Foto Galatasaray in three different contexts

fotogalatasaray2_may22
  • Every photography archive is an important corpus of culture, identity and representation. The sociological impact of studio photography, from its beginnings, should be sought in its ability to caress society's—especially the individual's—obsession with identity. Photography not only describes "his/her having been there" but also answers "who he/she was" and is perceived as a cultural indication. Thus, every photograph is inherently charged with a documentary role. It is this representational relationship that differentiates studio photography from different types of photograpy, by enabling relationships to form with many different disciplines.
installation photo by Sevim Sancaktar

An Attempt at Exhausting a Place

The concept of audience is implicit in the framing of exhibition. How do exhibition makers envision the audience and what is the role of text in contemporary art? What formats does the writer juggle with when formulating a funding application, a catalogue essay, or a press release? How do these formats reveal the curatorial concerns … Read more

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10

Elif Gül Tirben interviews Murat Durusoy

Murat Durusoy, Untitled 10, Seyir, 2012 The word ‘Seyir’ is one of the comprehensive words in Turkish—it means taking a journey from one place to another, to look and also to daydream. Pieces in this exhibition are the outcomes of a two year period of looking, wandering and researching.  (Seyir, C.A.M Press Release, 2012) Your … Read more

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Eleanor Oakes, The Last Stage: Funeral Homes in America

Most funeral homes are meticulously maintained and decorated. They are conceived as venues to comfort the grieving and are often abundant in impressive architectural details and plush ornamental furniture. Some are incredibly beautiful and function in ornate historic mansions passed down for generations. However, while they are referred to as “homes” the key element betraying … Read more

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Two introductions to Foto Galatasaray

I met Foto Galatasaray over a year before the exhibition of the same name at SALT Galata, in Tayfun’s studio at the former Platform space. Tayfun’s rigorous research has yielded a project that strikes a delicate balance between completion and incompletion. The archive produces more meanings as time goes by, as the number of Istanbulites … Read more

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Michael Rakowitz, For what it’s worth…, 2011. Photograph by Serkan Taycan.

On “Scramble for the Past” at SALT Galata, İstanbul

The following text was originally published in Modern Painters, March 2012. The illustration on the title page of Voyage pittoresque dans l’Empire ottomane, 1842, tells a story beyond a romantic vision of 19th-century Greece suffering under Ottoman domination. It shows a grieving woman among Classical ruins, seated before a Latin inscription that translates as: Arise, O Unknown. The picture not only symbolizes the desire of … Read more

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