IN THE BUL

IN THE BUL Istanbul’s Urban Art & Living Magazine

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Laila Shawa’s ‘‘Impossible Dream.’’

Suna and Inan Kirac Foundation, Pera Museum

IN THE BUL Urban Art & Living

Director/Editor Benjamin Hill Creative Director Benjamin Hill Colaborators Umur Mutlu Drogas varias John Moya Melike Kuรงuk Veronica Capra Michael Alexusan Mine ร imen Special Thanks Tuborg Beer Camel Filters IKSV Vodka in General Contact beninthebul@gmail.com 05532832855 Twitter @beninthebul Facebook inthebul Web www.inthebul.org Blog www.whenyouliveinthebul.tumblr.com

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THE CONTENTS Modernity? Perspectives from France and Turkey

THE ARTS

New Arts New Horizons Modernity? Perspectives Hassan Kahn

THE STYLE

Elif Domaniรง Bad Turkish Graphics Elif Domaiรง

THE BOOZE The Bars Kรถpek Olduren

THE MUSIC Radio Moscow

THE STORIES

Damien Hirst in Istanbul Advice from a Hobo

Only In Istanbul

ONLY IN ISTANBUL

Damien Hirst in Istanbul

Homeless baklava

NEW ART NEW HORIZONS Istanbul Modern’s Collection*

Normally when I go to Istanbul Modern I’m not that excited. I was expecting to see some dull chronological journey into turkish modern and contemporary art but I was wrong. The exhibit is organized in a way that all kind of public can enjoy it. The paintings are exhibited surrounding historical, chronological and thematic ideas perfectly explained in the texts on the side.

Not only that, I went with a turkish person and she recognized a few names, so we are actually talking about top turkish artists. Just at the entrance there is one of those huge paintings, a classic piece of neoexpressionism (related to New York and the new world capital of art buyers and the need to decorate their huge lofts and conference rooms). Actually the first thing that came to my mind was the New York artist Julian Schnabel. I also realized that there were turkish accents to this painting by Erol Akyavas. There were red, gold and in a way it felt more ornate then the one could achieve with a more european origin. That’s kind of the flavour to the exhibition and it’s great.

We start with turn of the century realist paintings. Immediately we see how turkish artists traveled to Paris and absorbed all the styles of the first decades of the 20th Century. We can see this step from realism to modern art in Hikamet Onat’s landscape paintings with cubist elements in them. Just like Braque did with his views of Marseille. The interesting thing is that the exhibit doesn’t stop in the modern period, it continues to a postmodern world. A world of new materials and languages for art. I was gladly surprised to find out that turkish contemporary art is there. The scene of contemporary art is set perfectly and we can see the transformations in turkish art during the last century in one room. Like in the Felix Gonzáez-Torres homage at the 2011 Istanbul Biennial Istanbul Modern has managed to place contemporary art in an acceptable logic so not only the experts can enjoy the exhibit. It validates the complex contemporary language that art has taken. Actually, talking about the Felix González-Torres show, I was happy to find out about Ifran Önürmen and how her piece exhibited in New Art New Horizons reminded me of the brazilian artist, José Leonilson (who was also present at the 2011 Biennial) and his use of bits of bedclothes and sewing to create some of his works.

This is a walk that can inspire and please anybody. Wait, there is more. There is a second part.

It blew my mind. It’s fucking great. It shows pieces that even museums like Tate would have chosen. I discovered a few names. I won’t tell you much, you have to go and see it. I will say that there seems to be a tread theme going on now; both in Istanbul Modern and internationally.

It is clear that turkish modern art sits comfortably in the western painting traditions of the 20th century. It doesn’t feel unfocused. At the same time you can sense the turkish cultural heritage, but it doesn’t feel like a stranger in the contemporary art game. Not only it doesn’t feel like a stranger, it’s fresh and it looks good. Actually turkish artists are appearing in hot shows all around the world. For example, Turkey was the guest country in ARCO 2013; Spain’s most important art fair.

It’s a Must: 5/5 *When I was going to publish this I found out that this is actually the new collection. So it’s permanent, not an exhibit.

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Yeni Yapıtlar, Yeni Ufuklar Istanbul Modern’in Koleksiyon

Müze, sanat için bir evdir. Yaşadığımız tüm üretim ve tüketim ilişkilerinin alternatifi olarak sanata ev sahipliği yapar. Koruma, belgeleme ve sergilemenin ötesinde, sanatın yaşaması için maneviyatla donatılmış bir mekân duygusu sunar. Kronolojik, tematik, üslupsal sergileme anlayışıyla, sanatı bir ilişkiler ağının merkezine yerleştirir. İzleyici ile sanatçının yollarının kesişme noktası olarak müze, sanatın güvenle yerleşebileceği bir korunak, bir evdir.

Yeni Yapıtlar, Yeni Ufuklar sergisi, Türkiye’de üretilen modern ve çağdaş sanatın başlangıç evresinden bugüne geçirdiği süreci, en önemli sanatçı ve çalışmalar üzerinden izleyiciye sunuyor. Sergi mekânında eserlere eşlik eden metinler bu gelişim sürecinin sosyal, kültürel, ekonomik ve politik dinamiklerini anlatıyor. Sanat eserinin hayatın bir parçası olduğunu ve onu kuşatan etkileşimlerle birlikte ilerlediğini hatırlatan bu metinler, 20. yüzyılda Türkiye’de yaşanan sanat tarihsel dönüşüme de işaret ediyor. “Çalışma Alanı” olarak tanımlanan küçük salon ise, çağdaş sanatta eşzamanlı bir gelişimi araştıran bir proje mekânı olarak konumlanıyor. Farklı coğrafyalardan sanatçıları yan yana getiren sergileme formatı, sanatçı ve sanatçı inisiyatiflerinin projelerine ev sahipliği yaparak, üretimlerini teşvik etmeyi amaçlıyor. İstanbul Modern Koleksiyonu, resimden heykele, enstalasyondan videoya uzanan farklı disiplinlerden yapıtlara ev sahipliği yapıyor.

Küratör: Levent Çalıkoğlu

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Modernity? Perspectives from France and Turkey Istanbul Modern 16th January – 16th May The concept of studying the effects of modernity on the contemporary and globalized world has been a common thing in the current art world. What is modernity? It’s a vast period of time that most experts agree started during the colonial period and died with the Second World War. In this exhibition France is the invited country. Logical, it had a great importance in the modernization of Turkey. This exhibition there is no intention to analyse what modernity means but to analyze the impact of the utopian project in our society using a young generation of contemporary artists to project thoughts.

When I read on Istanbul Modern’s website what the exhibition was about I wasn’t that excited as the layout seemed to be less visual and more informative. I went with somebody that didn’t study art but does appreciate contemporary arts value in our current society. I was worried that the exhibit was going to be a bunch of informative posters made by unheard groups of artists. I told her that is was going to be a difficult exhibition to digest. We were happily surprised.

The whole concept of analysing and criticising the impact of the modern ideas in our culture are present but with an outstanding visual presentation. Let me try to explain myself. When you enter the exhibition you are greeted by a globe sustained by arms and at the bottom there are a compilation of images. The piece by Thomas Hirschhorn is what I feared, informative graphs and very little visual value. Not only that, his piece is used by Istanbul Modern to promote the exhibition. A big mistake in my opinion. After, you enter the first room and ou will find an interesting and well organized exhibition. In a dark room you see two dozen fridges covered in small mirror-like tiles. It’s clearly a reference to architecture. A very important part of modernity was the production of space, the role of architecture as a hope for a social change. It’s a visual piece that clearly invites us to think about this utopian project of modernity. The usage of old fridges adds a reflection about technology, very present in the exhibition. Another element could be the aspiration of modernity to a universal language linked to a desire for artistic autonomy, clearly seen in the 20th Century. The Backpacks by Nasan Tur show this universality and invites to reflect if the world today is autonomous or dependent. The exhibition not only shows young and well establish artists but also has a master piece, an installation by Chris Marker. He is continuously exploring the difference between the modernity we believe in and the inheritance of the modernity we experience.

I would recommend this exhibition to anybody with a minimal interest in culture and the world today. It’s nicely organized, there are supporting texts and delivers what the curators, Çelenk Bafra and Levent Çalikoglu intended. This exhibit is clearly an intention to achieve a state of artistic research and discuss it. Perspectives from France and Turkey can also be enjoyed in many different perspectives.

Remember that Istanbul Modern is free on Thursdays until 8 p.m. All you need is a Turkish ID card or your Yabanci card. If you don’t have one you can borrow one. All you have to is avoid the ticket desk and go straight passed security

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Modernlik? Fransa ve Türkiye’den Manzaralar Istanbul Modern 16 Ocak - 16 Mayıs

Modernlik? Fransa ve Türkiye’den Manzaralar sergisi, modernleşmenin günümüz sanatına olan etkilerini araştırıyor. Sergi, sanatçıların modernlik projeleriyle hesaplaşmalarını ve bugün hala gündemde olan modernlik olgusunu ele alıyor.

Sergideki çalışmalar görsel sanatların bir yandan eleştirdiği diğer yandan sonsuz bir araştırma imkanı olarak gördüğü modern hayatın dinamiklerine odaklanıyor. Dünya küreselleşmeyle farklı, derin ve karmaşık ilişkilerinin yaşandığı, yeni teknoloji ve sosyal medya kullanımının girift yapılar oluşturduğu bir dönemden geçiyor. Modernlik? Fransa ve Türkiye’den Manzaralar ise, günümüzün göreli yönsüz dünyasında modernliğin geride bıraktığı tortuların hayatımıza nasıl sızdığını hatırlatmaya çalışıyor. Türkiye’den ve Türkiye’nin modernleşme serüvenindeki rol modellerinden biri olan Fransa’dan sanatçılara yer veren sergi, modernliğin farklı biçimlerde sürekli karşımıza çıkan kalıntılarının bugün ve geleceği nasıl dönüştürebileceğini tartışmaya açıyor.

Sanatçılar: Nevin Aladağ, Fikret Atay, Kader Attia, Ayşe Erkmen, Cyprien Gaillard, Thomas Hirschhorn, Pierre Huyghe, Chris Marker, Sarkis, Hale Tenger, Nasan Tur Küratörler: Çelenk Bafra, Levent Çalıkoğlu

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HASSAN KHAN SALT BEYOĞLU September 21 – January 06

Would I recommend this exhibition? Not really, it’s not a great thing. It’s a product of SALT research. These products are made by highly intellectual artists that feed themselves on the world that surrounds us using metalanguage and hermeneutics -as they only refer to art it self and use a sophisticated language- that to us, mere mortals, is incomprehensible. The exhibition guide mainly offers this kind of information.

In simple terms Hassan uses the usual contemporary language to express himself. Most of the time he uses the de-location of the everyday object and puts it into a new context so we can reflect about the object in it’s new context or the surrounding objects. It’s in the tradition of Marcel Duchamps’ Urinal or artists like Claes Oldemburg (what is known as Pop Art, being Andy Warhol the super star). He also plays with an art language that uses mass production techniques to create unique pieces which allows us to ask ourselves if art is technique and if uniqueness is important or not. As usual, contemporary art uses a language that is uncomfortable, thats part of what it is supposed to do. It also is a space to reflect, and that is exactly what SALT wants to do.

The exhibition is quite empty gathering just a couple dozen of pieces and most of them will not be attractive to visitors. The room is as empty with art objects as it is empty with visitors.

One of my favorite pieces is Insecure (2002). Most of us will discus the originality of the piece as the artist didn’t do anything. There are just eleven sentences on a wall which are aimed to make us ask ourself questions. This is a very common as in contemporary is no longer about beauty or technique. I remember somebody saying that the frustration of the public towards art nowadays isn’t the fact that “my kid could do it” but the “it’s a good idea, wish I thought of it first”. My favorite sentences from Insecure are: ‘wonder what the closest person to you really wants’ followed by ‘wonder what you want from the person closest to you’.

Hassan Kahn’s exhibit at Salt isn’t worth going to as an afternoon activity. But it takes about 20-30 minutes to see the exhibit so, if you are walking up and down Istiklal you can give contemporary art a try.

2/5 rating

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HASSAN KHAN SALT BEYOĞLU 21 Eylül – 06 Ocak

Hassan Khan’ın çokdisiplinli sanatsal üretim yöntemleri gözlem, etkileşim ve ilişkiler kadar daha kişisel bir içsel iletişim kaynağına dayanır. İşlerindeki bazı göndermeler sanatçının yaşam öyküsünü, bazılarıysa farklı bağlamlara işaret eden figür ve imgeleri temel alır. Bunun sonucunda, insan uygarlığının anıtsal ölçeği ve kolektif anlar kadar nesne ve jestlerin gayrimaddi enerjisine duyarlı bir sanat pratiği ortaya çıkmaktadır.

Dil ve benlik hissi, Khan’ın sanat pratiği anlayışının ana unsurlarındandır.

Sanatçının birçok filmi, bir karakter ya da kişiliğin geliştirilmesi için düzenlenmiş kapsamlı atölye çalışmaları üzerine kuruludur. Zamana yönelik farkındalığın yanı sıra, bir karakter algısı ya da tarih vizyonuyla ilişkilenen kesintisiz çekimler ya da son derece stilize montajlar gibi işlerin yapımında kullanılan biçimsel dil de bir o kadar önemlidir. Khan, müzik ve imge üretiminde bazen -Mısır’a özgü şaabi müziğiyle bağlantı kurması ya da cep telefonunun kamerasıyla fotoğraf ve film çekmesi gibi- tanıdık ögelerden yararlanır. İşlerinin başlıkları çoğu zaman kişisel, ideolojik, sosyo-politik ve kavramsal konumların ipuçlarını barındırır.

Tanıdık nesneler ve durumlarla ilişki kuran Khan, bunları çok kişisel ve mahrem kaynaklarla diyaloğa sokar ve genellikle bu kaynakları açıklamamayı tercih eder. İnsanlığa dair ayrıntılı gözlemler ve bireysel bilincin son derece gizemli jestleri, biçimsel anlamda gelişkin işlerinde kendini gösterir. Kişisel ve biçimsel olana yönelik bu dönüşümlü yakınlıklar, sıklıkla işle basit bir ilişki kurulmasını engelleyen bir direnç yaratır. Ancak izleyicinin tepkisi asla engellenmez; dolaysız bir karşılaşma her zaman mümkündür.

Bu sergideki seçme işler, toplumlar ile onların ürettiği kültürlerdeki bu tür paradokslara karşı Khan’ın yaklaşım örneklerinin birer temsilidir. Bu yöntemler hem sanatçıyı hem de izleyiciyi çok sayıda senaryo ve tarihsel kalıntının bir parçası hâline getirir. Her ne kadar hepsinin ayrı işlevleri olsa da, bu işler bir arada, sergi boyunca kendini adım adım açan bir ilişkiler ve çapraz göndermeler ağı olarak da değerlendirilebilir.

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ELIF DOMANIÇ Worship by Benjamin Hill

Worship is best defined as a reaction. Worship is the resulting behaviour and response a person engages naturally when experiencing. This experience I describe as a pantheon. let me explain this mythological metaphor. Elif Domaniç’s experience at first can seem like Algea -spirits of pain- a fetish involving pain and submission. A closer and more natural approach to Dominaç’s shows a higher effect It goes from a spirit to a Athena, a deity. Athena, the goddess of wisdom and courage can represent the female strength. Artemis only represents a part of this worship. She is power but she despised love. These chokers and harnesses can naturally take us to Aphrodite -goddess of love and seduction- . Seduction, Power and pain. These can seem the three figures we see but pain is not there. The third figure is Hera The Iliad narrates the Trojan war. A war that took place in what now is Turkey. The epic poem compiled by Homer tells us about this war. It all originates with the Apple of Discord involving Aphrodite, Hera and Athena. Hera- a regal women in her prime married to Zeus- is on the Achaeans side. Her husband, Zeus -known for his unstoppable sexual appetite- is neutral.

During the war Hera came up with a plan. She asked Aphrodite for something to seduce Zeus and take him to bed. Aphrodite gave Hera a piece of material that would constrain and enhance her breasts. A primordial harness. So one night Hera visits Zeus, who sleeps with everybody but his wife and tries out this piece of clothing, this material strategically designed by the goddess of love herself. Hera entered Zeus’s chamber and showing this harness she submitted him to a night of passion. In this painting by Annibale Carraci we can she Hera and her symbol, the peacock, with Zeus and his symbol, the eagle. Close to the center of the painting is the device. Hera’s hand is still showing the harness. Zeus has fallen for the power of worship.

The three figures we see are Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. *Elif Dominiç‘s creations have appeared in national (GQ Turkey, December 2012 or XOXO The Mag,February 2013) and International (REVS) fashion magazines. Her harnesses, blindfolds and chokers can be found at the designer shop The Building.

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ELIF DOMANIÇ tapmak

by Benjamin Hill

Zeus and Hera, Anniblae Carraci (1597) Hera is seducing Zeus with the mentioned device.

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BAD TURKISH GRAPHICS

Last week I needed a picture of a lokanta. I had their card so I typed the name in google in hope of finding something. What I found was a picture of their very turkish business card.

The one I was holding. I checked the source and found this: badturkishgraphics.blogspot. com This blog is mainly full of bland reklams. Some still using Word Art. Hidden inside all this material there is some interesting stuff. Cheesy things apart, there is a wide range of design genres. Menus, business cards, logos, cassettes and LP’s or those LED signs that shops seem to love here. He has even included some graffiti! There is a lot of funny stuff if your turkish is good. It’s a great blog. Please sumbit your findings and gems with the blog and us.

A clear example of a nasty looking album cover.

This is APO a traditional folklore musician from Diyarbakır.

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What 15 minutes of photoshop can do.

This is the kind of things the blog is full of. Just tons of cheasy restaurant and business cards.

A beautiful example of a 60’s graphic design used today. A hit with all those retro lovers.

An advert form a company that translates as “uncomfortable citizens”. Still don’t get what it’s about.

A clear example of how easy english can be. Shoes?

Ayakkabitation. Elbette!

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THE BARS SHOT BAR MONTREAL

Where: Asmalı Mescid sok. No 11 Beyoglu, Istanbul Prices: (5+1 – 10+3 – 25+10) shots / Beer 12 Music: Rihanna, Tarkan, Adja Pekkan, you name it.

Crowd: Lots of people, okish Service: Very Slow and not great.

Closes: 4 a.m.

As a shot bar just off Istiklal I wasn’t expecting much. But this was bad.

It’s a friday night and we want to get wasted. We decide to explore some shot bars in Taxim. I have walked pass Montreal many times but never was attracted to it. Who cares, it was shot night why not give it a shot. We arrived late, but not that late. The place is packed and we are quickly taken upstairs. Downstairs isn’t a nice place but upstairs was some shady place.

The service was slow so I got a chance to check out the crowd and the place. The bar has a white decor so I guess it just looked dirty. The mix of neon, led and christmas lights didn’t help. The walls are full of paraphernalia and some graffiti tags. The service was so bad that I even realized that those “graffitis” are actually just random words badly painted. Let me explain, if they write Budweiser or Sex on the Beach I get it but random turkish names or words in no way related to a bar. I don’t get that. I would say it’s a tasteless horror vacui decor. It’s clearly an attempt to make it look like a crazy place where people party so hard that they write stuff on the walls1. The tables were full of scribbles though. Let’s go back to the service. The waiter arrives and leaves some menus on the table. It’s simple, you start at 5 tl per shot and the more you buy the better the deal. Place was shit. We were going to leave but we came for a shot. Finally the shots arrived: 5+1 Tequilas for 25 tl. The shots, to be honest, had very little alcohol and obviously contained the worst tequila Istanbul can provide. We drank, paid and left in 2 minutes.

Here at IN THE BUL we think that every place has its reason to be. Montreal Shot Bar provide cheap shots.

The place is always full of turks, erasmus and tourists. So if commercial turkish and yabanci pop and a cheap hangover doesn’t bother you this could be a good place to go. I guess.

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THE BARS

BOSPHORUS BREWING COMPANY

Where: Esentepe Mah., Yıldız Posta Cd., Emekli Subay Evleri No:I/IA, Gayrettepe Prices: 10 tl (33 cl Beer) Music: Don’t remember Crowd: Lots of people and mixed Service: Not good and not bad Closes: 3 a.m.

I love beer. I truly do. I was really excited when I was told that an English guy hay opened a bar/restaurant that had it’s own brewery. Immediately people started to tell me that the beer was actually good and 10 tl a piece. They described it as real beer. I investigated. After a few more people telling me good things I decided to go on a Thursday with some coworkers. I arrived on time and had some time to look at the place. It’s nicely designed but I was wearing a shirt and jeans and felt out of place. The crowd was a kind of mix between suited guys, minor celebrities and, over 50 year old yabancis. Don’t get me wrong, the place is nice, has a good terrace, but on a rainy Thursday in January it made me a little uncomfortable. A little later my friends arrive and one of the turkish girls had made a reservation. Great! We ordered some fish and chips which were not that expensive and served with malt vinegar. It’s pub grub adapted to the clientèle. IN THE BUL is not here to talk about the food! . We went for the beer. The girls drank the Stout as they love Guinness and anything Irish.

The american and me went for the strongest one, the Haliç Gold (7.1%). I’m telling you, it was a good beer. I wanted to have another one but first a cigarette, outside. As I smoked I realized that the crowd wasn’t that bad, actually every time I went for a smoke I ended up chatting with some suited guy who had been in England and loved it. Suddenly the Haliç Gold is finishing. Orders. I tried to grab one without disturbing the status quo of the place. Impossible. The service is slow, not only to order but to get it. When they finally attend to our thirst there was no Haliç but some beer that’s not on the menu but on the board. I can’t remember the name but it was a good Ale. No my crowd but, a nice place, not far and, great beer.

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THE BARS BAR RASPUTIN

Where: Asmalı Mescit Mah. Gönül Sok. 2D.Beyoğlu.

Prices: 8.50 tl Beer (50cl)/ 15 tl Vodka Tonic Music: Good rock and metal Crowd: Nice Vibe Service: Excelent Closes: Weekdays 2 a.m. / Weekends: 4 a.m.

Rasputin is a rock bar located in Asmalı Mescit, just off Istiklal Cd. It is a very small bar with a small terrace.

The barmen are welcoming and the crowd is calm. Rasputin is a break from the hustle and bustle of Taxim on a weekend. The clientèle is far from the erasmus age but still a great crowd. The thing I loved about this place is the terrace. It has a few chairs, couches and, bar stools in a beautiful baroque passage. So it’s on Istiklal, has a beautiful terrace, good music and good clientèle. That must be expensive you’re thinking. Well no, beer is 8.50 tl and a vodka with tonic is 15 tl. All in all a great place to have some drinks. To be honest I went with a small group, the place is small, and we got so drunk that we even got some free drinks and chatted with all the customers, who looked like a bunch of good old friends. We totally recommend this place and will come back.

It was a great night.

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do you know a cool bar? want to write about your favourite place? want to share your Istanbul?

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Köpek Olduren (I) Turkish slang for cheap wine, it means dog killer In Turkey, drinking cheap wine can be a russian roulette. This is why IN THE BUL has decided to help you. Want to buy some cheap wine that tastes good? Want to save yourself from terrible hangovers and winearrhoea? We have decided to drink all the ghetto wine and let you know about them.

Name: Majestik Origin: Sevilentepe, Menderes / İzmi Grapes: Syrah, Kalecik Karası Price: a 15 TL to 12 TL Migros promotion.

Alcohol: 13.5% Color: Red. Sevilen apparently makes good wines, even price winning wine. I’m sure they make amazing top shelf wine but their cheapest bottle, Majestik, is far from it.

Nose/hangover: Confused. The bottle has a nice shape, even a nice label. But the liquid inside didn’t match. I don’t remember a hangover so I guess there wasn’t.

Mouth/wineorhhea: I do remember it not being that good. No toilet issues experienced.

Conclusion: Even I dont recommend buying it.

Each wine has it’s purpose. This is a cheap bottle of wine that looks fancy, but ain’t. Majestik is for a formalish house party. A cheap wine, that doesn’t look cheap. I allows you to focus on the more expensive wine that people have brought.

Price-Value: 6/10

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Name: Divino Black Origin: Çal, Denizli Grapes: Bogazkere, Öküzgözü & Çalkarasi Price: 15 TL (24h Tekel) Alcohol: 12% Color:Red. A Dark looking wine, thats a good thing for me. Divino actually make good wines, but this is the cheapest one they produce.

Nose/hangover: Fruity and not a slight hint of a hangover Mouth/wineorhhea: Has a great fruity taste, but not a fresh grape taste, more of a berry o forest fruit taste. As for the wineorhhea, not experienced.

Conclusion: It’s at the top of the “dog killer” as for it’s price but totally worth it.

Price-Value: 8/10

Name: Cadde Origin: Doesn’t really say Grapes: Nevşehir Price: 8,99 TL (Green Supermarket) Alcohol: 11.5 % Color: White. Everything is wrong with this wine.

The colour is not great, kind of a grey look and some transparency issues, doesn’t feel right. I mean, it’s the cheapest wine Drien makes and it’s white, so you drink it cold. But that’s the thing, you have to.

Actually the bottle says serve at 16-18 ºC but their web says 6-8 ºC. So they know it’s not good.

Nose/hangover: It’s smell doesn’t help it. It’s not bad, just not a part of the wine. It’s not good, don’t take it over to a friends house unless you want to get hammered on a low budget. I think you can’t even leave the bottle open for more than a day, I don’t know because I drunk it all in one night.

Hangover, there, but not problem. Tolerable, like the wine it’s self.

Mouth/wineorhhea: Taste, again, tolerable, like the wineorhhea, tolerable.

Conclusion: Don’t buy the red. Use it as cheap fuel for a night. Might be useful for cooking as it doesn’t feel very chemical.

Name: Güzel Maramara Origin: Sarköy, Tekirdag Grapes: Doesn’t really say Price: a Migros discount, from 13 to 10 TL Alcohol: 13 % Color/appearance: It’s red wine and it’s shit. The bottle looks cheap, the label and design look cheap.

The wine looks cheap.

Nose/Hangover: Shit, but no hangover Mouth/Wineorhhea: Drinkable.

Conclusion: Don’t know, this is a shit wine. I think the whole logo and the cheap bottle suggest you can use it to drint with Camlica gazoz on a hot summers night. Actually in the turkish urbandictionary.com this wine is described as ‘ a drink mixed with soda that is called the proletarian champagne’. I guess there can be some kick there.

Price-Value: 3/10; just because it might be good to mix.

Price-Value: 5/10

IN THE BUL

RADIO MOSCOW

It had been a while since I had gone to a live gig. I was randomly checking biletix.com when I found a band called Radio Moscow was playing in ISKV for 30 tl. Why did I chose Radio Moscow? Because it was a cool name, it could be a radio station name during the cold war that would send music and information over to communist Europe. I did my usual research and the band play some pretty cool garage rock and blues on LSD. I immediately told my brother to check the band out. His answer was a video of him singing with them and the drummer of Prisma Circus in the after party of their gig in Barcelona. I get Parker’s contact and get to meet the band backstage. They are cool guys really into music and loving Turkey (they just came from playing in Ankara and Eskisehir). I also checked out the place, IKSV Salon. It’s was just a few minutes down from Galata kulesi. The IKSV Salon was new to me. I was worried that the place was way too cultural for a good concert but I was surprised. The place is a beautiful old building, cheerfully renovated and with a great sound. Beers were 12 tl for a bottle and the place was nearly full. The concert was on Thursday at 9.30 pm. The time was cool. Buying the ticket wasn’t that easy. I went to biletix in Cevahir AVM and bought my ticket with the 4 tl sales commission.

The online commission was 8 tl. No commission at the door.

Radio Moscow played, for me, one of the best concerts I have been in a long time. The projections reminded me of an early Pink Floyd and you clearly can feel the psychedelic rock influence. But garage rock and blues is what I felt during the concert. Music similar to bands like Jack White or The Black Keys. In fact, Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys got them signed and produced their second album.

Over all it was a great concert, the public had fun, they had fun, I had fun. It’s a band worth checking out.

21:30 hs. 7th March 2013 ISKV Salon

IN THE BUL

R öUpm uo rtaj t Mutlu 7 Mart gecesi Salon IKSV’de saykodelik öğelerle dolu gürültülü müziğiyle gecemizi renklendiren Radio Moscow’la bu harika konser öncesinde ve sonrasında küçük çaplı bir sohbet etme olanağı bulduk.

ITB: Albümler arasında en farklı ve özel olduğunu düşündüğünüz albüm hangisi?

Parker: Sanırım son yayınlanan albümümüz, garaj kayıtlarımın yeniden düzenlenmiş hali olan 3 & 3 Quarters.

Yeni nesil saykodelik müziği temsil ediyor diyebilirim.

Paul: Kesinlikle 3 & 3 Quarters.

ITB: Sormazsak edemeyiz, Radio Moscow adının hikayesi nedir?

Parker: Radio Moscow adı, “Go Go Radio Moscow” adlı eski bir şarkıdan geliyor. Pek de havalı bir hikaye olduğunu söyleyemem.

ITB: Albüm kapaklarınızı çok sevdik, onları seçerken nelere dikkat ediyorsunuz?

Parker: İlk üç albümümüzün kapağı Ohio’lu sanatçı Antony Yankovic’e ait. Kendisinin çalışmalarını gerçekten çok seviyoruz. Albüm kapakları için ona gittiğimizde de bizi kırmadı ve harika bir iş çıkarttı.

Paul: Son albümün kapağı ise Parker’ın eski kız arkadaşı tarafından çizildi, Parker tarafından boyandı.

ITB: Tekrar canlı performanslara dönelim, turneye çıkılan elemanların değişiklik göstermesi (özellikle davulcuların) canlı performansı nasıl etkiliyor?

Parker: Açıkçası bu konu sadece benle alakalı değil.

Daha çok eski davulcularımızla alakalı. Gerektiği kadar çalışmadıkları veya dikkat etmedikleri zaman onlarla yollarımızı ayırmamız gerekiyor. Ama bu adamı gerçekten çok seviyorum (Paul’u işaret ediyor) ITB: Türk müziği hakkında ne düşünüyorsunuz?

Parker: Konserden önce de söylediğim gibi Erkin Koray’ı ve bazı çalışmalarını biliyorum. Türk müziğini seviyorum ve daha fazla etkilenmek istiyorum. Hatta bir bağlama bile almayı düşünüyorum.

ITB: Son zamanlarda keşfettiğiniz, ilgi çekici gruplar var mı?

R.M: Dürüst olmak gerekirse yeni grupları pek de takip ettiğimizi söyleyemeyiz. Müziğimizden de anlayabileeğiniz gibi daha çok 70-80’ler gibi eski şeyleri dinliyoruz.

ITB: Son olarak, Türkiye’deki dinleyicilerinize iletmek istediğiniz bir şey var mı?

Paul: Aha, klişe zamanı: SİZİ SEVİYORUZ !!

Parker: Umarım burada tekrar çalabiliriz, desteğiniz için çok teşekkürler. Görüşmek üzere!

IN THE BUL

Damien Hirst in Istanbul A mock article about art, Istanbul and Portakal Gallery Benjamin Hill

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991)

Since his presentation of the diamond studded skull, For The Love of God, Hirst has not had many headlines. No star shows or scandals. In my opinion he has been too quiet and calm for his provocative and sometimes offensive attitude. This silence has made me uncomfortable like some of his works. Damien Hirst’s works normally revolve around a main theme, death. Coinciding with a small exhibition with some of his spinning paintings at Portakal Gallery (Nişantaşı) and for total surprise he presented Terror melts those who can’t move (2013).

The piece consists of a body preserved in formaldehyde in a glass vitrine. This is Damien’s most controversial artwork because it contains an actual body. Hirst explained that he’s been researching for more than 5 years about the possibility of buying a body to create this artwork. The body was acquired last year in Pakistan from an unrevealed source and has been manipulated to be exhibited as a turkish guard. Once again Hirst has been able to shock the art scene.

Damien shocked the art world during the 90’s and the beginning of the 21st century. At the peak of his fame many think of Damien Hirst as an obsolete factory producing brand and not an artist. His breakthrough in the art scene was in 1991 with this formaldehyde shark preserved in a glass vitrine cleverly named The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living and especially his relationship with art collector Charles Saatchi. During the 90’s Damien Hirst was considered one of the most important artists and had many individual exhibitions, presentations and prizes. Not only he achieved something never seen before by such a young artist, but he also achieved to connect with the popular culture (he was a personal friend of Joe Strummer or directed Blur’s video Country Life). Nowadays Hirst has become less loved by the art scene. The inflection point was probably the auction of For The Love of God which in 2007 was sold to a consortium for £50 million. Damien Hirst was part of the consortium that made this platinum and diamond skull become the most expensive artwork sold from a living artist. Many authors have used Hirst to explain how the art world has become a market where branding, pedigree and financial value is more important than art as a reflection of society and an envisionment of it’s fate.

With this piece he has broken the rules of art once again. Most criticisms respond to the circumstances of the actual art market and not his lack of talent.

IN THE BUL

İstanbul’da Damien Hirst Sanat hakkında alaycı üslupla yazılmış bir makale, Portakal Gallery

Terror melts those who can’t move (2012)

90’lı yıllarda sanat dünyasını şaşkınlığa uğratan Damien Hirst için 21. yüzyılın başlarında modası geçmiş fabrika üretimi yakıştırması yapılmaya başlanmıştır. Aslında Hirst’ün sanat camiasında parlaması 1991’de Charles Saatchi ile olan yakın ilişkisi ve “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living” adlı cam bir vitrin içinde sergilediği formaldehit köpek balığıyla olmuştur. Damien Hirst 90’larda birçok kişisel sergi açıp, ödüller kazanmıştır ve bu dönemin en önemli sanatçılarından biri olarak kabul edilmiştir. Bu genç yaşında insanların daha önce görmedikleri birşeyi yaratmayı başarmasının yanı sıra popüler kültür adına da önemli bir başarı elde etmiştir.

Joe Strummer’ın arkadaşı olması (The Clash) ya da Blur’ün Country Life videosunun yönetmenliğni yapması da buna birer örnektir. Fakat son zamanlarda Hirst sanat camiasındaki bu müthiş popüleritesini kaybetmeye ve daha az sevilmeye başlamıştır. 2007 yılında konsorsiyumla 50 milyon sterline satılan “For the Love of God” adlı sergisi popüleritesini kaybetmeye başladığı ilk olaydır. Hirst bu konsorsiyumun bir parçası olan pırlantalarla kaplı platinden yapılan kafatasını şimdiye kadar yaşayan bir sanatçı tarafından satılmış en pahalı sanat eseri olarak satmıştır. Birçok yazar Hirst’ü parasal değerlerin ve markalaşmanın öne çıktığı toplumun yansıtıldığı sanat piyasasını anlatma yolu olarak kullanmıştır.

“For the Love of God” sergisine kadar Hirst’ün adı hiçbir skandala, haber manşetine ya da televizyon programına konu olmamıştır. Provokatif, asabi ve saldırgan mizacına rağmen fazla sakin kalmış hatta rahat davranmıştır. Aslında Hirst’ü yakından takip edenler için onun neden bu tutum içerisinde olduğunu anlamak zor değildir. Genellikle Damien Hirst’ün eserlerinin temel bir konusu vardır ve o da “ölümdür”.

Istanbul – Nişantaşı Portakal sanat Galerisinde sunduğu “spin painting”leriyle aynı anda sunduğu Kıprdayamayanları Eriten Terör isimli eseri yine sanat camiasına bomba gibi düşmüştür. (2012) Hirst’ün bu sanat eseri formaldehitle korunmuş, cam bir vitrin içinde segilenen bir insan vücudundan ibarettir. Bu Damien’ın en sansasyonel eseridir çünkü bu gerçek bir cesettir. En son yaptığı açıklamada Hirst bu sanat eserini yaratabilmek için 5 senedir gerçek bir insan cesedi aradığını söylemiştir. Bu ölü erkek vücudu geçen sene Pakistan’da kaynağı açıklanmayan bir yerden elde edilmiştir ve sergi için Türk asker koruma kılığına sokulmuştur. Hirst’ün bu eseri tahmin edilebileceği üzere ahlaki ve yasal birçok tartışmayı da beraberinde getirmiştir. Ve birkez daha Hirst sanat camiasını şoka sokmayı başarmıştır.

IN THE BUL

Only In This is a crazy city, a beautiful city. Let’s share our pleasures and pains. Those gems and those ugly things. Those funny and sad things.

Somebodys finding might be somebody elses pleasure.

Submit your Istanbul

Turks are tough guys. Then you have the guys from Karadeniz. They were born to be the real deal. In this picture we can see Murat. He got a hamsi (small sardine) cake for his 6th birthday. Fuck Sponge Bob cakes, get the real stuff and chuck it down with some raki.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is Naz Osmanoğlu, a british stand up comedian. Why is he here you may be asking yourself. Well the thing is he is also known as HIH The Prince (Şehzade) Nazım Ziyaeddin Nazım Osmanoğlu, Imperial Prince of the Ottoman Empire, Member of the House of Osman. He’s a new but amazing stand up comedian in the UK. But he’s also the 19th in line to become the Head of the Imperial House of Osman.

Türkler doğuştan sert adamlardır. Peki, ama ya Karadeniz erkekleri! İşte onlar ayrı bir meseledir. Murat’a doğum gününde hamsi pastası almışlar. Boş verin Sünger Bop pastalarını, gerçek lezzeti tadın ve biraz da rakı ile kendinizden geçin. Bu çocuk ileride tam bir uzman olacak.

Bayanlar, baylar bu Britanyalı stand-up komedyeni Naz Osmanoğlu. Kendi kendinize soruyor olabilirsiniz: bu adam neden burada? Mevzu şu ki: kendisi ayrıca Şehzade Nazım Ziyaeddin Nazım Osmanoğlu, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nun Şehzadesi, Osmanlı Hanedanı mensuplarından. Naz, Birleşmiş Milletlerde yeni ancak olağanüstü bir stand-up komedyeni. Öte yandan ayrıca Osmanlı Hanedanı’nın reisi olmak üzere 19. sırada yer almaktaydı.

IN THE BUL

Istanbul Burası çılgın bir şehir, güzel bir şehir. Haydi, zevklerimizi ve dertlerimizi paylaşalım. Şu cevherler ve şu çirkin şeyler. O komik ve hüzünlü şeyler. Bir kişinin keşfi bir diğerin keyfi olabilir.

Kendini İstanbul’a bırak.

Yes, what you see is true. In a city where food, booze and anything you want can be found 24/7 this is still a shock for me. I stumbled out of a nightclub in Ortaköy at 4 a.m. under one of Istanbuls emblematic bridges and I find this. This is what I can only suppose my eyes came across: some shady guy who sells stuffed bears on his olive green Tofas. The worst thought is that he has his clientèle. People actually buy them, something that now I believe.

Two worlds colliding or not. Those blankets really match the color of the book. Actually is a work by renound turkish artist Halil Altindere. We’ll talk about him soon.

Evet, gördükleriniz gerçek. 7/24 istediğiniz her türlü yiyecek, alkollü içecek vs.yi bulabileceğiniz bir şehirde bu görüntü benim için tam bir şok. Gece 4’te İstanbul’un sembolik köprülerinden birinin altındaki Ortaköy’de bir gece kulübünden yalpalayarak çıkıyordum ki bunu gördüm. Gözlerimin bu görüntüyle karşılaşacağını tahmin bile edemezdim: zeytin yeşili Tofaş’ında oyuncak ayı satan müphem bir adam. Müşterilerinin olması ise akla gelecek en kötü şey. İnsanlar gerçekten bunları alıyor- ki buna ancak şimdi inanabiliyorum.

İki dünya çarpışıyor mu ne! Bu örtüler kitabın renkleriyle tam olarak uyuşuyor.

IN THE BUL