All posts tagged: Turkey

Saype Brings Symbol of Joined Hands to East/West Precipice in Istanbul

Saype Brings Symbol of Joined Hands to East/West Precipice in Istanbul

The French-Swiss land artist Saype is starting his 30s with a grand idea of hands joined across the earth.

Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Golden Horn of the Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey. October 2020 (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)

“I think that we are in a moment of humanity when the world is becoming polarized and part of the population is choosing to withdraw into itself,” he says. So symbolically he is spraying massive patches of grass with images of hands joined in cities across the world – including Paris, Andorre, Geneva, Berlin, Ouagadougou, Yamoussoukro, and Turin.

Today we take you to his latest installation of three clasped hands in Istanbul, particularly symbolic because it is at the precipice of so-called East and West. He says that since he would like his monumental works to be bridges painted between cultures, the city of Istanbul constitutes an essential stage, at the crossroads of the worlds between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.  

Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Golden Horn of the Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey. October 2020 (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)

“Istanbul is really on two continents between Europe and Asia,” he says, “and it’s amazing because we’re going to be able to connect the two here. We made three frescoes; a fresco on the European side, a floating barge covered with grass that will cross the Bosphorus, and a fresco on the Asian continent in Beykoz.”

Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Golden Horn of the Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey. October 2020 (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)

The three frescoes were created using biodegradable pigments and included one artwork at Bogazici University (2500 m2) on the European side of the country, a second one was created in the Beykoz district (1600 m2) on the Asian side and the two of them were linked by an artwork painted on a floating barge in the Golden Horn of the Bosphorus (2200 m2). Valentin Flauraud stood in for Saype at the barge.

Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Golden Horn of the Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey. October 2020 (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)

The work carried out in Istanbul was benefitted by support from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Kültür A.Ş, the Municipality of Beşiktaş, the Boğaziçi University, the Consulate General of Switzerland, the French Institute in Turkey and UPS.

“I am convinced that it is only together that humanity will be able to respond to the biggest challenges it will have to overcome them.”

Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Golden Horn of the Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey. October 2020 (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Bogazici University. Istanbul, Turkey. October 2020 (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Beykoz district. Istanbul, Turkey. October 2020 (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
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BSA Images Of The Week: 03.18.18

BSA Images Of The Week: 03.18.18


BSA-Images-Week-Jan2015

A quick recap of two big stories of the week in cold New York: Revok’s lawsuit against retailer H&M for using his work, done illegally, in an ad campaign was answered this week by a counter lawsuit from them. It set off a backlash among Street Artists on social media and elsewhere, garnering a large number of stories in media outlets large and small. Others have said everything we would have – except that whether this suit is withdrawn or not, there is still question whether the matter of illegally done artworks will be copyright protected in the future or not. We like how Juxtapoz has covered the topic HERE.

Secondly, Banksy has been in New York pulling our chain again, putting up new works in the city and announcing them on his social media, then putting them up without announcing them? Regardless, photographers and fans are racing to capture images. Who knows how long this visit lasts or what trick is up his sleeve next.

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets (and elsewhere), this week featuring Adam Fujita, Banksy, Don Rimx, Hox Hoh, K-Nor, Naomi Rag, Timothy Curtis, and Zehra Doğan

Top Image: Banksy? We’ll have to wait…(photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Detail.  A tribute. A plea. A denunciation. A well used example of the artist’s platform to bring awareness of the plight of artists who dare to set themselves free with their art. Depicted here is Ms. Zehra Doğan an editor and journalist from Turkey. She is presently serving time in jail for painting Turkish flags on a painting showing destroyed buildings and posting the painting on Social Media.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Free Zehra Doğan. NYC Houston/Bowery Wall. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Detail.(photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Naomi Rag. Red Rose in Spanish Harlem. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“There is a rose in Spanish Harlem
A red rose up in Spanish Harlem
It is a special one, it’s never seen the sun
It only comes out when the moon is on the run
And all the stars are gleaming
It’s growing in the street right up through the concrete
But soft and sweet and dreaming…” Jerry Leiber & Phil Spector

Naomi Rag. Hope for the Spring… (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Toy Ass…Toys are Not Us… (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Don Rimx (photo © Jaime Rojo)

HOX XOH (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Adam Fujita (photo © Jaime Rojo)

K-Nor (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Timothy Curtis (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Charles…Home Run… (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Manhattan, NYC. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

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Fintan Magee: Wishes And Hopes For 2018

Fintan Magee: Wishes And Hopes For 2018

As we draw closer to the new year we’ve asked a very special guest every day to take a moment to reflect on 2017 and to tell us about one photograph that best captures the year for them. It’s an assortment of treats to surprise you with every day – to enjoy and contemplate as we all reflect on the year that has passed and conjure our hopes and wishes for 2018. This is our way of sharing the sweetness of the season and of saying ‘Thank You’ to each of you for inspiring us throughout the year.

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Brisbane-based realist Fintan Magee has been nailing tall walls around the world this year with technical precision and an extraordinary appreciation for our ordinary lives. We had the privilege of seeing him in action in Scotland, Sweden and Tahiti this year and each time we realized that he’s undaunted by the scale of a job, in love with the process of painting. He is also completely dedicated to speaking to the profound issues of our time including global warming, sea levels rising, our refugee crises worldwide, and natural resource preservation and management. Carrying the water theme, Fintan shares with us one of his favorite pieces of the year in Instanbul.


FINTAN MAGEE

I chose this one because it was a new aesthetic for me and Istanbul was easily my favourite city that I have visited this year. I also wanted to thank Mural Istanbul for being amazing hosts and all the locals who looked after me.

Fintan Magee. Istanbul, Turkey. June, 2017. (photo © Fintan Magee)

 

Fintan Magee

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BSA Film Friday 12.05.14

BSA Film Friday 12.05.14

Brooklyn-Street-Art-740-Gaia-Film-Friday-Screen-Shot-2014-12-02-at-9.15

BSA-Video-Friday3-Jan2014-b

Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.

Now screening :

1. Street Artist GAIA, Super Modernity in Italy, Austria, Turkey
2. JR: RIVAGES  a film by Guillaume Cagniard
3. Curiot at the Mexico City’s Youth Institute

BSA Special Feature: Street Artist GAIA, Super Modernity in Italy, Austria, Turkey

“Traversing places in order to respond to place, what an absurd proposition.”

And yet, that is what Street Artist Gaia has been doing for the last 3 years or so.  In route he has been seeing many other artists doing the same thing, and has been feeling super modern about it.

While Street Art grew out of the graffiti tradition of tagging your local city with your name and your artwork and calling it a day, few are satisfied with that audience today. True fame happens via the Internet and mural festivals, and Gaia has made it one of his goals to study the history and culture of his host city and the resulting art works have been affected by his self-education and observation.

In this new video mini-treatise, an existential examination of his own journey to this point, Gaia poses questions while cleverly jabbing at the roving rootless lifestyle that has arrested many artists in the Street Art scene; reveling in its benefits — possibly counting its costs.

The petite piece is scored by Max Muffler in a postmodern electronic timber, evoking the charging swing of perpetual cross-cultural travel that can be rich and repetitively banal.

Sounds like the beginning of a larger work to come.

 

 

JR: RIVAGES  a film by Guillaume Cagniard

 

Curiot at the Mexico City’s Youth Institute

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Street Art from ROBBBB in Dubai and Turkey

Workers around the world look amazingly similar, no matter the city.

Street Artist Robbbb, who we last saw in Beijing, is introducing some of the people from that city to be a part of Dubai and two of Turkeys largest cities, Istanbul and Izmir.

“This series of works from China are images of the most common people. I took them to foreign countries with an attempt to explore differences of political and social background, and to highlight their mode of existence,” he observes as he speaks about the enlarged wheat pastes he hand colored.

ROBBBB. Izmir, Turkey. (photo © Robbbb)

With this project Robbbb brings a Chinese man on a rickshaw to the a waste disposal back alley of Istanbul, a lady with a pushcart to a side lot in Izmir, and a man loaded down with bags to a small busy street in Dubai. These are all cities with workers going about their every day life and among them Robbbb wants to introduce their counterparts; images frozen and in mid-action while performing their daily chores and routines on foreign soil.

The concept is well executed as you often will see a local performing the same action while passing the wheatpast,  so similar are our daily routines: Pushing a grocery cart, riding a bike to work, toiling, walking a child to school or to a friends home. With this project Robbbb shows our similarities despite differences in physical appearance, clothing, and cultural differences.

ROBBBB. Istanbul, Turkey. (photo © Robbbb)

ROBBBB. Istanbul, Turkey. (photo © Robbbb)

ROBBBB. Istanbul, Turkey. (photo © Robbbb)

ROBBBB. Istanbul, Turkey. (photo © Robbbb)

ROBBBB. Dubai. (photo © Robbbb)

ROBBBB. Dubai. (photo © Robbbb)

ROBBBB. Dubai. (photo © Robbbb)

Click here to read and see images of Robbbb’s works in Beijing.

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Various and Gould Perform “Guest Work” on the Street in Istanbul

The German Street Art Duo and “Berlistanbul”

A cobalt blue streak sweeps through a narrow street in Istanbul as Various and Gould don fluorescent orange work vests and push brooms with a purpose. The lunchtime crowd gathers a few steps back and to the sides to witness a remarkable cloud of ultra-marine pigment forming a wake behind the two German Street Artists as they perform their new installation focusing on work and workers.

Various & Gould “Zu Gast Arbeit”.  Istanbul, Turkey.  5th of April 2012 (photo © Gülbin Eriş)

Simply by changing the color of the dirt, the effect of an everyday act by municipal workers is effectively transformed, if not understood. 34 kilos of non-toxic blue pushed up a street with confidence and industry by two people wearing an official-looking logo on their uniforms does cause confusion. “What happened? Did someone die?” asks a spectator.  No, they are assured, it is an art performance – an explanation that calms most but not all, including restaurant owners here in this eastside tourist district of “Beyoğlu” while their dining guests look curiously with mouths agape.

Various & Gould “Zu Gast Arbeit”.  Istanbul, Turkey.  5th of April 2012 (photo © Gülbin Eriş)

“Zu Gast Arbeit”, loosely translated as “guest work”, is the name of the piece by Various and Gould and like many of their wheat-pastes on streets in cities around the world, it is focused on the topic of “work”.  In this part of Istanbul where they are participating in a group show called “Outside In” with eight other Street Artists, V&G talk about the significance of this public act of sweeping and the changing nature of work today, “Work nowadays is becoming increasingly invisible. It is getting harder to grasp and comprehend.” With a hint of the ridiculous their custom “uniform” logo shows their affinity for workers in their home and host city. “On the backs of our orange vests we stenciled the two city emblems merged into each other – on the bottom the shape of Berlin’s familiar television tower and on top the municipal logo of Istanbul. Together it can be read as the symbol for a utopian place called “Berlistanbul”.

So how did this performance go? And why is the topic of work so important to the duo? Various and Gould talked with Brooklyn Street Art to give us a better understanding of “Zu Gast Arbeit”.

Brooklyn Street Art: Your Street Art work often focuses on themes related to work and workers. While technological changes have caused many jobs to evaporate, the streets don’t clean themselves, do they? The world still depends on workers, right?
Various and Gould: Yes, of course the world depends on workers. In many areas migrants do mainly these physically exhausting and badly paid jobs. Physical labor isn’t very well respected and although this work is important, we hardly say “Thank You”! Also there ARE machines that clean the streets and replace the jobs of a lot of people.

Various & Gould “Zu Gast Arbeit”.  Istanbul, Turkey.  5th of April 2012 (photo © Gülbin Eriş)

Brooklyn Street Art: Are you drawing attention to the act of physical labor, or to the life of the worker?
Various and Gould:It has a lot to do with the physical labor of a worker and also with the role of a worker. The monotonous repetition of the sweeping movement is somehow neutral and peaceful. The street cleaner is a familiar image to the residents and is normally not much noticed. He is somewhat official, as he is hired and paid by the city, but he is also perceived as low-grade.

It’s just the little shift of a color in the performance that adds a different meaning to the act of sweeping and draws attention to it. The combination of “cleaning” (but actually doing the opposite of it) brought in a breeze of absurdity and senselessness. Art is irrational. And when an idea comes up, it comes from the guts and isn’t much explainable at first.

In the book Momo, by Michael Ende, there is a beautiful scene, where Beppo, the street cleaner, tells Momo that it is important not to look for the end of the long street and the long distance you still have to go, but rather to put your concentration in every step and sweep and breath. Then it is fun and you do your work well and suddenly you reach the end of the street.

Various & Gould “Zu Gast Arbeit”.  Istanbul, Turkey.  5th of April 2012 (photo © Gülbin Eriş)

Brooklyn Street Art: While this blue streak through town is visual, would you say the project is more conceptual in nature?
Various and Gould: Actually it isn’t very different from what we’ve done before: bringing some color to the street … but yes, it is a conceptual work. We chose the medium of a performance very carefully. We knew that every detail matters and each has a certain meaning, so we tried to reduced the elements of the performance and simplify it. It is about a seeing something in a new way and the context plays a big role this performance. If it were performed this way in Berlin it wouldn’t have the same meaning. (But since the element of chance is also part of a performance the perception of your work is unpredictable anyway.)

Various & Gould “Zu Gast Arbeit”.  Istanbul, Turkey.  5th of April 2012 (photo © Gülbin Eriş)

Brooklyn Street Art: What role does a public performance like this play in a community?
Various and Gould:This is hard to say, as we aren’t part of any community in Istanbul! We were guests and tourists. We were a bit afraid of coming to Istanbul with this performance, not knowing the community so well and all the customs – there is always a risk of being called an “Orientalist” – meaning a person who goes somewhere with a Western behavior of superiority.

And as the Turkish-German guest worker issue is as quite delicate, we didn’t know how our performance would be understood and perceived. But we had the feeling the spectators were quite open. Although the performance was meant as a dialogue and contribution it clearly holds the potential of (cultural) misunderstanding and incomprehension.

Various & Gould “Zu Gast Arbeit”.  Istanbul, Turkey.  5th of April 2012 (photo © Gülbin Eriş)

Brooklyn Street Art: Your logo merges the cultures of Berlin and Istanbul. Can you talk about the significance of these two cities to each other and their relationship to work?
Various and Gould: There are quite a few parallels. It seems that Berlin and Istanbul both are very popular as cultural hot spots at the moment. Many young creatives from all over the world are moving there and this is also accompanied by a higher tolerance for differences. For us these two cities are like a gate to a German-Turkish cultural exchange.  In light of the history of Turkish guest workers coming, living and staying in Germany it is time for a merging movement toward each other from both sides.

Various & Gould “Zu Gast Arbeit”.  Istanbul, Turkey.  5th of April 2012 (photo © Gülbin Eriş)

Various & Gould “Zu Gast Arbeit”.  Istanbul, Turkey.  5th of April 2012 (photo © Gülbin Eriş)

“Zu Gast Arbeit” – A performance by Various & Gould

In Istanbul, Turkey on the 5th of April, 2012.
Photos by and copyright of Gülbin Eriş.
With support from: Sinejan Kılıç and Önder Duman
Curator: Sinejan Kılıç

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!

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Images of the Week 04.15.12

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Don John, Enki, General Howe, James Nardone, Never, Rae, Sheryo, Stikman, The Yok, and Willow.

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Never, The Yok and Sheryo (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Never, The Yok and Sheryo (photo © Jaime Rojo)

General Howe is waging war in Wisconsin (photo © General Howe)

Willow (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown in Reykjavik, Iceland (photo © Enki)

Artist Unknown in Istanbul, Turkey (photo © James Nardone)

Artist Unknown in Istanbul, Turkey (photo © James Nardone)

Don John in Berlin, Germany (photo © Don John)

Stikman (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rae (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We don’t mind sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not take the photographer’s name off the .jpg file. Otherwise, please do not re-post. Thanks!

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West Berlin Gallery at Istanbul Contemporary (Istanbul, Turkey)

Istanbul Contemporay

 

BERLIN STREET ART AT CONTEMPORARY ISTANBUL 2011
West Berlin Gallery at Contemporary Istanbul, Nov 24th – Nov 27th 2011
Berlin’s street art scene is rising high and fast, creating a buzz and making it’s way across the globe. Along side the Istanbul Biennale, one of Turkey’s most exciting art events, Contemporary Istanbul art fair is extending it’s exhibition space for it’s sixth edition to display the unconventional yet relevant art scene of one of Europe’s most influential cities of today, Berlin.

Personally selected by Landesverband Berliner Galerien, West Berlin Gallery, a space dedicated to street art, is proud to announce its participation in ART FROM BERLIN – a selected presentation of Berlin based galleries – in Contemporary Istanbul 2011, held on November 24th – November 27th, 2011 at the Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Center.

Works by Alias, Giacomo Spazio, and Linda’s Ex will be represented by West Berlin Gallery at Contemporary Istanbul 2011.

Alias, a leading role in German street art, will furnish our walls with original pieces, both classic and new, made mostly on recycled material, bringing to Istanbul the authenticity of Berlin’s street art scene. Not only will he be debuting recent works on the West Berlin Gallery walls, but Alias himself will be present during the time of the fair (incognito, of course), utilizing the streets of Istanbul as a personal canvas for his latest work. (Please contact us regarding possible artist interview during our stay in Turkey).

Giacomo Spazio, a pioneer in the street art scene, is also providing our booth with exaggerated visuals and in-your-face messages, which recognize and mimic the apprehensions of our propaganda-ridden society. Long known for his individual contributions to art, this well-know artist has been making art since the 70’s, making himself yet another benefactor to the ever-present authenticity of all that is street art.

Made famous by his “Linda’s Ex” campaign in which he used street art to get his girlfriend back, Roland Brückner is now a part of Berlin’s street art history and will be debuting his latest paintings in our booth – a new approach and further development of his work.

Further information

Dates: November 24th – November 27th
Place: Istanbul Convention & Exhibition Center
Website: http://www.contemporaryistanbul.com/

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Happy Thanksgiving From BSA

brooklyn-street-art-jaime-rojo-11-10-2A local pigeon takes in the autumn display on the street. Photo © Jaime Rojo

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody! Nothing like a big frozen bird sitting on a mountain of tubers to start off the festivities – and scenes like this are happening all over the place right now. Hey, do you know what sweet potatoes wear to go to sleep?

brooklyn-street-art-jaime-rojo-11-10-1Photo © Jaime Rojo

Their yammies, of course! Yes, that’s the kind of joke your uncle Fred is going to bore everybody with today when he’s getting in the way in the kitchen, dipping his finger into the pumpkin pie. Give him a beer and point him toward the TV.

Have a great day and hope you find something to be thankful for.

xx

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