miscellaneous

“Nothingness” and “Entitled As” will be exhibited at the event “Transnatura Videolab”, at the Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra, Portugal, on 2 August 2010.

http://projectovideolab.blogspot.com/

Persistent Iteration is on c_m_l.

The Camel Collective began as a loose affiliation of artists, architects, and writers in the Spring of 2005. The U.S. invasion of Iraq, the dominant media’s tacit support for an illegitimate administration, and the hysterical real estate speculation in New York City motivated us to consider how we might orient our individual practices towards collective organization. Our belief in the productive force of collectivity and exchange across disciplines, along with the necessity to address social, political and economic issues as artists is what motivates our activities.

Toplu: Landscapes of New Turkish Suburbia
Photographs by Mark Slankard
Cleveland State Art Gallery | August 28 – October 10, 2009

Image taken from http://www.csuohio.edu/artgallery/

I went to see Slankard’s exhibition the other day. He has been documenting the new developments in the suburbs of Ankara and Istanbul for 2 years. How he captured his frames are amazing, beautiful photographs, but, as I said to the artist at the opening, these pictures disgust me. What is happening in Turkey in the name of urban development; The fixation of middle class single family dormitory like housing.

I worked at an advertising company in 1999, where I did works for a construction firm building these low cost semi-skyscrapers around Turkey. I used to get pictures like Slankard’s, empty concrete structures in the middle of dirt. As the designer, I had to put some green around, make the sky bluer, and perhaps include a few “newly married” similing couples in the final layout to make these things appealing to people. I found this one online, good job indeed.

The fact is Turkey will never become greener, and the sky will never be blue if they continue to sacrifice the lands for  the sake of an immediate profit.

Anyways, if you’re in/around Cleveland, go see Mark Slankard’s photographs, you will hate them—kidding, they are great.