“A fisherman returns to the port of Kumkapi at first light” (1950) My brother-at-heart, Bremser, gave me a little reminder that I hadn’t posted in some time. Among other things, this is what I’ve been doing. (Not the fishing, just the boat and Istanbul.) I’ve also been to Warsaw, Dresden (twice), and Bautzen in the last couple of weeks, and I’m on my way to Rome for a week. Needless to say I haven’t had enough structure to blog regularly — and if there are any of you out there left, I apologize! It’s not going to be easy for the next couple of weeks but I’m going to try a bit more. One thing I do want to note about Turkish photography (and its contemporary art in general, after looking at some museums and galleries) is that you can really see the colonial hangover in its presentation. There is still so much insecurity, so much desire to be seen as beautiful and intelligent in the eyes of the Western world — even a photographer like Gueler, whose skill is self-evident and undeniable, still feels the need to throw a layer of gauze and romance over Istanbul. As Turkey re-establishes itself as a regional power and economic growth center I wonder how that new confidence will play out in art. I’m hoping it will give artists more confidence to reflect their society as it is, rather than how they’d like it to be. Copyright Ara Gueler

“A fisherman returns to the port of Kumkapi at first light” (1950)

My brother-at-heart, Bremser, gave me a little reminder that I hadn’t posted in some time. Among other things, this is what I’ve been doing. (Not the fishing, just the boat and Istanbul.) I’ve also been to Warsaw, Dresden (twice), and Bautzen in the last couple of weeks, and I’m on my way to Rome for a week. Needless to say I haven’t had enough structure to blog regularly — and if there are any of you out there left, I apologize! It’s not going to be easy for the next couple of weeks but I’m going to try a bit more.

One thing I do want to note about Turkish photography (and its contemporary art in general, after looking at some museums and galleries) is that you can really see the colonial hangover in its presentation. There is still so much insecurity, so much desire to be seen as beautiful and intelligent in the eyes of the Western world — even a photographer like Gueler, whose skill is self-evident and undeniable, still feels the need to throw a layer of gauze and romance over Istanbul. As Turkey re-establishes itself as a regional power and economic growth center I wonder how that new confidence will play out in art. I’m hoping it will give artists more confidence to reflect their society as it is, rather than how they’d like it to be.

Copyright Ara Gueler