Reflections on Istanbul

by Jaclyn Dooner (MFA 2015)

My artist in residency in Istanbul has furthered my resolve, commitment and passion to be an artist.


An undergraduate BFA and 7 years as an Art director in the advertising community, coupled with two incredible years at the Academy have given me strong technical skills to pursue a painting career. Istanbul has provided the emotional inspiration and confidence in myself to make my career a reality.


I spent 5 weeks in Istanbul, viewing, exploring, reading and working with Tatiana, Simon and Austin. We experienced it all.


We saw contemporary art created from bullet holes, to architecture that spans thousands of years and multiple cultures (Europe, Asia, Muslims, Christians) to crazy Byzantine cave frescos (in Cappadocia).


Istanbul has a political and social environment that is always in a state of flux.


At any given time there are Christian issues, Muslim issues, Communist issues, Police issues, etc. I have to admit, sharing this culture was indeed interesting but sometimes scary. The tension on the streets could also be felt within the gallery walls. Much of the contemporary work we saw dealt with this civil unrest. It was that much more impactful viewing the work within the country that was experiencing this complex political and social climate. All the art in Turkey is privately owned. Brilliant work shared with so few.


We saw an interesting show, “Every Inclusion is an Exclusion of other Possibilities” at SALT gallery that directly addressed this dichotomy. The exhibition brought together aspects of three private, independent collections in order to open a dialogue and critique around the act of collecting and publicly sharing.


Lastly, but most importantly, the ‘four amigos’ toured together, cooked together, critiqued together, and worked together which gave me an insight that artists need not be alone in their endeavor, but rather collaboration and friendship can and does stimulate your thinking and advance your artistic confidence.

Istanbul, view from our residence

Eyup, Istanbul

Detail of piece created from bullet holes in “Every Inclusion is an Exclusion of other Possibilities” at SALT Gallery

“Every Inclusion is an Exclusion of other Possibilities” at SALT Gallery

Hagia Sophia Exterior

Hagia Sophia Interior

Hagia Sophia Interior

Blue Mosque

Plein Air Painting in Buyukada

The Studio

The Studio

The Studio

Home cooked dinner at the apartment

The Chora Museum of Istanbul

by Tatiana Córdoba (MFA 2016)

Last Saturday, while my friends stayed at Büyükada, one of the beautiful princess Islands (named because the princess and royalty from the Ottoman Empire were exiled there), I decided to come back to Istanbul to see the Chora museum and the archeological museum.

Daniel Austin López (MFA, 2016), Simón Ramírez Restrespo (MFA, 2016), Jaclyn Dooner (MFA, 2015)

Some days before, we met with sculptor and Academy professor Leonid Lerman and he gave me some directions on how to get to the Chora museum through a bus trip. He wrote on paper the information I needed and put in capitals the word “EDINERKAPI” at the place I had to go. When I arrived at the bus station, I showed this word to several locals who managed to show me which bus to take and where to get off (which was difficult since they don’t speak English and I don’t speak Turkish).

Bus in Istanbul

Like all the monuments, mosques and churches in Istanbul, the Chora museums took my breath away. The museum, also known as Kariye Müzesi, was a church built in the early 5th century and turned into a mosque around the 16th century under the command of the Grand Vizier of Sultan Bayezid II. Today, as I mentioned in my last post, the mix of cultures in Turkey live in harmony: Christian mosaics inside the Mosque have been restored after being covered for several years. When I stood there, I couldn’t believe I was in front of images that were created so many years ago! This impacts me even more considering how young my home country Colombia is in comparison to Turkey. After this visit, I decided to come back to the Sultanahmet district where all the most important mosques, museums, and historic places are located. While I was in the bus, I watched the city through the window: the men with their beards, the woman with their scarfs, the architecture, the chaotic traffic... and I couldn’t stop thinking, despite all the difference between this country and mine, that this city in its own way reminds me Colombia.

Mosaic In Chora Musuem

Mosaic In Chora Musuem

When I got to the archaeological museum - it was a wonderful surprise because at the beginning I didn’t know what to expected or what kind of pieces I was going to find there. From my point of view, the museum displays their sculptures and pieces as a condensed narrative history of Turkey. You can go from some Babylonian sculptures to Egyptian tombs and then cross to the next building and see examples of Hellenistic, Roman and Syrian art. Also you can appreciate and have a small taste of the evolution of art, from the early beginnings of people using the figure, reaching a high point in art; to the simplification of form in the early Christian period until the arrival of the Ottoman empire and the establishment of Islam, and how the introduction of a new religion changed the Aesthetics and art in general.

Istanbul Archaeology Museums

Medusa’s head

After this overwhelming visit to the city, I came back to Büyükada to meet with Austin, Jaclyn and Simon again. Jaclyn and Simon welcomed me with a BBQ night: indeed the both of them have been the chefs of our trip. Thanks to this, we have had the opportunity to eat some wonderful meals, while we share wine, beer and had conversations about work and life!

And now that our trip is getting close to its conclusion, I have to say I love every corner of the city and even though I don’t want to, I know a little piece of me is going to stay here wandering in Istanbul.

Impressions of Istanbul

By Leonid Lerman (Academy Faculty)

Leonid Lerman serves as adjunct faculty at the New York Academy of Art and participated as the visiting critic for the Academy's Istanbul residency this summer.

Image courtesy of Austin Lopez

I'm not much of a blogger, but feel like briefly sharing with you some of the impressions of the last few days. I'm slowly falling under the spell of Istanbul - walking a lot every day through the labyrinths of the small streets - I feel myself inside of a living sculpture. The experience reminds me my youth, spent in Odessa, life in the presence of a sea, lots of sun, great food and loud, happy and generous people. Nostalgic...

Two days ago spent an afternoon at the Istanbul Modern. Walking out at the end of the day I saw a large crowd of a young people listening to a man, speaking English with a heavy accent. Coming closer I recognize Slavoy Jijeck, cultural philosopher, speaking on many subjects, including art and politics. It was great, unexpected and very entertaining.

Yesterday at breakfast bumped into two Italians on the way to India, one of them a filmmaker. We shared a meal, had a wonderful conversation and parted friends. Why, it feels so good to see such down to earth, authentic people that you connect to so easily.

I've seen a lot for the last three days and looking forward to see and experience more...

Who knows what may come out of it... Not thinking about it but keeping my eyes, ears and mind open...

Will meet Daniel and probably some other students later today, in the afternoon. Time to fulfill the duty, but I'm looking forward to that and will do it with pleasure!

Till next time,
Cheers,

Leonid

Captivated by Istanbul

By Austin Lopez 

Whether it is making friends at cafes, seeing historical structures, visiting museums and galleries, or creating art at Mimar Sinan, the residency here in Istanbul has created a source of inspiration in me that could last a lifetime. 

Just for an idea of a typical week, I will describe this week so far. 

Sunday I had the usual çay (tea) at a cafe and made a new friend there after I had sketched him. Later that day I went to the palace and harem of Istanbul, which is exquisite.

Monday after our day at the studio, we went to the Grand Bazaar and did our best at bargaining there.

Today we visited Hagia Sophia and were amazed by the architecture and grandness of it. After our visit to Hagia Sophia we met with our New York Academy of Art visiting professor and artist, Leonid Lerman. Leonid viewed and critiqued our current works and later visited a few galleries with us.

 

Tomorrow we will visit a few more galleries and museums after our studio hours.

Each day here is so different from another!

Next week is the last week of our residency and we will spend it at our host, Ali's house in the beautiful island of Büyükada.

Though our residency is nearing its end, Jaclyn, Tatiana, Simon and I can easily agree that Istanbul is a captivating city we feel grateful to be in.