Description

Paperback. Pbo. 4to. (29 x 24 cm). In French and Turkish. 127 p., color ills. "Modernity? Perspectives from France and Turkey" explores the effects of modernity on contemporary art. Sponsored by the Comité Colbert, the show focuses on how artists have come to a reckoning with the phenomenon of modernity, a concept that is still valid today. In a globalized world, we are going through a period of diverse, profound, and complex relationships in which the use of new technology and social media are forming intricate structures. Istanbul Modern's exhibition attempts to reveal how the remnants of modernity have seeped into our lives. While the show creates an opportunity for comparing approaches of artists to modernity and assessing similar and different points, its aesthetic approach enables us to establish new proposals for social readings and utopias. Of course, it is also true that France was one of the crucial role models in Turkey's modernization project. Curated by Celenk Bafra and Levent Calikoglu, the show features 17 works from 11 different French and Turkish artists, including Nevin Aladag, Fikret Atay, Kader Attia, Ayse Erkmen, Cyprien Gaillard, Thomas Hirschhorn, Pierre Huyghe, Chris Marker, Sarkis, Hale Tenger and Nasan Tur. The dynamics of modern life have been both criticized and considered an endless opportunity for inquiry in the visual arts.