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MATERIAL PICTURE EXHIBITION MAY BE VISITED FROM 7 MAY – 7 AUGUST 2009 AT THE AMERICAN HOSPITAL ART GALLERY “OPERATION ROOM”.
Foremost among the advances of modern art is undoubtedly the definition that the surface of a painting is not
solely an area to be painted over but one, on which diverse visual results can be obtained by the use of an array
of experiments. At the onset of the 20th century, the concept of "collage"advanced by Pablo Picasso, Georges
Braque as pioneers of the Cubist trend, envisaged the creation of a zone of unusual perception, interpretation
by means of pasting different materials on the surface of a painting 1.
From 1912 onwards, techniques such as collage, montage, decoupage, ready made, photomontage,
assemblage, found-object, digital collage played significant roles in relation to the trends of Cubism, Dadaism,
Constructivism, Futurism, Surrealism, Pop Art, Nouveau Realism, Fluxus, New Media, thus opening doors to
"semantically"new interpretations. In this exposé, I wish to deliberate neither these trends, already enshrined
in art history nor individual artists, but the "actuality of the material"as a subject matter of contemporary art.
These techniques which have accentuated different experiments not only in the visual arts but also in various
other fields such as photography, poetry, cinema, music, theater, video can in fact be considered as the product
of the efforts of "creative"artists to "surpass that which exists". Social, economic, political facts that influence
the pursuits of such creative artists cannot be ignored. Nonetheless, one should keep in mind the presence
of an instinctive inclination to experiment that goes beyond these influences. One consideration which should
not be overlooked in this general assessment - provided the journey of Modernism in Turkey is considered
as "local modernism"2 - is the fact that Turkish artists 3 who have engaged in a pursuit of different material
have become successful only after the 1960s. As regards present-day art, it is not an easy feat to distinguish
between Turkish art and world art in terms of experimenting with unusual materials. Because sophisticated
means of communication, improved sources of information have contributed an input of "concurrency"to art.
At this point what must be questioned is not only the underlying facts of the artists’ quest for material and the
motives which drive them to this pursuit but also the advances which its results offer to viewers, collectors,
museums as well as the "modern system of art".
One most important aspect of contemporary art which is an indicator of the cultural agenda is the circumstance
of "encounter"which often happens when contradicting elements or facts converge. When appraising the
encounter, the following two properties must be questioned rather that which technique (collage, montage,
deconstruction etc), which material (natural, non-natural), what mode (analog or digital) has been
employed 4: Whether the elements that converge and convene are linked to a specific system, and what
role this system plays in the entirety of the work of art created in terms of sentiment, aesthetics, connotation.
In our times, the differing proportions of an "encounter"are used in conjunction with the concept of "mapping".
Although originating from the science of cartography, "mapping"appears as a method employed in a wide
variety of disciplines ranging from mathematics to computer engineering, from visual arts to psychology.
In visual arts, when the mapping method is utilized, we see that the results obtained, assume a highly equipped
quality, consequently helping to expand the concepts of "metaphor"as well as "analogy"in the classical sense.
The theoretical information I have hitherto attempted to recap in this first part of the article was only a
brief reiteration of the debate on materials that continues to remain on the agenda of modern art. Considering
that first year students in art schools are subjected to courses on recognizing, conceptualizing different
materials, obviously this topic in itself is tediously "didactic". In brief, creating the conceptual framework of the
quest for material, of its usage, emerges as a necessity. The appeal, the lure of the material concerns the
viewer as well as the artist. Can one escape being fascinated by the passionate approach to the material
of Vladimir Tatlin, Kurt Schwitters, Robert Rauschenberg, Anish Kapoor?
Whether in canvas, sculpture or video techniques, two significant as well as opposing strategies that are to
be found at the root of the pursuit for unusual material, assume prominence. One of them is the inclination
to absolute visual / aesthetic / poetic approaches (Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Juan Gris, Joseph
Cornell) whereas the other is the predisposition towards politics / social criticism / query (Hannah Höch,
Kurt Schwitters, John Haertfield). Both of these tendencies represent different quests of realism;"therefore
have exerted their impact in the period from the 1970s to the present. As Magdalena Abakanowicz,
Paul Thek, Jean Tinguely realized work on the lines of the first inclination, Edward and Nancy Kienholz,
Judy Chicago, Hans Haacke, Gordon Matta - Clark have opted to produce along the second vein.
We cannot rightfully maintain that these opposing tendencies persist within strict categories in the current
milieu of art. Although Chris Ofili, Kara Walker, Doug Aitken can be considered as promoters of the first trend,
whereas Thomas Hirschorn, Andreas Siekmann, Francis Alys emerge as the supporters of the second, it is
apparent that artists who can use in their work both trends simultaneously, in different proportions, carry
their "search for material"to unusual extents: Emmanuelle Antille, Matthew Barney, Olafur Eliasson, Tracey
Emin, Isaac Julien, Kimsooja, Toba Khedoori, Jonathan Meese, Tracey Moffatt, Juan Muñoz, Ernesto Neto,
Gabriel Orozco, Mabel Palacin, Zhang Peili, Alberto Peral, Manfred Pernice, Tal R, Berni Searle, Gregor
Schneider, Eulàlia Valldosera.
It goes without saying that the interest modern artists display in the material, arises primarily from the material’s
property that provides speed in "relaying messages,"also its quality which offers "guidance"to devices of
mass communication. This in turn, urges many artists to engage in exciting experiments and consequently
to "cross the boundary". Walter de Maria’s 1968 Munich exhibition "Earth Show"consisted of 50 cubic meters
of soil spread over the premise. 5. German artist Wolfgang Laib in his work titled "Blütenstaub (1977)
exhibited the pollens which he had gathered from yellow flowers, later passing them through a special
sieve. 6 MacQuinn’s sculpture titled "Self"(1991) was made of 4.5 liters of the artist’s own blood frozen
to the shape of his head. 7. Andrei Molodkin, uses authentic Russian oil in his plexiglass statues in which
he uses engines, hosepipes. ("Hope", 2009) 8. Such examples abound. The variation achieved in the
interpretation of the material, the power materials possess to make ethnically, politically, socially different
advances current, is the motivating force that urges artists to repeatedly attempt experiments in this field,
as mentioned earlier. However, it must be mentioned that many artists who utilize material remain unaware
that after a certain period of time, the material as well as the methods once welcomed as "new, different"cannot avoid falling into a dreary tedium. What I wish to underline here is that the material, once it is used to
the extent of creating a "system,"will become monotonous, commonplace. Regrettably, it may be quite some
time before the "artist,"consumed by enchantment in his material, becomes aware of this. Indeed, he may never
wake up to it! However the "creative artist"is perfectly conscious of this; one of the objectives he has
set for himself is to attain new positions by altering his strategy, to eliminate the boring milieu of the
material he works with. Persistent experimenters with different techniques as well as different materials,
Philippe Parreno, Pierre Huyghe, Carsten Höller, Christine Hill, Vanessa Beecroft, Maurizio Cattelan,
Jorge Pardo, Vik Muniz emerge as artists who have produced work commanding remarkable proficiency.
This is one quality, which imparts the sense that it is after all, possible to utilize material without becoming
enslaved by it.
At the beginning of my piece, I mentioned a state of "encounter"which is formed by the convergence of
often contrary elements that set the agenda for modern art, for culture. Those "creative"artists,"who engage
in experiments with materials, as they present their viewers with a variety of encounters, are nevertheless
seeking to offer "new experiences"at whatever cost. But they face a rapid process of change in their
experiments. The creative artist can usually endure the rhythm of this change. Because he is divesting
himself of his "Orthodoxy"in the fullest sense of the word by showing the courage to set up a system and
then abandon it. This in its turn offers a most-needed "opportunity of liberation"to the viewer, the collector,
the gallery, the museum, the exhibitor and the critic.
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