog/Book/5273">Metis</a>. The following book is a volume edited by Çağlar Keyder, also originally published in English as <i>İstanbul: Between the Global and the Local</i> (the Turkish translation seen in the photograph from Metis, 2000). David Harvey's <i>Spaces of Hope</i> still seems relevant! Right below that, the brownish book is Beral Madra's notes on the first seven editions of the İstanbul Biennial - the first two of which she directed - along with her notes on the Venice Biennale in those years (1987 - 2003) called <i>Art Every Two Years: Biennial Writings (1987-2003)</i>. The newly available <i>Biennial Reader</i> and the <i>Bergen Biennial Conference </i>transcripts just to be really bookish about it. And last but not least, an old issue of <i>ToplumBilim </i>magazine from June 1998 which has an İstanbul Biennial section and an unpublished dissertation by Ayfer Bartu Candan (whose writings appear in the Çağlar Keyder collection, so no worries) <i>Reading the Past: The Politics of Cultural Heritage in Contemporary İstanbul</i> (1997).<br />
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Don't get too consumed in this list though, the biennial kicks off in 10 days! Counting down.. 10... 9...Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-39915837081848721892011-06-22T14:57:00.000+03:002011-06-22T14:57:34.532+03:00106 All the little flowers.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>All the little flowers.</i> - The pronouncement, probably by Jean Paul, that memories are the only possessions which no-one can take from us, belongs in the storehouse of impotently sentimental consolations that the subject, resignedly withdrawing into inwardness, would like to believe the very fulfilment that he has given up. In setting up his own archives, the subject seizes his own stock of experience as property, so making it something wholly external to himself. Past inner life is turned into furniture just as, conversely, every Biedermeier piece was memory made wood. The interior where the soul accomodates its collection of memoirs and curios is derelict. Memories cannot be conserved in drawers and pigeon-holes; in them the past is indissolubly woven into the present. No one has them at his disposal in the free and voluntary way that is praised in Jean Paul's fulsome sentences. Precisely where they become controllable and objectified, where the subject believes himself entirely sure of them, memories fade like delicate wallpapers in bright sunlight. But where, protected by oblivion, they keep their strength, they are endangered like all that is alive. This is why Bergson's and Proust's conception, intended to combat reification, that the present, immediacy, is constituted only through the mediation of memory, has not only a redeeming but an infernal aspect. Just as no earlier experience is real that has not been loosed by involuntary remembrance from the deathly fixity of its isolated existence, so conversely, no memory is guaranteed, existent in itself, indifferent to the future of him who harbours it; nothing past is proof, through its translation into mere imagination, against the curse of the empirical present. The most blissful memory of a person can be revoked in its very substance by later experience. He who has loved and who betrays love does harm not only to the image of the past, but to the past itself. Irresistibly evident, an impatient movement while waking up, a distraught tone of voice, a faint hypocrisy in pleasure, obtrudes itself in the memory and turns the earlier closeness even then into the distance that it has since become. Despair has the accent of irrevocability not because things cannot improve, but because it draws the past too into its vortex. Therefore it is foolish and sentimental to try to keep the past untainted by the present's turbid flood. No other hope is left to the past than that, exposed defencelessly to disaster, it shall emerge from it as something different. But he who dies in despair has lived his whole life in vain.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Theodor Adorno, <i>Minima Moralia </i>-1946</span>Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-7328776722174495352011-04-12T02:15:00.007+03:002011-04-14T23:32:49.627+03:00SALT is essential and incompleteSo last friday I took a break from my weeks long, medically induced concentration (writing my thesis -the existing pages of which, by the way, had been chucked into the trash the day before) and attended the long awaited opening of <a href="http://saltonline.org/" target="_blank">SALT</a>.<br />
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Salt in Turkish does not taste like tears or the sea. Salt means pure, and I'd take it so far as to mean essence/essential. SALT is essential, and incomplete. It is a work in progress.. as it has been since it's proto existence as a tripartite investment into the arts and culture: <a href="http://platformgaranti.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Platform Garanti</a>, Garanti Galeri and the Osmanlı Bank Archives. The contemporary art branch -Platform- that had come about right into the 2000sies and set the bar with its rigorous programming; quickly became an important node in the international contemporary art scene. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxUmZo3d796Yka6W-b6E89mx6AnqweUCk0o-M_ViazSxNobv2FPJXsFDiRlXFHv8lYXEgAhP3rXrTriSAmzcV4eAMBUwx4q2x2bi7OppIMwYmHCXz1lltPixUxNb1Hq_dIRD3KBschxP1D/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-04-11+at+2.44.31+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxUmZo3d796Yka6W-b6E89mx6AnqweUCk0o-M_ViazSxNobv2FPJXsFDiRlXFHv8lYXEgAhP3rXrTriSAmzcV4eAMBUwx4q2x2bi7OppIMwYmHCXz1lltPixUxNb1Hq_dIRD3KBschxP1D/s320/Screen+shot+2011-04-11+at+2.44.31+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SALT uses a short mission statement instead of a logo..</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
April 8th marked the opening of their new space, and the introduction of a new identity that would bring together the forces of the aforementioned three components: contemporary art, design and archive.<br />
Since they had gone underground in 2007 - awaiting the renovation of two spectacular old İstanbul buildings- Platform's library is housed in Garanti Han on İstiklal; where I had set camp for a while as I wrote several articles and began working on my thesis. The Platform library and archives encompass a variety of documents: press releases from the 1980's, gallery catalogues, invitations, business plans, Vasıf Kortun's correspondences with artists and professionals, magazine archives, an amazing collection of books on contemporary art as well as the library of the late Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin.<br />
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It is truly a treasure trove. As I wondered among the books one evening in early March, trying to clear my mind, I came accross a copy of Oruç Aruoba's <i>yürüme </i>(walking) signed to <i>Sevgili Hüseyin</i>. This was one, among the many marks of history that this institution had preserved and made available to anyone interested. I really can't wait until they open their second space in Bankalar Caddesi, Karaköy where this will hopefully be in reach of a much larger public. <br />
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The first show in the Beyoğlu building is a large scale exhibition of the works of, and a tribute to Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin (HBA), who -in Vasıf Kortun's words- <i>had left behind an organised chaos</i> when he passed away unexpectedly in early 2008. The opening was jam-packed, the place was practically overflowing and everyone seemed to be ecstatic that SALT was finally here. As I made my way through the hors d'oeuvres, the drinks and the swarming crowd and up the stairs into the exhibition space I was overcome with a strange feeling. It was a blend of joy and <i>hüzün*</i>. It's hard to explain, but as Gülsün Karamustafa beautifully put it, "this is a first for us". She was talking about their loss, a beloved member of their cohort, a friend, a colleague... she was also talking about the space and the show -that not only brought together and displayed his works, but had invited his friends and family to collaborate and commemorate. Behind the scenes, it had been a painstaking and thorough operation that required great dedication to bring together, preserve and display HBA's works, archives and thoughts. This kind of commitment was also a first, for all of us.<br />
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I tried to take in as much as I could at an opening. Can Altay's work <i>Global Hangover</i>, I thought was a heartfelt piece and embodied the spirit of HBA to the core. I had been listening to SALT's <a href="http://soundcloud.com/salt-online/sets/h-seyin-bahri-alptekin-i-am/" target="_blank">soundcloud audioguide</a> the night before and thought of the lines I'd read that day in the library as <a href="http://soundcloud.com/salt-online/heterotopia-michael-morris/" target="_blank">Michael Morris spoke</a> about their Heterotopia works..<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><i>"heterotopias are disturbing, probably because they secretly undermine language, shatter or tangle common names, destroy syntax in advance... and not only the syntax with which we construct sentences but also that less apparent syntax which causes words and things to hold together... heterotopias dessicate speech, stop words in their tracks, contest the very possibility of grammar at its source.."</i> - Michel Foucault, <i>The Order of Things</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1DY9rYaxpDmKoIRfcy2Wfb7rOjIxYq34g6RqNFzb-jpmCAfJKTYnqgx1Iq2oOI8jPtKf0yOTX0QUjwrwc-DWs5IU7RXq6Hi3u1yCpa0zaR7SHvf6-ysmFCwB0mOJ0vWRvW5mr6YWdLkL/s1600/HBAHeterotopiarodeo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1DY9rYaxpDmKoIRfcy2Wfb7rOjIxYq34g6RqNFzb-jpmCAfJKTYnqgx1Iq2oOI8jPtKf0yOTX0QUjwrwc-DWs5IU7RXq6Hi3u1yCpa0zaR7SHvf6-ysmFCwB0mOJ0vWRvW5mr6YWdLkL/s400/HBAHeterotopiarodeo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hüseyin Bahri Alpeetkin, Black Hole, New World Hotel, Ulaan Baatar, installation at Rodeo, İstanbul, 2007</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It seems to me that HBA somehow strived to incorporate more than what could be represented, in any form.. he had to live it. This is perhaps why the endless work to gather everything about his life and his work was, and still is important.<br />
As I reached the very top floor, where there is a rooftop garden -<a href="http://www.fritzhaeg.com/garden/initiatives/edibleestates/istanbul.html" target="_blank">Fritz Haeg's edible garden</a> a circus band started playing happy tunes as they walked around the exhibition and moved down from floor to floor. (I realized later that this was part of Camilla Rocha's work in the exhibition) The sadness dispersed, and I marched right behind them all the way down... and out on to the street. <br />
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The following day I attended a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfWdvOFhlyo" target="_blank">talk by Prem Krishnamurthy</a> from <a href="http://projectprojects.com/" target="_blank">projectprojects</a>, an innovative design studio that had helped in SALT's identity. (Later, as I went through an amazing roster of works on their website I found out that projectprojects had also had a hand in one of my favourite magazines <a href="http://www.papermonument.com/" target="_blank">Paper Monument</a>.)<br />
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Once again I came to the same conclusion. SALT is essential and incomplete. And I sense this is what they've set out to be. Check out their initial font -called Kraliçe- which has a small part missing from all four letters that compose SALT. Every four months, the font of these four letters will be redesigned by another artist/designer.. and those four letters will be scattered among all of SALT's texts during that period of time. With constant change it will never quite become fixed or complete, but hopefully this will determine a pulse that will keep the institutions blood flowing at a good rythm..<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkYUwjkpxjCgUEZQITUUUnvaICT0-V3A9wmAZ0Vh_SBseGTLlJJnk21jjVfI0nWRQ_aFVUsGp8ARyok9_DjODTFuTXkNX1JUTnV9zSN91N77_7b3WYscuktHBemxOFra4AaVMD86E3PXUW/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-04-11+at+2.08.56+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkYUwjkpxjCgUEZQITUUUnvaICT0-V3A9wmAZ0Vh_SBseGTLlJJnk21jjVfI0nWRQ_aFVUsGp8ARyok9_DjODTFuTXkNX1JUTnV9zSN91N77_7b3WYscuktHBemxOFra4AaVMD86E3PXUW/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-04-11+at+2.08.56+PM.png" /></a></div>I thought the best part of this idea of a constantly temporary font would be that in time, it would become a formal marker in an institution that is its own archive. Each different design would place the written document within the period of the use of that specific design and hence create a new, symbolic categorization. Instead of Fall '11, we could think of a visual font for historical reference. "So as you flip through the website [for example] you will be able to see the different times that things were made and other temporal relationships might start to emerge that otherwise might not be obvious." Cool eh?<br />
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Later in the day there was a screening of Oral histories in the walk in cinema where Halil Altındere, Ali Perret and Can Altay talked about their memories of HBA. A couple of things became apparent to those of us who hadn't known HBA personally: a, that he had a way with people and words and b, that art was his life and life was his art. Where had I heard this before? First day of art and design class with Erdağ Aksel, also an old friend of HBA. Then I thought how appropriate it was that SALT was opening with HBA...<br />
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As I walked back home later, I came across Otel Venedik... <br />
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<span id="goog_2126174446"></span><span id="goog_2126174447"></span>Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-76830580047189970392011-03-03T23:50:00.006+02:002011-03-18T14:33:58.955+02:00DON'T WORRY WHAT HAPPENS HAPPENS MOSTLY WITHOUT YOU*As İstanbul simmers towards it's next big jamboree in September 2011 with all sorts of events and openings being planned around the 12th Istanbul Biennial, there is exactly six months and at least one more week of Contemporary Art high seasoning in April to go..<br />
<br />
The end of February saw several important shows opening; among them (in chronological order) Michael Wolf's I'm Watching You at <a href="http://www.elipsisgallery.com/" target="_blank">Elipsis</a>, Ayşe Erkmen at <a href="http://www.rampaistanbul.com/" target="_blank">Rampa</a>, James Richards at <a href="http://www.rodeo-gallery.com/rodeo/" target="_blank">Rodeo</a>, How I was burned, Oh the mountains curated by Colin Whitaker at Marquise Dance Hall, Tayfun Serttaş's M&M Tailor'S Dream at Apartman Projesi, Hüseyin Çağlayan at Galerist etc. etc. etc.<br />
<br />
Two shows that I was looking forward to were on the same evening, along with a ticket for True Grit's gala later on. So the 19th was quite a night.<br />
I started with Ayşe Erkmen's show at Rampa, for which I had already interviewed Mrs. Erkmen and written an article about - so I found myself explaining to my father what the works were about. Most of them were either old works, or old forms that the artist had previously used elsewhere. The artists habit of always working with the space; its possibilities and obstacles was perhaps something that wasn't employed to the greatest extent possible. Still, the newly conceived On Its Own was the most fascinating piece in the eponymous show: a blown up google image search of "Ayşe Erkmen" that covered the long walls of the narrow gallery. This giant self-portrait that had taken shape in a medium that has life of its own, was displayed alongside a framed a4 paper with type-writer signs on it that looked like a face; the work was called Self-Portrait and it was a work Erkmen had done in 2002.<br />
I may be stretching it a bit too far, but I believe the fact that these two completely contrasting ways of self representations depend so fundamentally on things beyond the artist - that is, the mediums of either the interwebs or the type-writer - is representative of an idea that encapsulates Erkmen's practice. She works with the material, conditions and space that she is provided.. she has no qualms about using plastic balls, live and wild animals or ships for that matter. She allows for coincidences as well as accidents to shape her works and her self. <br />
Serendipitous, I think, is the word that describes her work. (For further ranting on the subject please get a copy of ArtUnlimited's next issue.. :))<br />
<br />
From there I rushed to Rodeo, where the openings -by unwritten law- start at 19.00. James Richards' show was typically Rodeo, simple, austere and mystic. Stacked against one of the four central columns of the gallery space was a pile of gold, or so it seemed from afar when I first entered the space. A closer look revealed that they were actually copies of the book The Mirror Within: A New Look at Sexuality by Anne Dickinson. Philistine that I am, I actually took one of them to check myself out in the reflective golden surface of it's cover with an adorned mirror frame outline. The artist had previously done a similar installation at London Swallow Street with another book by Anne Dickinson, A Woman in Your Own Right: Assertiveness and You, this time with a silver reflective cover. Self help books with mirror-like reflective surfaces stacked in a gallery seemed to me to bare a shrewd commentary; bringing together concepts like value, self-value, market-value around the characters artist, viewer, voyeur, narciccist all at once...<br />
<br />
Leaned sideways against the wall right behind the column were two SONY television screens, apparently dreaming of a Toshiba. The looped video shows a range of cheesy sunsets over the sea, the kind you'd see at the end of a Brazilian soap opera or the sort.. which as the press release eloquently put it: <i>The idea of piracy on film, or of imagery in general, meets the romantic notion of pirates sailing in the horizon of the footage. </i><br />
Right next to it a poster that reads: DON'T WORRY WHAT HAPPENS HAPPENS MOSTLY WITHOUT YOU <br />
Those who snuck a peek into the office space could have seen some previous works of the artist: portrait blankets called Untitled Merchandise (Lovers and Dealers) that portray the lovers and dealers of the artist Keith Haring. The photographs of Tony Shafrazi, Leo Castelli, Gilbert Vazquez are cropped to only partly show the artist, making the portraits marked by the presence of one that binds the six. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioCwJY362-l7VAexA4Mn3hZQbJWeZpS_4HeW72u8vR-cuhzRYbjIvH5a_tBMQhBqBS-PVsJp0C6dhm5MT3BMg8lq7EZuBg_haEYa0Os_u7Cfis54G-emXrhynOpulGs8rillS9hUo75vK5/s320/IMG_4079.jpg" width="240" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElPSZvEUpu19sGVVUunB7wAQ0m741VVadQ2if_5zxL1MtSY0DavulMPj4pmHLXzvT1QAwzq0-3mRDPF7BIAEFmphGV_0BHfy4JvL014LRaeYzwkgyUP0m4QNeQuGM1L9ko-aFrAlTYx64/s1600/IMG_4082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElPSZvEUpu19sGVVUunB7wAQ0m741VVadQ2if_5zxL1MtSY0DavulMPj4pmHLXzvT1QAwzq0-3mRDPF7BIAEFmphGV_0BHfy4JvL014LRaeYzwkgyUP0m4QNeQuGM1L9ko-aFrAlTYx64/s320/IMG_4082.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
for more images, visit the Rodeo website <a href="http://www.rodeo-gallery.com/rodeo/?page_id=1647"target="_blank"
>here</a><br />
Later in the evening I went to see True Grit, in which only the 14 year old girl impressed me beyond words. #Hailee Steinfeld<br />
<br />
The hectic week also saw the opening of a new space [a society to support contemporary art-ists] by x-ist's Kerimcan Güleryüz called <a href="http://www.theempireproject.com/" target="_blank">Empire</a> with a show by photographer Jasper de Beijer. Though not appealing to my taste by the least, I can see why Güleryüz would take on de Beijer.. The 38 year old has a rebelious tendency in his aesthetic, works with new media.. the works had a pseudo-journalistic, documentary style but were apparently staged in a studio which would give it a certain twist had it not been just another comment to make.. The thing is, anything that would have been interesting about all this seemed to have wilted among the bright lighting, chic white walls and fancy hors d'oeuvres and the lack of a text to explain to us, the befuddled viewers, what on earth was going on here in this new space with two guards at the door.<br />
Having had an inside scoop prior to the opening, I was expecting an underground-style studio ambience, some kind of alternative space to harbor quirky people and wacky ideas.. the last thing i was expecting was 'fancy'. So I made my way uneasily through the works, which at the time, not having read any text about it, were getting on my nerves with their color-scheme and inconsistent subject matter with lots of references to a primitivist fetish and an apparent longing for a mud-bath. In brutal honesty, I was disappointed. I do hope that future endevours of the space will make more sense to me, and mean more than just another space, another show, another opening to attend to for the art community...<br />
<br />
Now we wait for april, which will probably be a blast of an end to the season with Nilbar Güreş opening at Rampa and Tactics of Invisibility at Arter among other things to look forward to.. In the meantime I'll be writing my thesis and not mucking about as I have been lately.. <br />
<br />
That's all folks. Well, not really but this is as much as I'll cover :)<br />
<br />
<br />
ps.1 Speaking of <a href="http://www.arter.org.tr/" target="_blank">Arter</a> though, I must add that they've been organizing wonderful <a href="http://www.arter.org.tr/W3/?sAction=CurrentExhibitions&iExhibitionId=18" target="_blank">artist talks</a> by the artists that were included in the <i>Second Exhibition</i>. So far I have been able to listen to İz Öztat, Halil Altındere, Ali Kazma, Ayşe Erkmen, and Banu Cennetoğlu. I hope that they will continue such programs and perhaps extend their subject matter beyond the show taking place in the space.<br />
<br />
ps.2 Oh and one last thing, a new international column on Contemporary art in Turkey, <a href="http://blog.art21.org/category/columns/turkish-and-other-delights/" target="_blank">Turkish and Other Delights</a> by Elizabeth Wolfson should be interesting to follow. She's a Fulbright fellow spending a year teaching in Burdur.. <br />
<br />
*James Richards @Rodeo<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">edit (05.03.2011): Previously Kerimcan Güleryüz's name was misspelled as Kerim Can Güleryüz and the Empire Project was defined as a foundation, which it is not, it's a society. Also, whereas x-ist has a tendency to take on younger artists, Empire does not have an age limit. These have been corrected as of 05.03.2011 upon Kerimcan Güleryüz's kind request. I apologize for any inconvenience and greatly appreciate the pointing out of any factual mistakes in my writing. :)</span>Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-80042502825893315522011-02-17T13:09:00.001+02:002011-02-17T13:11:50.698+02:00Dear Diary..<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;">I enjoy reading diaries; perhaps because they reflect a more honest dishonesty - a struggle between admitting things to oneself in writing, trying to solve the mysteries of life and the mind and concealing one's true feelings.. a sort of self therapy and utter denial which writing establishes very well even in total privacy. Or, more likely, because I just like stalking people, getting into their heads, trying to live in their shoes for a bit as I turn the pages.. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;">Lately I've been reading parts of Eugene Delacroix's Journal and Susan Sontag's journal called Reborn, which was edited by his son post-mortem. Of course another wonderful thing about journals is that you can basicly just open any page... </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcVFBocqoKcv6U0EqJxzI90meGmRnCo98p3iPwQ1hmsBnjrU6qEcLq952K1C_2Qfsi8xhEej27yl4UfT6JedtLoXhd69iCEWWJG5GHBtf04ywwZXgDmW9xeHnU5fPaghBwnOsiunRnioQw/s200/the-journal-of-eugene-delacroix.jpg" width="132" /><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiuxzDgAQJlwD6UthqWGppfEJkNEuK438iNJxXkMf2GMJZDCKqJcrfxvciK4knUh7REMeeUjeyWK7y6cklyKIN9voISgiIv4x8WCE5kPfZ9FAh8pmKdzcxByAe1bp3-z8PYniOeCYjQ_9M/s200/susan+sontag+reborn.jpg" width="126" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;">so,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Dear Diary, words fail me today, as they do often lately.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">so I've found solace in others' words.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-49464219198239638662011-01-17T22:17:00.003+02:002011-04-25T12:09:38.533+03:00I'm old fashioned<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>"Nobody of any real culture... ever talks nowadays about the beauty of a sunset. Sunsets are quite old fashioned."<br />
Oscar Wilde quoted in Susan Sontag's <i>An Argument on Beauty</i><br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://www.deezer.com/listen-7751886" target="_blank">Chet Baker - I'm Old Fashioned </a></i><br />
<i>*</i>this time all the photographs are mine.<br />
<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-49787586600357722732011-01-11T15:22:00.000+02:002011-01-11T15:22:03.315+02:00Oğuz Atay'ın Günlüğünden...25 Mart 1974<br />
Yeni roman dizisi için notlar<br />
<br />
Bu dünya geçicidir. Bu dünyada elde etmek ve korumak bir insan için sadece kısa ömrü için gereklidir. Bunu unutmamalı. Mezarlıklar bu nedenle gözümüzün önünde bulunmalı. Evimizin bahçesinde, sokağın köşesinde tek mezarlar yer almalı. Her şey geçicidir. Belgeler gereksizdir, unutulacak ayrıntıları yazmak anlamsızdır. <i>Belki de unutmak esastır. Öğrenmek, kendini tanımak mutsuzluktur.</i> Bizden geri kalan eserler, birbirine benzer taşlar, yazılar, yapılar olmalıdır. Putlar gibi ayırıcı özelliği olmamalıdır. Hıristiyanlık da ikonoklast bir dönem yaşadı; ilk Hıristiyanlar eski Yunan ve Roma'dan kalan anıtları yok ettiler. İslamlık, özellikle Osmanlı bu işi daha ciddiye aldı. Osmanlı, İslamlığı ciddiye aldı. İslamlık put kırıcılığı ciddiye aldı. Osmanlı bunu İslamlığın ciddiye alışından da öteye götürdü. <i><b>Kuralları ciddiye aldı, insanları ciddiye almadı.</b></i> Sorunların sayısını azaltarak mutluluğu arttırmaya çalıştı. Bütün değişimleri devlet eliyle gerçekleştirmek istedi. Nevzat Tandoğan, yakalanıp yanına getirilen bir solcuya, 'Bu memlekete komünistlik gerekirse onu da biz getiririz. Sana ne oluyor?' demişti. Bireye de ne oluyordu?<br />
Yahya Kemal kendisine soru sorulmasından hoşlanmazdı. O geleneği temsil ediyordu. Onunla tartışılamazdı. Kendisine bir toplantıda genç bir adam soru sorunca yanındakilere dönerek 'Kim bu adam?' demişti. Osmanlı gösterişi sevmiyordu. Küçük saraylarda, ahşap evlerde oturuyordu.<i> Tiyatroyu soytarılık, resmi küfür sayıyordu. Bütün sosyal kurumlar, askerlik örgütü için bir araçtı. <b>Bunun yanısıra halk, kendi düzenini ayrı bir biçimde geliştirdi.</b> </i>Bugün saray dili yaşamadığı halde, halkın dili yeni düzen için esas oldu. Hiçbir ülkenin resmi dili, fermanların Osmanlıcası kadar insanların anlayamayacağı bir biçime sokulmamıştır. Bu bakımdan Devlet, Kafka'nın insanları için aşılmaz bir duvar olan bürokrasiye çok benzer. Lale Devri bir bakıma istisnadır. Devlet her türlü eleştiriye kapalıdır. Düşünce her türlü eleştiriye kapalıdır; felsefe yoktur. Tek bir felsefe bireyin yokoluşudur; vahdet-i vücud'dur. Şiirde, divancılar 'biz' diye seslenir. Eleştiri çirkini güzelden ayırır; oysa çirkin yoktur. Kapalı bir sistemdir bu. Ülkücü insan yoktur. Ülkücülük bireyciliktir. Özgün sanat yoktur. Usta-çırak ilişkisi içinde taklit vardır. Bir bakıma gelenek de yoktur. Usta, yaşantısını kimseyle paylaşmaz; yaratıcılığın ayırıcılığı kendisiyle birlikte ölür. Ne ruhun ölümsüzlüğü, ne de canlı dünyanında gürültüsü duyulmaz. Batıya olduğu kadar Doğuya da kapalı bir sistemdir bu. Orta Doğu'dur, Kenar 'Batı'dır. Kafka'nın yer altında yaşayan hayvanı gibi, kendisine doğru kazılan bir tünelin içindeki bilinmeyen düşmanı korkuyla bekler. Bizim ‘ilk günah’ımız belki de budur: <i>Kapalı sistem yaratıklarının dış dünyaya karşı beslediği korkudur.</i><br />
Yaşama korkusudur.<br />
<br />
Fütuhat da, herkese ve her şeye boyun eğdirerek bu korkudan kurtulma çabasıdır. Dünyayı bir savaş alanına çevirdikten sonra, her yandan düşman saldırısı bekleyenlerin korkusudur. Bir şehire kapanıp, bütün ülkenin saldırısını bekleyen sarayın korkusudur bu. Sarayı kaleye çevirenlerin korkusudur. Kardeşleri tarafından öldürülmeyi bekleyen sarayın korkusudur. Her davranışın devlete yöneldiğini sanan paranoyak yöneticilerin korkusudur. Kültür korkusudur. Matbaadan, şiirden, resimden, felsefeden, hatta dinden korkmaktır bu. Halk Partisi’nin Köy Enstitüleri’nden korkmasıdır, Demokrat Parti’nin modern resimden korkmasıdır. Bazı solcuların modern edebiyattan, modern sanattan korkmasıdır. Halkın içinde sivrilen esnafın, eşrafın, mollanın halktan korkmasıdır. Korkunun sonu yabancılaşmadır. Yeni yazarların kelimeler icat ederek azınlık olma telaşıdır, toplumsal sorunlara eğilerek kendini tanıma korkusudur. Kavram kargaşası yaratarak temel kavramlardan uzaklaşma çabasıdır.Temel kavramların onu bir hiçe indireceği korkusudur. Korku ortadan kalkarsa postunu kaybedeceğinden korkan tekke şeyhinin korkusudur.<i> Bunun için müeyyideler gevşektir; herkes korkmalıdır ama ceza da uygulanmamalıdır.</i> Müeyyideler <i>hayatı zehir edecek kadar korkutmalıdır ama isyan ettirecek kadar kesin olmamalıdır.</i> Neyin ne olduğu, hangi suçun cezası ne kadar olduğu bilinmemelidir. Fakat herkes her an, suç işlediği halde kendisine taviz verildiğini hissettiği için başı önünde dolaşır insanımız. <i>Bizim ‘ilk günah’ımız budur: Cezalandırılmayan küçük günahların toplamı -hoşgörümüz de budur.</i> Ayrıca devlet de aynı suçluluk duygusu içinde müeyyideleri uygulamaz. Bu bakımdan bağışlayıcıdır. Karşılıklı bir oyundur bu.<i> Bağışlanmayan tek suç, bu oyunu fark etmek, bu oyuna karşı çıkmaktır.</i> Gerçeği aramaktır. Bilim bunun için tehlikelidir, felsefe bunun için tehlikelidir, ‘deneme’ bunun için tehlikelidir, roman ve hikâye bunun için tehlikelidir. Belirli kalıplar içinde kalan şiir bunun için tehlikesizdir. Taklitçi olmayan batıcılık bunun için tehlikelidir. Gerçeği arayan doğu bunun için tehlikelidir...<br />
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</div>Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-65049388188239652702011-01-06T00:53:00.000+02:002011-01-06T00:53:28.673+02:00The Art of the To Do List<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoXwmc4Za1l7ditsOeWtETqDYXIzG-tXi_4ch7K6m8q1aX16N_4QT797DGLgnliXt240PqXsghBTvYq1ruwBSJ51j9mMpBX9QdHt61-YlEPAaEb8qhfAYswtoUSGDyuuPflDvoxLc-IuZr/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-01-05+at+11.29.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoXwmc4Za1l7ditsOeWtETqDYXIzG-tXi_4ch7K6m8q1aX16N_4QT797DGLgnliXt240PqXsghBTvYq1ruwBSJ51j9mMpBX9QdHt61-YlEPAaEb8qhfAYswtoUSGDyuuPflDvoxLc-IuZr/s320/Screen+shot+2011-01-05+at+11.29.53+PM.png" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I'd been thinking about lists and templates when I came across this book of </span><i style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Lists, To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts and Other Artists' Enumerations from the Smithsonian Archives of American Art</i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">...</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">so here goes, one from me:</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_3dnL5_jKubipLQrRLycYZmLW5MpPS3LnrpWgydYgpQnpiKpQaGhRhGtHKQUdTqOr79WrW1a20Wwa9kbgbT8VwqcgOwb6i92dJyiYmBglNQptUyaRwgfcXx8rwCXr7nT5jWaqJCnOZL6/s1600/tumblr_l8yp653yS91qzkrm3o1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_3dnL5_jKubipLQrRLycYZmLW5MpPS3LnrpWgydYgpQnpiKpQaGhRhGtHKQUdTqOr79WrW1a20Wwa9kbgbT8VwqcgOwb6i92dJyiYmBglNQptUyaRwgfcXx8rwCXr7nT5jWaqJCnOZL6/s320/tumblr_l8yp653yS91qzkrm3o1_500.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">read on trains..</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span id="goog_1731016343"></span><span id="goog_1731016344"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GkpjZJVlh7j2NY-0HNWu35WRkndJ8xqBVrxVfDaN3B9KXV78Fl-AgXCZQbSV1zQvRuy3J3RCIeG95iEfFRSDK3uE1SDjYbSIDlgvyeWOTPiWQvOnd1-i0MjkmYNqFK0ja6MR8WbUKNPE/s1600/Leonard+Greco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GkpjZJVlh7j2NY-0HNWu35WRkndJ8xqBVrxVfDaN3B9KXV78Fl-AgXCZQbSV1zQvRuy3J3RCIeG95iEfFRSDK3uE1SDjYbSIDlgvyeWOTPiWQvOnd1-i0MjkmYNqFK0ja6MR8WbUKNPE/s320/Leonard+Greco.jpg" width="234" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">contemplate by the window..</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlYJbeRMMEKdZjMkt5srazt2Ay0rg7YLWBgwh3tyn9UkUQZR2o9dIF_i1OHnyvhr38b4Tgdjl1dQjN9kGVphyphenhyphenMMC9_aa0_KwOPhRmrHUD9KfSH-k9or_R3puiZdeHs69AAfBedPPgugw19/s320/dali1_905.jpg" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">let your imagination..</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJGCsz7ftMXkgOEi_CjUg49Gc9e2I9Cukj4DyQvolJBxlu3rHKHuZXrj5vJGjiJLhK-zFvgrM0UBaEvl68y81m-hZg8X0dVWUDlJoOT221nj0_EPTsVIfMYt2N88AR7HW9bngn88nbcRv/s1600/2649639275_6a43378520.jpg.jpeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJGCsz7ftMXkgOEi_CjUg49Gc9e2I9Cukj4DyQvolJBxlu3rHKHuZXrj5vJGjiJLhK-zFvgrM0UBaEvl68y81m-hZg8X0dVWUDlJoOT221nj0_EPTsVIfMYt2N88AR7HW9bngn88nbcRv/s320/2649639275_6a43378520.jpg.jpeg.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">..run wild.. among the old.. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju60fzupKcIkvvnMT4sKTdu2gdRSuUjNe71HUToKB5osV_U32DpeMm-Tr_aEsmmY_DTy9ulTg4qRKrYc153ztvK5FgSxqGKE1FQuEzxebmMHprPpa07gQLjoc4AAD7VB3CfrRzaOZrsXuu/s1600/dusty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju60fzupKcIkvvnMT4sKTdu2gdRSuUjNe71HUToKB5osV_U32DpeMm-Tr_aEsmmY_DTy9ulTg4qRKrYc153ztvK5FgSxqGKE1FQuEzxebmMHprPpa07gQLjoc4AAD7VB3CfrRzaOZrsXuu/s1600/dusty.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">..the dusty..</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5qr5O5suM2nfJTvd5Ty0dUeLbns9ggEFysiIfEUPdIA5koME_7kzBS-b2yJVlFXY23W-ogSWsGB2FDUOcF4xOEpBXJhaTnvw3pxmEmpV7HW1QsltSNcLsdq_dJq_ly5JgeVNmsjk17Hi/s1600/timbarber_1b75351c824a8538205677c025c4206f.JPG.jpeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5qr5O5suM2nfJTvd5Ty0dUeLbns9ggEFysiIfEUPdIA5koME_7kzBS-b2yJVlFXY23W-ogSWsGB2FDUOcF4xOEpBXJhaTnvw3pxmEmpV7HW1QsltSNcLsdq_dJq_ly5JgeVNmsjk17Hi/s320/timbarber_1b75351c824a8538205677c025c4206f.JPG.jpeg.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">..the misty.. *enter Stan Getz*</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPz6q9LPin97fqUArOBEJhgpRilspm7XsyW1sh6UMCdeKISjDyh5xOLpQW4INWz1CXiuQqbEVLqW7jPeAhi0OtIeBL76qINUQCEa4D2DPWYLPah6aFoZke3u548SdBIc79HKwYMdc7qpQ3/s1600/luke_extra2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPz6q9LPin97fqUArOBEJhgpRilspm7XsyW1sh6UMCdeKISjDyh5xOLpQW4INWz1CXiuQqbEVLqW7jPeAhi0OtIeBL76qINUQCEa4D2DPWYLPah6aFoZke3u548SdBIc79HKwYMdc7qpQ3/s320/luke_extra2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">the possible.. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*the photographs in this entry do not belong to me.. to the best of my knowledge, the third is by Leonard Greco; fourth Dali; seventh by Tim Barber...</span></td></tr>
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</tbody></table>Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-27528377428834746262010-12-31T13:03:00.000+02:002010-12-31T13:03:35.435+02:00may 2011 bring..<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVEamYq2dp5lB7UtZlYyqNQy0QTR2RkpBI8Ihy-wmO_3b8W2yitu0dsmqqYrzgT9-AsEa2krbo1_AShc8vZoHEkVfhh9FV49lg7wKXttsWnJH697Z7RDdMp46_EIxs9Vx7m9wF5eLUIGlS/s1600/tumblr_kzehvc2qnx1qzr6ooo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVEamYq2dp5lB7UtZlYyqNQy0QTR2RkpBI8Ihy-wmO_3b8W2yitu0dsmqqYrzgT9-AsEa2krbo1_AShc8vZoHEkVfhh9FV49lg7wKXttsWnJH697Z7RDdMp46_EIxs9Vx7m9wF5eLUIGlS/s320/tumblr_kzehvc2qnx1qzr6ooo1_500.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">finishing my thesis..</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOP_Uo-5LiHFdT8MLUnwICnksbX4BwWYmdZq_RIgFB8rfiax-SlPeRfWcmqGcdaN00SWeszK9ddKiKPk-w6COHrlAG-D9dMSd3Tbtwg4Vsv__vl7ym7-4grXPWsaz4c8c3U3B0kNTdAuzu/s1600/jsbj_blue_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOP_Uo-5LiHFdT8MLUnwICnksbX4BwWYmdZq_RIgFB8rfiax-SlPeRfWcmqGcdaN00SWeszK9ddKiKPk-w6COHrlAG-D9dMSd3Tbtwg4Vsv__vl7ym7-4grXPWsaz4c8c3U3B0kNTdAuzu/s320/jsbj_blue_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lots of blue notebooks to fill..</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKBBnakjOzvdHU4VuRL1JD7667Sptp4LIozzFeCX8jI6w6gZq8u0LjTBpsR6gFil7f0RAyYmPKgxMzzK_kFyxiVUgzikWphR_c1OhPgsc3U6WlcKcfkcVfWpBP5eCS38VIjSssPCXqZE3/s1600/color_wave_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKBBnakjOzvdHU4VuRL1JD7667Sptp4LIozzFeCX8jI6w6gZq8u0LjTBpsR6gFil7f0RAyYmPKgxMzzK_kFyxiVUgzikWphR_c1OhPgsc3U6WlcKcfkcVfWpBP5eCS38VIjSssPCXqZE3/s320/color_wave_5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lots of colorful pencils to take notes with..</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKBBnakjOzvdHU4VuRL1JD7667Sptp4LIozzFeCX8jI6w6gZq8u0LjTBpsR6gFil7f0RAyYmPKgxMzzK_kFyxiVUgzikWphR_c1OhPgsc3U6WlcKcfkcVfWpBP5eCS38VIjSssPCXqZE3/s1600/color_wave_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsRTvzdpiuIfoycXF65G2AL8By-lgKG-DBQ977T5hjGAnaUjtJmTQHLmgIkDTt1D7-fOzdImif2VApTRis1LP4ikMWw0iftd_g93vJv7Ajovj2JCChJnT_SU3XytIP1xc7QVjin5zVlvrH/s1600/tumblr_kz1oauPXef1qzr9pzo1_400.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsRTvzdpiuIfoycXF65G2AL8By-lgKG-DBQ977T5hjGAnaUjtJmTQHLmgIkDTt1D7-fOzdImif2VApTRis1LP4ikMWw0iftd_g93vJv7Ajovj2JCChJnT_SU3XytIP1xc7QVjin5zVlvrH/s320/tumblr_kz1oauPXef1qzr9pzo1_400.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">work space<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5_W5Rx5UYKs0Y4VTvv-IaeoNi9Couhnb4XgNGEWiTUO-GUj3Ryga8gJGKNFPbRuuhSR1tnfmRymndP9O7rQyxmKDgdNB-IEkTScHtNmamfIXxsXV9bNqNJeHeL8-9jRCgkszqrk1EX-Hy/s320/3826161543_46de7dd5fe.jpg" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">April in Paris...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoMr2WEuXx8lYY5sm9WqH4Nz2ueLRcm_afxoZ0prRoNLZRjrZjB3pW5s8AkeVPSKHeZ5FuXnk8sA1ZF3aBzJOz_G6Ggv11-ZC1HUeFvgF8ZnAKu6hM1WXCYSZtU9_R9n1wT9UULJKvf0tn/s1600/japanese_umbrella_by_ButterflyBlew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoMr2WEuXx8lYY5sm9WqH4Nz2ueLRcm_afxoZ0prRoNLZRjrZjB3pW5s8AkeVPSKHeZ5FuXnk8sA1ZF3aBzJOz_G6Ggv11-ZC1HUeFvgF8ZnAKu6hM1WXCYSZtU9_R9n1wT9UULJKvf0tn/s320/japanese_umbrella_by_ButterflyBlew.jpg" width="244" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a Japanese umbrella, and lot's of sunshine to hide from</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynkGABYZfhaEo8yTlZT3Vhyphenhyphenp3hMCTjkK5VYcEUXwkw6OuYqA1TR8VUMsDPGGVMMuJr6zDfh4VFubJFNjKhNcbH9OnqROqzSGrCn8O2QTI-rdMsg0s_sjfhRVtVj1kQsSmd3YwOjDENIAq/s1600/4944183524_8fccdb1b77.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynkGABYZfhaEo8yTlZT3Vhyphenhyphenp3hMCTjkK5VYcEUXwkw6OuYqA1TR8VUMsDPGGVMMuJr6zDfh4VFubJFNjKhNcbH9OnqROqzSGrCn8O2QTI-rdMsg0s_sjfhRVtVj1kQsSmd3YwOjDENIAq/s320/4944183524_8fccdb1b77.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">music for my soul..</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKPMrQkD_AKn1bx0G7-q1x3MeHywyUijKdpXJsPOHGd3T1im8gBqIShMHBe4NeycbOR1a7WgbRouZL70KOvjUWiyMUg-8_Wb9cv_Jm2BssLADxZO8hyJIgeKQix9kGKenpzXuvWU3D2qVt/s1600/1085_18_large.jpeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKPMrQkD_AKn1bx0G7-q1x3MeHywyUijKdpXJsPOHGd3T1im8gBqIShMHBe4NeycbOR1a7WgbRouZL70KOvjUWiyMUg-8_Wb9cv_Jm2BssLADxZO8hyJIgeKQix9kGKenpzXuvWU3D2qVt/s320/1085_18_large.jpeg.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">being on the road..</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheTlNsaZgvOK-dFfZKvHxm44tQ8bbyQg99VGzA764nP832EkBObqJeJFXyxeaksAZACsiV1pfPDtBSLhYuQ1bYgzwZWxA1FEgBN2xjX4eZeJP4YHIcmRcPMPGT0CHCoX5zAh-6EJsBsm9c/s1600/Ruscha_Kerouac_news.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheTlNsaZgvOK-dFfZKvHxm44tQ8bbyQg99VGzA764nP832EkBObqJeJFXyxeaksAZACsiV1pfPDtBSLhYuQ1bYgzwZWxA1FEgBN2xjX4eZeJP4YHIcmRcPMPGT0CHCoX5zAh-6EJsBsm9c/s320/Ruscha_Kerouac_news.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ed Ruscha's version of Kerouac's On the Road<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUySRZMgXnKxKlT-nG2ifLrZ4KIW3ijH60jou-_qxBiUBjYCuaP0gsn8SfGDDpbpNkdmmbvKuJYgozxChB5PrxklS-mpyFEIWjF3SHRSV3wv3UVEV1bybV3chYY3YYrU0sij07qO1jBSo3/s1600/tumblr_l7axr9u5xW1qz7lxdo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUySRZMgXnKxKlT-nG2ifLrZ4KIW3ijH60jou-_qxBiUBjYCuaP0gsn8SfGDDpbpNkdmmbvKuJYgozxChB5PrxklS-mpyFEIWjF3SHRSV3wv3UVEV1bybV3chYY3YYrU0sij07qO1jBSo3/s320/tumblr_l7axr9u5xW1qz7lxdo1_500.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Autumn in New York</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwm-yf_p8Qi3lxuSI0Cc4b76zpNBJbm8G7B92psTvYJSnvoIgQKp9CYuvhFgnDtvVfjbvzIE4ElaZk5N6vYmX_2Jck3iH7dttfhsSgXROF21IU5SXKyWarG4LFsW6q2_K6_rzPMfe5mpf9/s1600/17077_1309963182539_1034370046_916086_6142238_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwm-yf_p8Qi3lxuSI0Cc4b76zpNBJbm8G7B92psTvYJSnvoIgQKp9CYuvhFgnDtvVfjbvzIE4ElaZk5N6vYmX_2Jck3iH7dttfhsSgXROF21IU5SXKyWarG4LFsW6q2_K6_rzPMfe5mpf9/s320/17077_1309963182539_1034370046_916086_6142238_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woody Allen kind of romance</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkg6UC4c22VAvqHzHSppu6UisCY9t9WkcPZkTckM5jfnh3ftGnVS9iYn0-wI1HL4ajuznRQSfX8qqlvv8DNSTlo6IXH9Y9_SOBAQFyD97l_KR0FJn4JyF6-kyQulJJTxEU5gX6glj2L8yy/s1600/Public_Library_Reading_Room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkg6UC4c22VAvqHzHSppu6UisCY9t9WkcPZkTckM5jfnh3ftGnVS9iYn0-wI1HL4ajuznRQSfX8qqlvv8DNSTlo6IXH9Y9_SOBAQFyD97l_KR0FJn4JyF6-kyQulJJTxEU5gX6glj2L8yy/s320/Public_Library_Reading_Room.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hanging out with Patience and Prudence at the NYPL</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLKq6xh6oFymoj0A7C-9uyieUGiqlMzBJ6n3s4WReLwWWoku43XuOtoImSqu7XKMT8aOORzFOHHwkodwoOFGKYQ30i_Mjed2SAN-Rsn2e0qz1bdUhY7TBhJ9RvOUIPcx-maVdtcqzMG22V/s1600/tree+of+codes+-+jonathan+safran+foer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLKq6xh6oFymoj0A7C-9uyieUGiqlMzBJ6n3s4WReLwWWoku43XuOtoImSqu7XKMT8aOORzFOHHwkodwoOFGKYQ30i_Mjed2SAN-Rsn2e0qz1bdUhY7TBhJ9RvOUIPcx-maVdtcqzMG22V/s320/tree+of+codes+-+jonathan+safran+foer.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonathan Safran Foer's latest book</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqDEVvXYXF9WWUJv2z2czwILJlL1K-jtggJZ-xi6wGx-WB0-ewokEMMxM7mdoH77pg0uckBsh3JUbSdhc6Ao8yNGXaoYsOLFqNnWJeu7HXnpSiiZngRzZRNKCGSg-53eMoKNuT7sGpx_F/s1600/TT_YELLOW_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqDEVvXYXF9WWUJv2z2czwILJlL1K-jtggJZ-xi6wGx-WB0-ewokEMMxM7mdoH77pg0uckBsh3JUbSdhc6Ao8yNGXaoYsOLFqNnWJeu7HXnpSiiZngRzZRNKCGSg-53eMoKNuT7sGpx_F/s320/TT_YELLOW_03.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">going to work.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKiq3QArviWatisaVpv-an2jWWIOUnml-Winit0Fov5Nnzzdlft0LM1qnE1l-YXTe4ILq9FmZX4-ogxYgsGGM9LFnXSa9ToHg3FaFTaZiP5f972SYmlUISGOxrAAvalNZDCuL0-Pyq1zW4/s1600/hgxzejjacltedj9sE2t1zHkno1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKiq3QArviWatisaVpv-an2jWWIOUnml-Winit0Fov5Nnzzdlft0LM1qnE1l-YXTe4ILq9FmZX4-ogxYgsGGM9LFnXSa9ToHg3FaFTaZiP5f972SYmlUISGOxrAAvalNZDCuL0-Pyq1zW4/s320/hgxzejjacltedj9sE2t1zHkno1_500.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sunday mornings</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKBBnakjOzvdHU4VuRL1JD7667Sptp4LIozzFeCX8jI6w6gZq8u0LjTBpsR6gFil7f0RAyYmPKgxMzzK_kFyxiVUgzikWphR_c1OhPgsc3U6WlcKcfkcVfWpBP5eCS38VIjSssPCXqZE3/s1600/color_wave_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a> health and happiness..<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOP_Uo-5LiHFdT8MLUnwICnksbX4BwWYmdZq_RIgFB8rfiax-SlPeRfWcmqGcdaN00SWeszK9ddKiKPk-w6COHrlAG-D9dMSd3Tbtwg4Vsv__vl7ym7-4grXPWsaz4c8c3U3B0kNTdAuzu/s1600/jsbj_blue_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a></div>Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-66900697361511269982010-12-26T17:16:00.000+02:002010-12-26T17:16:40.842+02:00lose it.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjmgBE7GM1LQuyoLQbVwlNZLKy4c3eWCfSwwHt407aK-pzSsNI5sk4G8md9nJBctwhcIc3hbKMjPPs6MywFkitXNIDthWLFQi4VVrvNtsBb5TM1POr5uPszFT9zijXHFUWPpyB5daKBFG/s1600/Brett+Amory+waiting_28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjmgBE7GM1LQuyoLQbVwlNZLKy4c3eWCfSwwHt407aK-pzSsNI5sk4G8md9nJBctwhcIc3hbKMjPPs6MywFkitXNIDthWLFQi4VVrvNtsBb5TM1POr5uPszFT9zijXHFUWPpyB5daKBFG/s400/Brett+Amory+waiting_28.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brett Amory - Waiting #28, 2008</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">"My friend, you know how terrified I am of horses and vehicles? Well, just now as I was crossing the boulevard in a great hurry, splashing through the mud, in the midst of a moving chaos, with death galloping at me from every side, I made a sudden move, and my halo slipped off my head, and fell into the mire of the macadam. I was much too scared to pick it up. I thought it was better to lose my insignia than to get my bones broken. Besides, I said to myself, every cloud has a silver lining. Now I can walk around incognito, do low things, throw myself into every kind of filth, just like ordinary mortals. So here I am, just as you see me, just like yourself. . . ." </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">- Charles Baudelaire</span>Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-65490825098471840942010-12-22T00:33:00.006+02:002011-01-01T16:30:27.642+02:00Season's Greetings and/or Totally Irrelevant Lists*<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXniNurOZLFfEmtjhHyOrx0QcvyoHR32eBUVkGFCR3mos9etRgkNyeV089boBott4udX25Vtel_MtfBnzsPpFyG6cZ_GDA-xGWguXuW1F8GsgrFe7sYmEt3R1ZVAFnonny83TFQGGbGpqk/s1600/tumblr_l6iid28npx1qb53jco1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXniNurOZLFfEmtjhHyOrx0QcvyoHR32eBUVkGFCR3mos9etRgkNyeV089boBott4udX25Vtel_MtfBnzsPpFyG6cZ_GDA-xGWguXuW1F8GsgrFe7sYmEt3R1ZVAFnonny83TFQGGbGpqk/s320/tumblr_l6iid28npx1qb53jco1_500.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image from xkcd.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Looking at:<br />
The amazing photo blog <a href="http://jjjjound.com/" target="_blank">jjjjound.com/ </a><br />
The <a href="http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2010/newphotography/">New Photography 2010</a> show at MoMA<br />
<a href="http://www.sugimotohiroshi.com/joe.html" target="_blank">Hiroshi Sugimoto </a><br />
Eytan İpeker's Vimeo, especially his experimental short <a href="http://vimeo.com/14322462" target="_blank">The Passion of Anna</a><br />
<br />
Listening To:<br />
Happy winter holliday season music and jazz standards to keep me warm<br />
Robyn, The XX, The Go Find, Florence and the Machine, Koop.. etc.**<br />
Sigur Ros <br />
<a href="http://www.acikradyo.com.tr/" target="_blank">The Radio</a><br />
<br />
Recently Read:<br />
Nazif Topçuoğlu - İyi Fotoğraf Nasıl Oluyor, Yani?<br />
- Fotoğraf Ölmedi Ama Tuhaf Kokuyor<br />
- Fotoğraflar Gösterir Ama...<br />
<br />
Reading:<br />
Michael Fried - Why Photography Matters as Art as Never Before <br />
İkinci Sergi / Second Exhibition Book 1/2, Arter<br />
Jaques Derrida - Archive Fever: A Freudian Impression<br />
Sven Spieker - The Big Archive: Art from Bureaucracy<br />
The Witness from Gam Underground Project<br />
Sarah Thornton - Seven Days in the Art World<br />
<br />
Looking forward to Reading:<br />
Noah Horowitz - The Uncertain States of America Reader<br />
Dave Hickey - The Invisible Dragon: Essays on Beauty<br />
KALIN art magazine's archives<br />
<a href="http://www.documenta.de/documenta13_100notes.html?&L=1" target="_blank">100 Notes - 100 Thoughts</a> by dOCUMENTA (13) <br />
<a href="http://www.acikradyo.com.tr/default.aspx?_mv=a&aid=27611&cat=100" target="_blank">Açık Kitap: Yazı Kalır</a>, Açık Radyo<br />
<br />
Thinking about:<br />
Archives, Photography, the Turkish language..<br />
<br />
Missing (and also dreading):<br />
Full time job<br />
Truly cold weather<br />
The urge to set off towards far away lands..<br />
Tom Waits state of mind..<br />
<br />
Following in the news:<br />
Ryan Reynolds & Scarlett Johansson divorce slowly but surely getting ugly (duh!)<br />
oh and that guy Julian Assange or uh was it.. hah <a href="http://wikileaks.info/" target="_blank">Wikileaks</a>!<br />
The National Portrait Gallery / Smithsonian debacle..<br />
<br />
Gearing up for:<br />
Winter?<br />
The Mapplethorpe show at <a href="http://www.galerinevistanbul.com/galeri.html" target="_blank">Galeri Nev</a> (check out this <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1995/nov/16/the-unexamined-life/" target="_blank">article</a> from NYRB)<br />
<br />
Food and Beverage Dept. lately:<br />
Winter tea and Winter pasta at House Cafe<br />
Steamed beetroot and caulliflower<br />
Freshly squeezed orange juice<br />
Airborne water<br />
<br />
Resolutions for 2011: (also a to do list)<br />
Write more and exhaust the possible mistakes i make..<br />
Argue less and converse more<br />
Finish that god darned thesis<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Happy 2011 Everyone! </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGYFIzd0hsIt0oY-oR2a3QOmL3O2bpc5GqGn2Z9wIqMyIfG1L8ZX6KzI1lPkqw1WxoGarMajA6hclnP8oB8xPKxZPzB64lXJxflINz286bHWFevCr1RmSB78Q9R_1Qs28SOYu4CZYj2eU/s1600/yearend2-100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGYFIzd0hsIt0oY-oR2a3QOmL3O2bpc5GqGn2Z9wIqMyIfG1L8ZX6KzI1lPkqw1WxoGarMajA6hclnP8oB8xPKxZPzB64lXJxflINz286bHWFevCr1RmSB78Q9R_1Qs28SOYu4CZYj2eU/s1600/yearend2-100.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image from the New Yorker</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>*This entry was influenced slightly by Nick Paumgarten's <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2010/12/top-ten-two-beer-arguments.html" target="_blank">Top Ten Two Beer Arguments of 2010 </a>in the New Yorker<br />
**i was so much older then, i'm younger than that now.Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-20412555435043117712010-11-21T19:44:00.000+02:002010-11-21T19:44:25.843+02:00The Perfect Circle<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd5C9u_20eXgPXS6eTyiO3bHeRxy6rj2W1QKhQkQvBw2zNN6x-eUV7B5xHuigPO_3FOSF1Ha3_WRvWpbN21TpKpiTJ3_3YgFhoaQN9JtR_Hu2YtjgjwCJy-hUH81zkpwpWee5uPLKG7SAc/s1600/thirdlinebooth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd5C9u_20eXgPXS6eTyiO3bHeRxy6rj2W1QKhQkQvBw2zNN6x-eUV7B5xHuigPO_3FOSF1Ha3_WRvWpbN21TpKpiTJ3_3YgFhoaQN9JtR_Hu2YtjgjwCJy-hUH81zkpwpWee5uPLKG7SAc/s400/thirdlinebooth.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shezad Dawood, Black Sun, 2010</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyv0SsMoxLrwoLIPl06BKL9pDIvNENIecqmxmPdRjOl6Z3koJlymm5bq4hCPUhrcxtvSJa9fjzNxVk_-bPiGxAQRbeJJzYZPZwI-FAU_sxDT2Fd9-hkPSzyA_EsUYpLpTo8GobGNnLPFRr/s1600/IMG_3604-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyv0SsMoxLrwoLIPl06BKL9pDIvNENIecqmxmPdRjOl6Z3koJlymm5bq4hCPUhrcxtvSJa9fjzNxVk_-bPiGxAQRbeJJzYZPZwI-FAU_sxDT2Fd9-hkPSzyA_EsUYpLpTo8GobGNnLPFRr/s400/IMG_3604-.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bosphorus, İstanbul</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430946029498129335.post-61452005081854674382010-10-22T19:16:00.001+03:002011-01-01T16:33:40.696+02:00Love thy neighbor?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFyeqKR5Fv50drQ9K7KCr8-xfBATc_zzvaBiBdLdioScL-9Z61uq2E9pX9vVzSvWanu5jZCnvjENK3talSwyyb2goU3Xi19GILahedkNOO-cNlBOP1tQQvxcR_nQRCPqrsg7mhN7ZbXrhG/s1600/Ekstram%C3%BCcadele.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFyeqKR5Fv50drQ9K7KCr8-xfBATc_zzvaBiBdLdioScL-9Z61uq2E9pX9vVzSvWanu5jZCnvjENK3talSwyyb2goU3Xi19GILahedkNOO-cNlBOP1tQQvxcR_nQRCPqrsg7mhN7ZbXrhG/s1600/Ekstram%C3%BCcadele.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFyeqKR5Fv50drQ9K7KCr8-xfBATc_zzvaBiBdLdioScL-9Z61uq2E9pX9vVzSvWanu5jZCnvjENK3talSwyyb2goU3Xi19GILahedkNOO-cNlBOP1tQQvxcR_nQRCPqrsg7mhN7ZbXrhG/s1600/Ekstram%C3%BCcadele.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_AA2LXG-55RIO1Fh7DoKvz1cNqPt5lOcIkPdK9WjJIdjL9YRgOILgvc1Y4B8S1krl8Wppjssed7-9O3Yosnu3mnlJRAwNP83ka-ZJs79iXHQYYhnL3B9mMXSFNaG1jIUp1kUU-MKg-SNV/s1600/DSC_3078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_AA2LXG-55RIO1Fh7DoKvz1cNqPt5lOcIkPdK9WjJIdjL9YRgOILgvc1Y4B8S1krl8Wppjssed7-9O3Yosnu3mnlJRAwNP83ka-ZJs79iXHQYYhnL3B9mMXSFNaG1jIUp1kUU-MKg-SNV/s1600/DSC_3078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_AA2LXG-55RIO1Fh7DoKvz1cNqPt5lOcIkPdK9WjJIdjL9YRgOILgvc1Y4B8S1krl8Wppjssed7-9O3Yosnu3mnlJRAwNP83ka-ZJs79iXHQYYhnL3B9mMXSFNaG1jIUp1kUU-MKg-SNV/s1600/DSC_3078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_AA2LXG-55RIO1Fh7DoKvz1cNqPt5lOcIkPdK9WjJIdjL9YRgOILgvc1Y4B8S1krl8Wppjssed7-9O3Yosnu3mnlJRAwNP83ka-ZJs79iXHQYYhnL3B9mMXSFNaG1jIUp1kUU-MKg-SNV/s1600/DSC_3078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_AA2LXG-55RIO1Fh7DoKvz1cNqPt5lOcIkPdK9WjJIdjL9YRgOILgvc1Y4B8S1krl8Wppjssed7-9O3Yosnu3mnlJRAwNP83ka-ZJs79iXHQYYhnL3B9mMXSFNaG1jIUp1kUU-MKg-SNV/s1600/DSC_3078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_AA2LXG-55RIO1Fh7DoKvz1cNqPt5lOcIkPdK9WjJIdjL9YRgOILgvc1Y4B8S1krl8Wppjssed7-9O3Yosnu3mnlJRAwNP83ka-ZJs79iXHQYYhnL3B9mMXSFNaG1jIUp1kUU-MKg-SNV/s1600/DSC_3078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_AA2LXG-55RIO1Fh7DoKvz1cNqPt5lOcIkPdK9WjJIdjL9YRgOILgvc1Y4B8S1krl8Wppjssed7-9O3Yosnu3mnlJRAwNP83ka-ZJs79iXHQYYhnL3B9mMXSFNaG1jIUp1kUU-MKg-SNV/s1600/DSC_3078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><i><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Do our beliefs rest on a pedestal, like a statue? If we really, really concentrate, can we make others do what we want them to? Should we go forward or backwards, or is it best just to mark time?</span></span></span></i><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;">Prepare to meet what passes through your mind.</span></span></i></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So ends the press release of the Extrastruggle show that opened at Tophane's Galeri Non on a tuesday evening along with shows opening at three more galleries on the same street and two others close by. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">At the entrance of the gallery there was a statue, a fallen angel with Atatürk's bust. This itself was such a controversial image that the first thing that went through my mind was the possibility of the space being attacked, vandalised or even closed down by authorities. </span></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFyeqKR5Fv50drQ9K7KCr8-xfBATc_zzvaBiBdLdioScL-9Z61uq2E9pX9vVzSvWanu5jZCnvjENK3talSwyyb2goU3Xi19GILahedkNOO-cNlBOP1tQQvxcR_nQRCPqrsg7mhN7ZbXrhG/s1600/Ekstram%C3%BCcadele.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFyeqKR5Fv50drQ9K7KCr8-xfBATc_zzvaBiBdLdioScL-9Z61uq2E9pX9vVzSvWanu5jZCnvjENK3talSwyyb2goU3Xi19GILahedkNOO-cNlBOP1tQQvxcR_nQRCPqrsg7mhN7ZbXrhG/s320/Ekstram%C3%BCcadele.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Since the opening was extremely crowded we left rather early and headed to Urban, only to receive a phone call fifteen minutes later to hear of the attacks on the gallery by 'a mob'. With little accurate information at first, my initial hunch was, either the gallery was attacked for the content of the works being shown, or 'a mob' had attacked because of alcohol, which has been a contentious issue in the Tophane district for many years before this. Soon after, as some of the people who were there during the attacks started pouring to Urban to talk, rant and find solace in friends, we acquired more information through first hand witnesses; of one party. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The next day, to see what was going on and show solidarity against such violence we gathered at Cezayir. Once again we listened to what I had heard the previous night, a lot of anger, outrage and fuelled an elitist we/they rhetoric. This could have been, and was, by the most part, excused; taking into consideration the trauma, stress and frustration the attacks had caused. On the other hand, I see no point in writing something down if I'm not to dwell on little details and nuances that make up the bigger picture. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Later that day (22.09.2010) I walked down the road from Cezayir to Boğazkesen, where the events had taken place with a camera dangling from my shoulder. There were people sitting out on the street as usual, and a lot of tv trucks and press people.. the people who sat on the street every day were once again subjected to <i>outsiders</i> and they obviously had mixed feelings about this. Three young guys around college age said something as I passed by them, referring to my camera.. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">#flashback# <i>For the first couple of days, or maybe weeks when I started working at Tophane I had a strange feeling, a combination of fear and anger towards my onlookers.. they stared and I couldn't look back for the longest time; I just walked on in utter frustration and ranted about it once I had gotten into our building. One day one of the younger dudes actually shouted out some disturbing thing after me, and in a sudden rage I was able to gather the courage to turn around and confront him: WHAT ?! That day was the day that they understood that I wasn't a foreigner, in the sense that Turkish was my native language; but I was still a foreigner none the less. From then on, I held my head up high, said good morning and good evening and did all the common courtesy one should to their neighbor (even though I somehow fail to do it at home, in a gated community). </i>#flashback#</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_AA2LXG-55RIO1Fh7DoKvz1cNqPt5lOcIkPdK9WjJIdjL9YRgOILgvc1Y4B8S1krl8Wppjssed7-9O3Yosnu3mnlJRAwNP83ka-ZJs79iXHQYYhnL3B9mMXSFNaG1jIUp1kUU-MKg-SNV/s1600/DSC_3078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_AA2LXG-55RIO1Fh7DoKvz1cNqPt5lOcIkPdK9WjJIdjL9YRgOILgvc1Y4B8S1krl8Wppjssed7-9O3Yosnu3mnlJRAwNP83ka-ZJs79iXHQYYhnL3B9mMXSFNaG1jIUp1kUU-MKg-SNV/s320/DSC_3078.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the guys shouted after me, <i>why don't you take a picture of us too?</i> This time around I wasn't as distraught over being spoken to (even though they thought I would just walk on, since they spoke after I had already passed them by) and turned around in a big smile and said <i>well why not, come on pose then.. </i>so pose they did. It was a funny moment when they realized that this was a potential 15 minutes of fame (one of the guys in the photo was then interviewed on 5n1k for an hour, having a love affair with the camera, I'd be surprised if he doesn't have tv show offers by now) either as the youth of Tophane, or as part of the infamous gang. So they began to inquire and explain at the same time.. was I a student? a journalist? what would i use this photo for? they hadn't been part of what happened last night.. but they were able to give me a lot of insight as to what the 'gang's <i>excuses </i>were. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The people that came here last night to drink and chat, they probably live in gated communities, one of them said, how would they like it if there was a party on their street? Point taken, although I did object to say that this was not an excuse for such violence, if they were disturbed by the noise, they could just call the police to break the party.. no? Yes, mumble mumble.. but this has been going on for years now, there's an opening every month.. and not just the galleries, all kinds of entertainment had a part in the rising tension. The music from 360 restaurant comes down here and we hear it in our homes as if it's live.. every night! another snapped.. Ah I said, I don't see anyone else directing their complaints at them, or attacking that space? We wouldn't attack them, they're my customers he replied. Oh great, so it gets more and more complicated by the second... </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I continued walking towards Rodeo, where I worked last year to talk to Sylvia about what had happened and how to deal with it in future openings and general relations with the neighborhood. As I walked out of there a kid ran after me.. <i>abla abla.. dayım seni çağırır</i>! Apparently his uncle wanted to see me and even though I hadn't a clue who his uncle might be I followed him to the small restaurant where we used to eat. Of course I knew him, he used to run the shop right accros the street from Rodeo, but now somehow his brother (who used to run the restaurant) and he had switched places. He offered me something to drink and we started talking. His initial tone was hurt at what had been said at the press conference earlier that morning, he said we're all neighbors.. I agreed, and said I would have expected nothing but protection from them. The answer to this was startling.. of course, he said, we'd protect you we do our best anyway.. but why would I protect the others, we don't know them and they're disturbing us. We had a long discussion after that about violence, which he didn't necessarily try to justify.. Then he told me about his plans about moving to Fatih where the population is predominantly Bosnian..</span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQWOKPTrp_-Anq3TgnDoEForfJwZkDXWpT92RGREJUxoD8CmqcklZFlVhVS2VZouWtzVnR_7vDn9ivRaIlTTFfs0o9OGOtDgn9aX5oSA9OzsbGb4ftGPJSimT9XBb4SirpgFavaIBCZi-2/s1600/DSC_3076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQWOKPTrp_-Anq3TgnDoEForfJwZkDXWpT92RGREJUxoD8CmqcklZFlVhVS2VZouWtzVnR_7vDn9ivRaIlTTFfs0o9OGOtDgn9aX5oSA9OzsbGb4ftGPJSimT9XBb4SirpgFavaIBCZi-2/s320/DSC_3076.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As I walked by the park, I spotted children throwing stones at a bulldozer which was interestingly symbolic and scary at the same time. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I walked up Boğazkesen once more, the news vans still hanging around, politicians walking the street with bodyguards having their picture taken.. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Weeks later, on 06.10.2010 my feet once again led me to the district where I used to work. As I passed by the alley where there is a beautiful deserted building that is used for garbage collection nowadays I saw a kid sitting in the middle of the hill, from which large trucks pass.. he was crying/screaming as if he were gasping for air and other kids had surrounded him; two of them had leather belts in their hands which they used to whip their 'friend', another was running around with a knife: one of those small ones you use to peel apples etc., another was getting really creative by running really fast from the top of the hill and trampling the boy.. Despite any effort toward saving the kid from the 'mob' of other kids and warning adults who stand around as if watching a reality show or a bullfight.. the same shit will continue, there really is little I can do about it in the long run. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">On the one hand, even though I cannot do anything about it I am entitled to my judgement that it is horrific. But to think, that because I judge this violence, I cannot be neighbors with them is one extreme and the thought that to judge the violence of the day of the attacks is just being liberalist douchebags is another... While everyone is entitled to living and working any place they please, no one is or should be entitled to such violence. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">These are what I have observed in real life since the events. Then there are the hard facts of a not-so-ideal legal system. It seems to me that the reason this even ever happened was the crappiness of the legal system (no offence t.c.) which consist of rules that are not enforced. This has become such a all-encompassing state of affairs; from internet bans, to the smoking ban in cabs and closed public spaces.. What is illegally done is somehow overlooked, but on the other hand even though there is no ban on alcohol consumption on the street, the people on the street take it upon themselves to enforce such a non-existent rule. In the meantime people have no sense of use for government, for a state.. they don't feel like they're heard, protected or looked out for.. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In my previous post I urged people to think beyond party politics, but after all this, I also feel like there is much to blame on politics as well. I believe government, on all levels, need to be more competent in making sure that the rules that they set are enforceable and are enforced. It makes no sense to have a set of rules that no one knows or cares about; and another set of rules that the people themselves set as they see fit. At the end of the day, I look forward to the legal proceedings more than anything else...</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">*for those who read Turkish here is Ayşe Buğra's most insightful <a href="http://www.radikal.com.tr/Radikal.aspx?aType=RadikalEklerDetay&ArticleID=1022101&Date=07.10.2010&CategoryID=42" target="_blank">article</a>, not just about the Tophane attacks but about conservatism more generally. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">*also great articles are in Birdirbir 1& 2</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">*Asena Günal's perspective in <a href="http://bianet.org/bianet/toplum/125013-burasi-tophane" target="_blank">Bianet</a> is also of great insight since she works in a cultural center in the neighborhood </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;" target="_blank">*then there is the kind of <a href="http://imagesdialectiques.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">article</a> to which I don't know how to respond. Seriously? You feel that trying to understand the cause of something normalizes it? You think that all this work, including Hannah Arendt's, on Nazism normalized it? You think that without understanding what's going on you can just make it disappear? Perfect example of sticking ones head into a bucket of sand. Seriously. Also, the written and unwritten rule about being neighbors is <i>love thy neighbor</i> not act as if your neighbor either doesn't exist or is inhumane.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I am sure this piece will have it's lack of nuance and will make me regret having posted it even after such a long time has passed since the events.. but, here goes.</span></span></span>Lara FRESKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486276033318652241noreply@blogger.com4