Description

Original bdg. HC. 4to. (28 x 23 cm). In English and Turkish. 320 p., ills. 101 artworks: Forty years of Turkish contemporary art.= 101 yapit: Türkiye güncel sanati'nin kirk yili. The book. 101 Art Works, is an attempt at approaching the history of contemporary art in Turkey through the art works and is offered both as an experience and a proposition. The works referenced are chosen from a period spanning over 40 years, the foundations for which have been laid by key figures like Altan Gurman and Sarkis. It initiates a discussion about the question of memory, which is lacking in contemporary art history of Turkey, and traces how issues such as sequentiality. simultaneity, tradition, bastardry. gender and feminism have been discussed in this geography. Both the selected works and the written text aim at capturing visual and conceptual ruptures and weaving them into an epistemological map. In this sense, 101 Artworks presents a very personal selection, enabled by a depth of experience, which is gained through constant and severe excavation in the same ground, from different angles. While wandering around in this rich history, we would like to emphasize the works, rather than early singular examples, acts or institutions. The reason why we prefer the name "101 Artworks", rather than "100". is to reminiscence "1001 nights' tales" and focus on building a flexible gallery of works rather than canonizing a "best of" selection. That is why the book was designed around "the gallery of works" concept by Ash Altay. These works have been selected from the whole cannon of contemporary art in Turkey, therefore the suggested narrative stretches to the early examples and touches upon a period spanning 40 years. There are two main sections in the book you are holding: The gallery section is "curatedv by Halil Altindere and places 101 chosen artworks in order and second section within the gallery is the text of a journey, in which Siireyyya Evren proposes a reading solely focused on the artworks. 101 Artworks is the continuation of "User's Manual", which we published in 2007. We would like to emphasize that contemporary art in Turkey offers much more than we are able to present here. We undertook one of the many possible journeys in this vast space. As we enthusiastically share our travelogue and photo album, upon arriving back from this impressive journey, we hope to evoke a desire in you. to experience and know this world more throughly.