autumn 2013
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ALSERKAL AVENUE ARTS DISTRICT DUBAI
alserkalavenue.ae/expansion2014
The Exhibits Exhibited
Koç University’s Research Center of Anatolian Civilizations (RCAC) current exhibition “Artamonoff: Picturing Byzantine Istanbul, 1930-1947” exhibition presents the Byzantine heritage of Istanbul from the perspective of Nicholas V. Artamonoff. It constitutes a unique and personal record of the city, which has since gone through a radical transformation of the kind that the city is indeed going through at present. What is most intriguing about Artamonoff’s archive and indeed any archive is how it affords us glimpses of the researcher’s and our own contemporary experience. The pictures in this exhibition show us views of the Byzantine architectural heritage that existed between 1930-47 some of which have been damaged, at times destroyed, badly restored,
or hidden from uninterrupted view by the urban and demographic sprawl of the huge metropolis that is now Istanbul. An all too familiar reminder of unchecked transformation. Added to this, it shows the Byzantine remains not only as architectural landmarks of residential and commercial neighborhoods, but also as integral elements in the daily life of the city’s residents in at the time the photographs were shot. The use and reuse of historic buildings and remains, the transformation of buildings and the urban fabric all appear as recurrent themes in Artamonoff’s photography. Moreover, the archive itself and the planning of this exhibition have led to the reconstruction of the life and career of Artamonoff himself through extensive research.
The Researcher Researched
Nicholas Victor Artamonoff was born on January 23, 1908, in Athens, Greece, the son of Victor Alekseïevitch Artamonoff, a Russian Major General.Victor Artamonoff was stationed in Athens in 1907-1909, then Belgrade, Serbia, until 1914, and finally in Russia until the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. The White Russian family presumably fled Russia right after the revolution.
While studying at RC, he served as the photographic editor of The 1928 Record, the RC yearbook, and his yearbook entry from The 1930 Record, his graduation year, offers insight into his photography and personality:
Nicholas pursued his education in England from 1918 to 1922 when at the age of fourteen he moved to Istanbul to study at Robert College. Artamonoff completed high school at RC and then entered the Engineering School, where he received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1930.
The Archive Archived
Artamonoff’s known photographic collection dates from the period when he was a member of the staff at RC. Upon his graduation in 1930, Artamonoff took an administrative position as an engineer in the Department of Buildings and Grounds for both RC and the neighboring sister school, the American College for Girls (ACG). Appointed Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds in 1938, he served in that capacity until 1947 when, after 25 years at RC and in Istanbul, the Artamonoffs immigrated to the United States. Nicholas first started a construction company with Emmanuel Pavlo, his former classmate and head of RC’s photography club in 1929. Years on he began working as an engineer for the Public Housing Administration, later renamed the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Nicholas passed away on October 10, 1989 but he has left behind a collection of more than
An ardent photographer with a complete knowledge of his subject, Artamonoff has given the College much valuable service with his camera. He specializes in writing reports and handing them in on time. (Perhaps this is due to the experience of correcting those of the Physics students.) He is quiet and refined. He is the inventor of the half-cigarette which is ideal for use between periods and just before the morning exercises.
1000 photographs of Istanbul and Western Turkey dating from 1930-1947. His photographs are organized as separate collections in two repositories: The Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives (ICFA) of Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection (544 photographs) and as part of the Myron Bement Smith Collection at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives (Freer and Sackler Archives) of the Smithsonian Institution. This exhibition is the product of a collaboration among Koç University’s Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (RCAC), Dumbarton Oaks, Freer|Sackler, and Robert College. The curator is Dr. Günder Varinlioğlu and the exxibition and catalog were prepared within the scope of the Third International Sevgi Gönül Byzantine Studies Symposium held between June 24-27, 2013.
The exhibition will be open until October 6, 2013. Koç University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations İstiklal Caddesi No: 181 Beyoğlu, Istanbul icfa.doaks.org/collections/artamonoff
16-18th September 2013 Haliç Congress Centre Istanbul www.istanbulartinternational.com
This September will see the opening of a new art fair entitled ArtInternational Istanbul presented by the founders of Art HK (now Art Basel Hong Kong) and the co-owners of India Art Fair. A brave move one might think given the fact that Istanbul already has a well established fair, Contemporary Istanbul, which has propelled the growth of the local art market exponentially, is a must attend event for all Turkish galleries and art collectors alike. However, ArtInternational Istanbul has positioned itself from the offset to become the art fair that connects local collectors to international galleries and international collectors to Turkish galleries and to promote Istanbul as an art destination (it is not a coincidence that it is opening at the same time as the 2013 Biennale). To reflect the international nature of the fair, for the inaugural edition, ArtInternational is collaborating with various artists from around the world to exhibit their work throughout the venue. Also, like any art fair worth its salt, it has a dedicated local nonprofit organizations section, a healthy range of interesting media partners (THAT and COLORS magazine for example!) plus a very promising cultural program. It is a welcome addition to Istanbul’s vibrant art scene.
12 SEPTEMBER – 26 OCTOBER, 2013
AHMET ELHAN ALPİN ARDA BAĞCIK AZADE KÖKER BURÇAK BİNGÖL ÖZLEM ŞİMŞEK ŞÜKRAN MORAL VALIE EXPORT WALID SITI ZEREN GÖKTAN BOOTH NO: C-12
16-18 SEPTEMBER, 2013
Azade Köker, Bodrum, 2013, Mixed Media on Canvas, 130x200 cm (Detail)
GALERİ ZİLBERMAN IS DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE THE PARTICIPATION OF İPEK DUBEN IN “MOM, AM I BABARIAN?” THE 13TH ISTANBUL BIENNIAL CURATED BY FULYA ERDEMCİ 14 SEPTEMBER – 20 OCTOBER, 2013
İstiklal Cad. Mısır Apt. No:163 K.3 D.10, 34433 Beyoğlu / İstanbul, Turkey t: +90 212 251 1214 f: +90 212 251 4288 zilberman@galerizilberman.com www.galerizilberman.com
Selections from the fair...
Sophia Pompéry, Atatürk I, 2013 Video Still, Courtesy: Galerie Dix9, Paris Photo: Sophia Pompéry Courtesy of Galerie Dix9 Artist talk on booth B6 at ArtInternational on Sunday, September 15 at 4pm
Antony Gormley, “Another Time XIII” ed. 2/5, cast iron, 2010, 191 x 55 x 33 cm Courtesy of: Galleri Andersson/Sandström
Alpin Arda Bağcık, Invega, 2013, 200x125cm, Oil on Canvas. Courtesy of: Galeri Zilberman
istanbul art international
Extrastruggle, Rind and Zahid The dialogue of the mind and the heart Two zurnas made of plum tree wood 10,5x35cm - 8x8x35c, 2013 Courtesy of: Galeri NON
Zeren Gรถktan, We Are Inseperable 2013, 75x150cm Beadwork Courtesy of: Galeri Zilberman
Azade Kรถker, Bodrum, 2013, 130x200cm, Mixed Media on Canvas. Courtesy of: Galeri Zilberman
The Continental Interior, 2013 Dimensions variable. Site-specific mixed media installation of hand cut paper, ink, tempera, and thread. Created for the exhibition “Intimate Immensity” at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, California. Photographs by David Pace. Courtest of: Wendi Norris
Contrail 1, 2013 Graphite, ink, watercolor, and collage on paper 29 ½“ h x 20 ¾” w (paper size) 35” h x 26 1/4” w x 1 ½” d (framed) Courtest of: Wendi Norris
Unfolding Field, 2013 Graphite, ink, watercolor, and collage on paper 52” h x 72” w Courtest of: Wendi Norris
istanbul art international
Val Britton’s work is high on our to look out for list at the fair (Gallery Wendi Norris). Britton draws on the language of maps to create immersive, collaged works on paper. Inspired by the cross-country routes driven by her father, a truck driver, her mixed media abstractions map not only physical locations but also psychological and emotional spaces. Through collage, drawing, painting, stained with salty washes of ink, printing, stitching, and cutting paper, Britton explores the blurred boundary between memory and imagination.
by Nadine Fattouh
DUBAI’S ARTS DISTRICT
W
inding through the labyrinthine backstreets of Al Quoz’s gritty industrial area, one unexpectedly uncovers Alserkal Avenue a rare trove of art venues nestled in a manufacturing complex of mechanical and industrial servicing workshops. When juxtaposed with the pristine white cubes often associated with galleries especially in the context of Dubai, Alserkal Avenue’s location in an industrial quarter may seem unconventional yet its raw urban feel and spacious venues naturally drew gallerists who invested and believed in the potential of the district. Developer of Alserkal Avenue and Patron of the Arts Abdelmonem Alserkal was inspired by the vibrant arts districts of Chelsea in New York, Shoreditch in London and many others, envisioning the transformation of the warehouse complex situated within the industrial area of Al Quoz into a hub of creative cultural activity. Damascus-based Ayyam Gallery was the first to move into the district, settling into one of the refurbished warehouses in 2008. Gallerists and creatives quickly followed suit, drawn to the lofty venues Alserkal Avenue had to offer, coupled with its unique industrial edge and unusual location. The only organic arts district in Dubai, Alserkal Avenue has become a one-stop destination for the arts in the city flourishing organically in tandem with the evolution of the burgeoning art scene in the Middle East, which has seen the advent of the Art Dubai fair, the Abu Dhabi Art fair, the Design Days Dubai fair in 2011, SIKKA the artist led fair followed by Dubai’s new developments of the Opera House and Dubai Modern Art Museum. The arts quarter today boasts a series of art studios and creative spaces alongside ten con-
temporary art galleries, and the first not-for-profit private contemporary art museum in the region, displaying hundreds of mixed media works from the Middle East contributed by the avid collector Ramin Salsali. Each gallery in Alserkal Avenue is characterized by its own identity and hosts an individual art programme, presenting an impressive variety of works by established and emerging artists from the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and South Asia. Two galleries from Alserkal Avenue— Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde and Green Art Gallery— garnered international acclaim after participating in Art Basel, a surefire sign of the Middle Eastern art scene’s maturation, international presence and the development of its galleries, institutions, artists and private collectors. Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde and Lawrie Shabibi will also be participating in Art International Istanbul Art fair this September and joining them in the global arts arena is Grey Noise another Alserkal Avenue based gallery, which is set to participate in Frieze London this October. With an exhaustive schedule of gallery openings, young collector’s auctions, panel discussions and talks to kick off the art season every September, a constant wave of curators, collectors and art enthusiasts throng Alserkal Avenue to tour its diverse row of galleries and headlining roster of exhibitions. In November 2012 Alserkal Avenue welcomed visitors to QUOZ the first collaborative art, music, design and film festival in the region, set across the thirty creative spaces dotting the bustling arts post. With the success of last year’s day-long program of events that ranged from exhibitions and musical performances to fashion shows and film screenings, QUOZ is set to return in its second edition on 23 November 2013.
ALSERKAL AVENUE’S EXPANSION 2014
A
s the art scene continues to grow in the Middle East so too does Alserkal Avenue. With construction underway to expand the district by 250,000 sq. ft., Alserkal Avenue is doubling in size to diversify its portfolio and provide ample space for over fifty additional organizations. In addition to welcoming galleries and artist’s studios, Alserkal Avenue will accommodate architecture, creative engineering, interior and fashion design studios that aim to implement one of a kind projects that will solidify the district as a cultural destination for the region. Alserkal avenue’s expansion will also include an events centre that will host performances, screenings, panels and talks, along with numerous eateries where visitors are invited to hang out and enjoy a hearty meal or a cup of coffee will also be introduced as a part of the expansion. Alserkal family have allocated the space of an abandoned marble factory to realize plans for Alserkal Avenue’s expansion and a total investment of 50 million AED ($13.6 million) to support this venture, one of the largest private initiatives dedicated to the arts and culture in the UAE. Visionary Abdelmonem Alserkal has enlisted the expertise of architect Phillip Logan from Shakland Cox to design the district’s new spaces, which will comprise sustainable design features such as butterfly roofing to maximize natural lighting and air condition wastewater recycling. Growing up with an appreciation and respect for the arts cultivated by his father Eisa bin Nasser Alserkal, an avid collector with a passion for calligraphy, Islamic architecture and local artisanship, Abdelmonem Alserkal advocates the vanguard of Contemporary arts, which led him to be honoured with the Patron of the Arts award for two consecutive years by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. Alserkal’s plans for expansion have further bolstered Alserkal Avenue as a prime destination for the arts that is an uncontestable part of Dubai’s cultural landscape. alserkalavenue.ae
A love letter to Adahan It was around 2pm on a sunny end-of-august day when I landed at the Ataturk International Airport. After an a lready hectic summer, it seemed as if this would be just the beginning. As the inauguration of the first Istanbul Design Biennial was getting closer, each day became invaluable, and the best way to deal with the vast complexity of it all was to be on the field, alongside the production team. The taxi drove hastily for a while until we reached an instance of the ubiquitous Istanbul traffic jam. Phone ringing, meetings postponed, chaos and heat... We’re in for a great ride... But as we’re nearing more familiar territory, and the Galata Tower started peaking out from the densely urbanized hills which characterize Beyoglu. I was reaching what would become my home for the next couple of months. Upon entering the Adahan, I was warmly greeted by Lale, who has been managing the transformation of the building with her husband, from the 1874 grand apartment building of the famous Jewish trader family of Cammondo, to the charmingly comfortable 40 quarter hotel, providing a peaceful oasis in the middle of one of the most vivid areas of Istanbul, between Asmali, Galata, and Istiklal. She gave me a quick tour of the building which they had recently renovated by themselves with strong consideration for the context and their guests.
The concept that was guiding this transformation became apparent with each section of the hotel we visited. While the presentation aims to be almost mute and humble, it is based on an extraordinary attention to detail. Wood is the predominant element in Adahan, with custom designed and built furniture in airy rooms with rustic floors and high ceilings. Ecologically sound and traditional materials have been used throughout and the building has been respected with minimal interventions to the structure and original divisions. One of my favorite memories from istanbul was also my morning routine of having breakfast on the rooftop restaurant every morning... Coffee, eggs, orange juice and poacha, while saying good morning to the rolling hills of Istanbul and the minarets of Sultanahmet -- what better way to start the day. The restaurant was a favorite place of mine also for group meetings, writing, or simply just gazing and thinking. So this is just a note to say thank you, for the warmth of your hotel, the friendliness and respectfulness of your staff and for so personally taking care of me as i’m sure you do with all your guests, going above and beyond to make me feel part of your family. In this way Adahan was directly responsible for the quality of the exhibition, and will remain my home in Istanbul whenever I return. With my best regards, Elian Stefa
www.adahanistanbul.com
Elian Stefa visited Istanbul as the Associate Curator and General Co-ordinator of Adhocracy in the first Istanbul Design Biennial 2012. Adhocracy explored the impact of digital networks and open-source thinking on the design world.
KIRK HARF/40 Letters Designing a Font for a City
In order to understand 40 letters, I need to talk about myself a little bit. I was born & raised in İstanbul as a member of the Bulgarian orthodox minority. Till I was 16, we were residing in Cihangir. When at that time district still was a residential area, not as much corrupt or transformed into a nightlife oriented touristic mixture. I now live at the heart of Şişli, maybe the heart of İstanbul too. My grandfamilies used to live in Aksaray and Gümüşsuyu. We used to spend summer in Heybeliada, where now I am and writing these sentences at our family house, with more than 100 years of history. As you see, I am a very little but quite interesting part of İstanbul. The city of contrast & fusion. Mixing extreme opposites, ugliness and beauties at the same time. İstanbul is all about co-existing. This concept may be applied to city’s socio-cultural fauna, art scene or even design heritage. Shifts are also important for a place like this. Which ended an era & started another. İstanbul is the place for the ‘different’. Others. Sum of the differents. You are always ‘the other’ in a metropole of course. But it is more than a heritage here. It is pure history. And still going on... You know history is about repetition. You feel very little and uninportant. You feel secure, when you are with the ones you are like minded. When you are together.
As time passes and generations change, only a few remain constant in terms of cultural references and commons. Forty Letters project was and is an attempt of documenting those crumbs in a city, as a reference for the next generations, curated in the light of personal experiences. I was always into taking photos. But during my BA graduation project, I realised how I like shooting urban life and urban graphics. I was and still am obsessed with vernacular heritage as a designer. Habitat is about space, surrounded with particular people, buildings, nature and history. When they come together, they build what we call this magical vernacular heritage which can only be seen by foreigners and felt by the natives. Then I realised the city was on constant change. Even the street I live, was changing constantly every moment. The paths I took, the signs I looked, were changing. And I felt like I was in inertia. So I started taking photos more often and of every scratch or sticker on the wall at my place. And other places too. I started walking around. Entering districts and places I have never been before. I was a tourist in İstanbul and I felt great. I started learning more and more. This is what I do occasionally. The photos and graphics you will see here are a snapshot of this ongoing journey.
In İstanbul we have special places where stays constantly important for Daily life. Personal lives. Where people love, meet, or live. Where people work. ‘Kırk Harf’ Project was my first attempt to use istanbul’s vernacular haritage and turn it into a book. Signages, logotypes of buildings, and the letters residing within those signs are the main characters in ‘Kırk Harf’. Only forty lucky letters were chosen to be presented and live longer than they used to. They appeared in the posters which was a project for my masters studies at Marmara University and still evolving. This is also the base of a typeface called “Forty Letters” which is consisting of upper and lower cases of those lucky letters. Letters which are still living & seen by the residents of this vibrant city. Some are unfortunately gone now, like İnci Pattisserie and that gives me more motivation on capturing ‘İstanbul feel’.
Twitter @chriak @istambulin Instagram @chriak www.chriak.com cc@chriak.com
Text and Images by Christopher Çolak (İstambulin Foundary)
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Poems by
Matthew Clegg
Sirens I’m helping them. I’m going to show the rest
the area. Consider the irony
of England what it’s doing and to who.
of picking up shags by signs for ‘Grinding’
These girls: their bodies are a palimpsest
and ‘Head Room’; of going at it under
in flesh; every lesion or infected
hoardings marked ‘Bolts, Nuts, Screws, Studs’ –
scab along their veins. Their scuffed and marred looks
scarves of plastic fluttering on barbed wire.
tell us what it means to be inflicted
She was stumbling along in front of me,
with an existence way back in the queue
one heel gone, bottle of booze, slip of skirt
and the nudes I’m taking will make it plain.
spray-painted to her arse, and as I try
Look. This has everything to do with you.
to pass her she’s shouting all the time, voice
And yes, you can trust me. I used to be
rough enough to sand a barge, ‘D’ you want it?
an architect, until my accident.
Give us 5 quid. I’m bleeding in these shoes.
Fell down some stairs and broke my neck. Monthly
Get me a taxi. Get me out of ‘ere.’
injections to prevent my brittle spine
She was crying all down her face, black streaks
from calcifying. Sweet memento mori.
of it, wet and oily. Quite a picture.
I live off insurance and to stay sane
I wasn’t offering any charity,
I buy and sell antiques, write poetry,
not to her. I’d given myself eyestrain
paint. Screw money: I try to linger over
on the computer, the balls of jelly
something that gives me pleasure every day.
scrunched and bloodshot in their sockets from all
I’m healing. Got myself an art ethic.
the close work. I told myself I deserved
When my marriage packed in, I had a phase
a bit of release. But that wasn’t all.
when all I did was hang around the chic
My date had stood me up. All by myself
cafes, dating university girls
I watched the faces, drinking and flirting,
younger than my daughter. Got this earring –
talking the world back to rights. Soon enough
a hint of gold poking through my curls.
I was trying to imagine the sort
Outsider, but not too camp or fey. Spent
of scars that girl was notching up. Was it
hours getting the lowdown on Kristeva,
Zola who put the artist and prostitute
hard line views and soft skin. I’m no saint.
on the same pegging? I can live with that.
I’d be drunk and holding forth with some shite
We get so smug, so sure that what we have
on how we’re visionaries when we love;
hasn’t come out of someone else’s pot
without it, carbon with an appetite.
of happiness. Mostly, we go through life,
All the while I was emotionally
wax in our ears, chained to our galley stools,
detached. I won’t go into how or why,
thinking we’ll be okay, we’ll make it through, if
but once you’ve been damaged, and I mean badly,
we play our part in the conspiracy
intimacy isn’t the same again.
that everything’s for the best, and how
So it was as much a surprise to me
can we change a thing? Well, we’ll have to see.
when these street girls cured me. I try to wean
I should be careful. You can only hear
them off hard drugs, give them somewhere to doss
so much damage before you start fighting
when their pimps get nasty. If they play up –
the current, telling yourself the speaker
screaming or nicking stuff from my neighbours –
is exaggerating, or more often
I cut off their pocket money sharpish.
than not, making it up for attention.
Discipline. It works, but only to a point.
Reality tweaked to serve the medium.
It’s decades since I’ve been so tapped for cash.
That’s the trouble with words. We’re nearly immune.
Let me tell you about my first girl, Yvonne.
I much prefer images. If my nudes
I was on my way to the Kelham Island
don’t make it as art, someone will buy them.
for a date when I started catching on to how many of these girls were working
Spiked i. I passed out on some bricks down an alley; woke up freezing, no clue where I was, or how to get back to that party – to my coat, my house keys, my cash. I remember taking the joint, the head-spin, the hallway slowly capsizing before I sprayed the walls with all I’d eaten. I bailed out of that house and slammed the door – on what? I hardly knew anyone there, might never face them again. I’d only gone for Neil, who fancied the host. Unfair – I liked her too. A lot. So there I was – Robinson Crusoe washed up in the city – weighing these facts, situation hopeless. ii. I shivered in the dark like a kitten fished out of a canal. I had to fight long and hard with myself not to cry out or bang on doors. Heavy clouds blew in smothering the moon. A car braked hard: I heard a drunk puking up his guts as if they were his sins, or the city’s, then someone singing My Way, every word. The cast of thousands had shrunk back to this bitter essence, or its credo. How long had I lain on those bricks – fair game for rats and interloping foxes? I chased down every voice. Not Crusoe: Caliban, on his island of noises. iii. The left hive of my brain asleep, or dead, half of my face accusing the other – I thought of Neil. Disguised as a friend, I’d hid designs of my own, shirking desire. Life. What steel did I lack to face it? I walked street after street, utterly uncertain, even in my pulse. Then I took a right; heard Neil and our host calling my name. The trip-hop had flagged and I’d not returned so they’d started a search. I might even claim I’d brought them together. Then she took my hand and my hand let her. Of course she knew that skunk was spiked with something mean. She laughed and said it left her kaylied too.
Taken from his debut collection West North East recently published by Longbarrow Press September 2013. West North East is a book in three parts, each comprising a different approach to ideas of crisis, journey and imaginative crossing. Fugue presents a journey from the periphery towards points off the map. Listen to an audio podcast of poems from West North East at www.westnortheast.wordpress. com/recordings. You can also read a further selection at www. westnortheast.wordpress.com/poems. For further information: Email: longbarrowpress@gmail.com Website: www.longbarrowpress.com
www.morvarid-photography.com www.behance.net/morvarid morvarid.daydream@gmail.com
L’ E F FAC E M E N T MORVA R I D K .
2012 . Paris/Arles . 90x60cm . edition of 4+1AP . (20 photographs in total) Two series of self-portraits telling the story of a personal battle, dance and frustration with censorship.
Part one uses the over-exposure principle to self-censor the scene. Part two is the experience of self-effacement with black paint. Disappearing in silence. Part two was shot during the photographic festival of Les Rencontres d’Arles with the participation of Eric Da Silva (comedian).
From the 5th of September to the 29th of September British artist Charlie Swan invites the public to an exhibition/open studio of Order, Repetition and the Race (of the nomad) Part 2. This consists of 3 major works comprising of approximately 30 000 pencil shaving components, one of which is being finished on site in the unrennovated historic building in central Sishane, acting as the artists studio for the period. The titles of these works are:
Order, Repetition and the Race (of the Nomad) Part 2. Exhibition/Open Studio Charlie Swan Sept 5th – 29th neolithic revolutions: gobekli-tepe, chagrin and the einkorn lasius neglectus, avat and the invisible line the big park
www.charlie-swan.com
T
his follows Swan’s 2012 solo exhibition in Istanbul, Turkey, titled ‘Order, repetition and the race (of the nomad)’ exploring definitions of progress (cyclical and linear), diversity and mutual beneficiality generally in the form of a lateral thinking puzzles, hybrids between puzzles and storytelling. (www.ekavart.tv –Charlie Swan.)
Developed out of an inventive curiosity to unify spatial and temporal repetition within a granulated medium, the technique was born. The origin of the material is a construction of primarily six-millimeter diameter pencil hexagons, allocated on a variety of surfaces, but primarily on board. The result is highly sculptural with comparisons drawn to the atmosphere evoked of master tapestries.
Charlie Swan is an Istanbul based artist, born in London and engaging in works, which encompass sculptural three dimensional wall pieces that conceptually follow thematics of cultural narratives, coupled with notions of the scientific, and mathematic/geometry. Swan studied for his undergraduate Degree in Fine Art and at Wimbledon School of Fine Art and three-dimensional design at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Swan’s materials are collected from all over the world that represent the result of the resources allocation and development of mankind made possible by the overwhelming desire to practice herd behavior.
After a period in furniture and Lighting design he chose to pursue fine art professionally and in 2007 relocated to Istanbul. In 2010 was his first major solo exhibition in Istanbul ‘a cubic compass rolls on, and other works’. (A satirical melee of process investigation attempting to find relevance and honesty as a young artist in the 21st Century.) Despite a predominantly Scottish lineage, one side of the artist’s family has deep ties to Asia and the Muslim world relocating to Malaysia in 1950. The family history of invention, engineering and fine art is clearly evident in the conceptualization, process and application of the artist’s current working method that Swan refers to as ‘Paving.’
So hybrids between puzzles and storytelling,indicators of narrative within the technique of ‘Paving’ are present throughout the elements of the artworks, the vast majority of surface being comprised of the segmentation and allocation of the wooden helix of the shavings. Achieved from the base material is a unique relationship between the circle and the line. The comedy of uncertainty is a recurring theme within the work, with a path of risk and the opportunity of loss offered willingly. The trend in explanation for the universe and our role within it being the creation of myths, gods and spirits. Swan creates discussions of impermanence. The granulated medium producing an invitation to view a reflection of one’s cellular transience.
BRIDGES School is Istanbul’s newest school for gifted students. The school will initially open its doors to a diverse student population in Autumn 2013, with a fully bilingual kindergarten and Grades 1-5. BRIDGES emphasizes intercultural understanding and foreign language acquisition. Academic programs are taught in both English and Turkish, with a mandatory second foreign language (German, Spanish or Russian) for all students. BRIDGES Istanbul is part of the Nobel Education Network, a global group of Talent Schools with schools in Vienna in Austria, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and the Algarve in Portugal.
For additional information, please contact our team:
T: +90 212 289 50 05 M: +90 549 289 50 05
info@bridges-istanbul.com www.bridges-istanbul.com
Dioptrics
Dioptrics: the study of the refraction of light, especially by lenses. Telescopes that create their image with a convex lens objective (a refractor) are known as “dioptric” telescopes. An early study of dioptrics was conducted by Ptolemy in relationship to the human eye as well as refraction in material such as water. Our understanding of the principles of dioptrics was further expanded by Alhazen, considered as the father of modern optics.
Photography series by Emine Akbucak
emineakbucak.weebly.com
Emine Akbucak’s photography series “Dioptrics” is a study of the refraction and reflection of the light captured within a specific time and place. Shadows, refractions and reflections all combine in these photographs framed by geometric lines to create a seemingly abstract perspective.
PERA FILM
A Farewell to Arms Stories of Civil Resistance 4 - 29 September 2013 “Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.” - Howard Zinn Pera Film opens its 2013 fall season with a striking program - A Farewell to Arms: Stories of Civil Resistance. The program’s title is inspired from one of the greatest American novels to emerge from World War I, A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway published in 1929. Just as the novel explored the beautiful and the tragic, the tender and the harsh, and the realistic, the selected films of the program examine recent stories of civil resistance – from 1985 onwards - in a corresponding poetic as well as genuine approach.
Witnessing a Civil Resistance 28 September, Saturday 17:30 Following the screening of A Short Walk in the Park, the shorts program of A Farewell to Arms: Stories of Civil Resistance, a panel discussion titled Witnessing a Civil Resistance will take place 28 September Saturday at 17:30. The panel will be moderated by Engin Önder, a project developer at the Institute of Creative Minds, with these key speakers: photojournalist Emin Özmen, 140journos project developer Cem Aydoğdu, and Olgu Demir from the Videoccupy collective. The shorts program and panel are free of admissions. No reservations, limited seats. Graphic design: Beril Demirer, 2013.
F•ck for Forest
The Gate of Heavenly Peace
Better This World
Director: Michal Marczak Cast: Tommy Hol Ellingsen, Leona Johansson, Dany DeVero Poland, Germany 86’, 2012 color, English, German, Spanish and Norwegian with Turkish subtitles
Director: Richard Gordon, Carma Hinton Cast: Deborah Amos, Carma Hinton, Edward Stanley USA, 180’, 1995, color English with Turkish subtitles
Director: Kelly Duane, Katie Galloway Cast: Scott Crow, Brandon Darby, Matthew Vadum USA, 82’, 2011, color English with Turkish subtitles
Foucault, Boundaries, Marginals and Gezi
T
he thought of Michel Foucault on issues associated with democracy have increasing relevance as has been show by the Gezi Park movement in Turkey. Foucault had little to say on the design of political institutions, electoral systems, constitutions and so on, but he had a lot to say about themes fundamental to democracy, such as the nature of resistance to power, the inclusion of marginals in political concerns, and free speech as a form of committed engagement with public life. Foucault’s own personal political concerns included prisoners’ rights, which he campaigned for in uncompromising terms, frequently encountering a police beating though he was already one of the most famous intellectuals and writers in France at the time he took up the issue. The campaigning connected with, and fed into, his work on a book he published in 1974, Discipline and Punish. In this account of the changing nature of the punishment of criminals from the eighteenth century into his own, Foucault pointed to the political aspects of prison, and of the criminal justice system. His writing on this issue was not just a history of prisons, but a new approach to political theory, shifting it away from both theories of the justification of legal sovereignty and theories of the state as an expression of class power. Crime and the criminal justice system are political areas according to Foucault since criminality is always a form of challenge to the state, and punishment is always a way of demonstrating and celebrating the power of the state. Foucault certainly did not wish to romanticise all criminal acts as legitimate political gestures, he did want to redefine the boundaries of politics, showing that there are uncertain boundaries between simple criminality and political resistance of marginals against oppressive power. He also wanted to show that methods of control in prison, including apparently rehabilitative and psychiatric methods, were restrictions on the bodies and actions of prisoners, deeply connected with restrictive power in the society as a whole. That analytic approach to prisons drew on Foucault’s own experience of campaigning for prisoner rights, and provides a way of thinking about political activity. The analysis itself suggests that power exists in very dispersed and changeable ways, which can only be fully challenged where very localised and flexible approaches are employed. That invasive nature of power, its constant presence in the details of social organisation, include the
by Barry Stoker
capacity to define some as outsiders, marginals, looters, and so on. Politics of a kind concerned with liberty will be concerned with the rights of the marginals, and their liberties in the public sphere. Foucault’s book of 1961, which made him famous, History of Madness, had already discussed in historical terms the social importance of how we define and regulate those regarded as marginals. The definitions of madness, and the means of dealing with madness, change over time. The danger Foucault saw in official approaches to madness since the seventeenth century is that they deny any value and interest to those defined as mad, so diminishing the scope of human experience, and the variety of subjective points of view from which we learn. This was no external idealisation of the pain of mental illness, as Foucault himself had been treated for psychiatric health problems. Foucault was concerned in a personal way with the nature of rationality and experience, particularly with regard to the way that art often deals with the limits of rationality and experience, and struggles with the paradox of representing what is as the limits of consciousness. This informs his view of politics which is always concerned with those at the limits of society, going to the limits of speech, and pushing back the limits of oppressive power. Towards the end of his life, which sadly ended in 1984 when he has only 58 and could have written much more, Foucault was particularly concerned with free speech, particularly with regard to the Ancient Greek term parrhesia. Foucault looked at the core role of parrhesia in Ancient Athenian democracy, and how it related to a variety of ancient conceptions of taking risks in speaking truth. Foucault was not just concerned with the right to speak and to express an opinion, but in the way in which a personal commitment to frank and fearless speech is necessary to democracy. There must be a willingness to risk danger whether from a despotic ruler or the hostility of other citizens. The meeting of citizens in a city assembly provides the opportunity to challenge rulers and for citizens to challenge each other. The idea of parrhesia came from the rights to citizens to speak in public, not just the king, and so is from the beginning based on the rights of those previously marginalised and excluded in relation to political life. The inclusion of all voices is necessary to democracy and equality of rights, and is also about challenging existing codes and norms. It is in this way that speaking truth can become possible and that the public good can have the the most vigorous flourishing. Any observer of the Gezi Park movement in Turkey can see how it illuminates these ideas of Foucault and shows how they can be put into practice.
The Byzantine Court: Source of Power and Culture Papers from the Second International Sevgi Gönül Byzantine Studies Symposium Edited by Ayla Ödekan, Nevra Necipoğlu, Engin Akyürek Presented in this volume are thirty out of the forty papers delivered at the Second International Sevgi Gönül Byzantine Studies Symposium. The aim of the symposium was to evaluate, from administrative, political, social, economic, and religious perspectives, the impact of the political power that spread out from the Great Palace and, as of the twelfth century, from the Blachernai Palace to the rest of the empire, and to investigate the reflections of this power in the cultural sphere.
Stories From The Hidden Harbor: Shipwrecks Of Yenikapi Edited by Zeynep Kızıltan, Gülbahar Baran Çelik Translated by Azer Keskin, Barış Cezar, Emrah Güler, Umur Çelikyay In 2004, the İstanbul Archaeological Museums started large-scale salvage excavations at Yenikapı within the scope of Marmaray-Metro projects. The Theodosian Harbor, one of Constantinople’s most important, and the world’s best-known harbors, and Istanbul's oldest settlement dating back 8000 years were unearthed during the excavations. This exhibition catalogue has been prepared in light of the finds from Yenikapı and their scientific study. It presents a section of the city from its first inhabitants to the present, and allows a multidimensional view of trade, seafaring, shipbuilding technology, and everyday life in Cons Constantinople through four wrecks that were found together with their cargo. A publication by the Istanbul Archaeological Museums, Koç Foundation, Koç University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations and Koç University Press.
ARTAMONOFF: Picturing Byzantine Istanbul, 1930-1947 Edited by Günder Varinlioğlu Nicholas V. Artamonoff left behind a photographic puzzle of over one thousand images. He was a student and engineer, who, while studying and living at Robert College in Istanbul, gained an appreciation for the city’s history and culture. With his Rollei camera, he captured Byzantine remains. His interests were broad: they ranged from imposing churches to the smallest details of architectural sculpture, from bustling marketplaces to the diligent work of lone craftsmen.
What Josephine Saw Edited by Kimberly Hart Josephine Powell (1919-2007) visited Turkey for the first time in 1955 to photograph Byzantine mosaics; later on she became interested in Turkish flat-woven textiles. She set out to work with the Turkish nomads themselves, gathering information about their handicraft – what purpose the objects served, why they were made, and how they were created. In this book, you will find a selection of photographs of the Anatolia that Josephine saw, as well as the memorial essays of her colleagues, friends, and travel companions.
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