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04/12/2007: "Feeding the Fires of Anti-Americanism"

A few months ago, I went to Istanbul for a wedding on a boat in the Bosphorous. I was there for four days, and between the ceremony and the party afterwards, I had a lot of time to wander, and think about this country and its people, who live just across the border from Syria, Iraq, Armenia and Iran. I drank a lot of tea in carpet shops, ate lunch with Turks I had only just met, and heard a lot of calls to prayer echoing from one minaret to another. In one carpet shop, I carried on a conversation with a salesman as another faced Mecca, bowing up and down on his personal prayer rug.


The trip started out in Bergamo, Italy, where I spent the night in the airport parking lot because the flight was so early. At nine AM we came down into Sabiha Gokcen Airport, a smaller strip than Ataturk international, where the intercontinental flights land. Parked just in front of the landing terminal was a Korean Airlines jet, its roof blown open by a bomb. It had been there for quite some time, and as I stared at the blackened edges of the hole, I wondered why they hadn’t hauled it off out of sight somewhere.
The taxi driver spoke no English, but I knew I was going to Sultanamet, so I said that one word, faking self assurance. We approached the city on local roads, and after more than an hour passing begging six year olds at traffic lights, we arrived next to the Blue Mosque. It was nearly impossible to find my hotel, even if it was just hundreds of feet away, but eventually my chain smoking driver did. I settled in, and began to wander the city.
The first place I went was Taxim Square, where there were thousands of riot police surrounding a demonstration of perhaps five hundred Armenians, protesting the previous days shooting of a journalist who had long covered a massacre of their people early in the twentieth century. The soldiers had the oddest riot gear, clearly effective, but different and perhaps a tad more aggressive than anything I’d ever seen. And everything was black. They were backed up by tanks mounting water cannons.
Someone told me Istanbul is the largest city in Europe. I had printed out Michelin walking maps, but gave up when I saw the distances between points were staggering. I was ‘around the corner’ from a hotel some of the other guests were staying in, but even if it looked that way on the map, it was so far from where I was that I never found it. The city is at least five times the size of Athens. There are little alleyways big enough for just a bicycle almost everywhere.
As I walked, periodically I’d be stopped by men asking a lot of ‘friendly’ questions, talking a little about themselves, and finishing up with,
“You feel like a drink? I know a great place.”
There are more of these people the further east you go in Europe, and what happens is, they buy two drinks, and then disappear, ostensibly to use the bathroom, and never return. An absolutely stunning woman comes and sits at your table, asking why you’re in Istanbul, and saying she’s never met an American before. You fall under her spell, and then she asks if you’ll buy her a drink. You ask, what is she having, she snaps “Champagne” to a waiter, and instantly, he magically produces a bottle and opens it before you can protest. Your bill can be over a thousand dollars, and if you don’t pay, they beat you up. Credit cards are fine.
I talk to these people. But I don’t go to have a drink with them. If you say, not this time, they don’t press you. And they leave with a smile.
I walk through the Grand Bazaar. Carpet salespeople assault you from every angle. I am here to get an education, and I start to learn about oriental rugs. There are many qualities, and each has its own reason for having been made. Mostly, the ones I’m looking at, to re-carpet my VW, have significant flaws. There is the legend of how carpets must have something wrong with them, because only God makes perfect things.
Inside a shop, a salesman looks at my hands. He says,
“What work do you do to have such calluses? And your nails…” I tell him I’m a marble sculptor. He asks to see my work, and I say, you can see it on the web. We go into a back room with a computer on a desk, surrounded by about ten Turks having lunch. As I go into Absolutearts, another man offers me some rice in grape leaves, some kind of couscous, and some apple tea. In no time I’m sitting at the table, all kinds of food pushed my way, as each of them buzzes through my web pages. There is something similar about my Harlequin and oriental carpets, and that’s the piece they remain fixed on, or the ones with mosaic colors.
I leave three hours later. The salesman I first met gives me the address of a friend who might have what I’m looking for, and tells me about the Istanbul Biennale.
“You can carve marble on the edge of the Bosphorus, watching the ships go by. If you decide to do this, please come here and visit us again.”
Later, I look up the Biennale, and find it is being curated by Hou Hanru of the San Francisco Art Institute. This is not a show I have a chance of being accepted in, but apart from that, I think, well how is this going to be received by the Turks? No doubt from those I’ve met, the common folk, they’re going to be appalled. And what will the development of anti-Americanism mean to people like me?
I know what it means. France has a well deserved reputation as the most anti-American country in Europe. A few months ago, in the Paris Airport, falling unconscious from insulin shock, I asked an Air France attendant for emergency medical care. He told me to go f--- myself, and when I could no longer stand, he called a wheelchair to carry me onto the plane. His two assistants were giggling. This is the nature of anti-Americanism. It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you have done.
Turkey has its own cultural identity. And that identity has absolutely nothing to do with conceptual art. The vast majority of Turks who see a professor, even a Chinese one, from an American University, promoting this kind of work are going to resent it, and that’s going to fall straight on the shoulders of Americans here and elsewhere. We do not need to be resented any more than we already are, and by showing Turks how powerless they are to stop something they don’t want to see, we are not doing ourselves any long term favors. It is not enough to mean well and try to give them an education. It is important that they want to hear your message.
You need to be sensitive, in order to gain the appreciation of others for what you are exhibiting, and to establish a mutually fulfilling cultural identity of your own. There is a right place and a wrong place, a right time, and a wrong time, and although this event may help a very limited number of Turks to say, “We’ve got it too!”, the majority are going to feel what they’d feel if they saw a new McDonalds.
It is not as if we have to feel ashamed of our cultural identity, a part of which certainly encompasses conceptual work. We just have to try to feel out the waters first, and do what truly opens cultural doors, rather than closing them to resentment. I get the feeling this was all organized by e-mail, and that very few of the movers and shakers for this exhibit have even been to Turkey.
The money is coming from somewhere, and certainly not from Turkey. The Finance Team is larger than any curatorial team, and posts their e-mail prominently on the Biennale site. The second largest team is the Marketing team, which does the same.
I’m starting to feel that Biennales, wherever they take place, are now just trade fairs bent on taking money from rich American artists, of whom there are so many. I got a package from the Florence Biennale, opened it, and was appalled at how different it was from a serious Italian exhibition. It is implied that somehow this is organized by the City of Florence, but we know better. The only thing Italian about this, is the price of $2500.00 being changed into Euros, for the extra $750.00 it lets the organizers make. The ‘pigeons’ are nearly all American, being ‘taken’ in one of the oldest post war games in Italy…’fregamericanismo’, or, stealing from suckers too green to even know they’ve been done. When a Florentine sees mediocre work done by an American in a city which has more great works of art than just about any place in the world, our national image is made ridiculous – and we’ve paid for it to boot. The snickers of Italians grow, as their esteem for us spirals downward. Under all of this grows resentment, and a fresh twig is set upon the smoldering fire of anti-americansm.
The next thing that happened in Istanbul was the wedding. I scoured the bazaars for a gift, found one, and delivered it wrapped in an old Turkish newspaper, taking a cab. This guy spoke English, and all he wanted was to ask me questions about George Bush. He offered me a Turkish cigarette, and I smoked it. Something about sharing a smoke that cuts away the hostility. You share anything, and somehow a barrier has fallen.
After the party, I trammed back to Sultanamet square, and walked to my hotel at close to 2AM. The massive police presence of the day was replaced by an echoing emptiness, only occasionally interrupted by cars hot rodding off in the distance. A car pulls up next to me, and the driver just leaves it in the middle of the road, and gets out. He comes over to me, and offers me a cigarette, trying to start a conversation. I take it. He’s from Kazhakistan, and has relatives on the South Shore of Long Island. We talk, but when he says he knows a great Russian bar at Taxim, I tell him I’ve had enough for the evening, and just want to sleep. He smiles, and drives off.

Replies: 51 Comments

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on Thursday, April 26th, Brad said

It seems the fundamental nature of Government is to deny everything horrific that happens to it's elements of opposition it holds a hand in. To practice denial of atrocities carried out on it's watch. What the Turks did to the Armenians, in effect is not much different to the results of Bush's war on Iraq - 650,000 citizens of that country dead, no freedoms, no future near. Bush doesn't want deadlines for future US troop funding - yet he gave Hussein & sons 48 hours to leave their country in his immoral rush to war. I would love to visit Turkey, and I have found great people all over this world. Our fall comes from our boundaries which propose that there are differences between us - when in fact - there are not. Our gods create these same boundaries between us as our governments...

on Thursday, April 26th, jose said

Andrew, maybe all this turmoil we've been living through, causing so much anguish and feigning surprise when we realise that there is retaliation, is something we have to accept as the harsh wake-up call for the changes we have to bring about in our behaviour [from both sides]. I personally don't believe that politics or economics alone will do the trick - politics is too inaccessible and obscure to the common man, economics passes him by and serves other interests than his well-being. Can the exchange of culture and its values do the trick and bring peoples together by touching us at our basic common denominator - our humanity and the aspirations and needs that are common to us all? I still want to believe it can and that that is the role we artists are ascribed to play, even if it happens silently on the margins. In the end I believe Dosto�evsky will have his day. Aside from the work in the studio that's what I want to engage in, as I'm sure you and others here on this forum do too. Keep posting your views from your travels, they are an important contribution to opening our eyes.

on Wednesday, April 25th, olivier said

argh, bloody misunderstanding.
Enfin tout est bien qui finit bien.,

on Wednesday, April 25th, Andrew said

Jose, that last sentence was what this blog was all about.

on Wednesday, April 25th, olivier said

Do I have to give up my nice leathered SUV with this great Bose surround system? Should the kids go to public school? We are 4 at home we need 4 bathrooms, once a year we all rush at the same time. And the cottage?
Yes it must change, but... luxury is a drug

on Wednesday, April 25th, jose said

Olivier, le Pen was short of 11% this time. They were visibly shaken at his camp! Folks, stop berating yourselves, all our countries are at fault, there is no country on this planet that doesn't have a rotten apple somewhere, even Tibet had a violent past before it made its miraculous inward shift to what it became before the Chinese invasion. The question is: is there possibility of redemption and are we willing to allow for it to come about? Or, are we going to insist on pretending to be superior and keeping up he posture we keep in relation to everything that isn't in keeping with what we expect?

on Tuesday, April 24th, olivier said

Brad, you are correct. We have a guy in france who denied the jews holoauste during the second big one. And he want to be president with nearly 15% of intention of vote... Sorry I don't have the numbers of last Sunday. You have stuff like that in the States, don't you? Compensation or non sense for our french fellow, become a big political game, here too in Canada, but they still refuse to compensate the First Nations with misappropriation of given lands.

Nice Jose I like that!

on Tuesday, April 24th, Andrew said

Brad, the Turks I met didn't deny that holocaust, they accept that it happened, and were very upset by the death of the reporter who was writing about it. The thousands of bouquets of flowers placed in public gathering places mostly came from Turks. If we talk about things the US has done, I don't think you'll ever find Americans all denying or all applauding anything. Turks, well, they're kind of like us in that respect.

on Tuesday, April 24th, Brad said

Andrew,
"Brad, what do the Turks deny?" - The Armenian Holocaust.

on Tuesday, April 24th, jose said

'Beauty will save the world' - Dosto�evsky's words, not mine.

on Tuesday, April 24th, olivier said

Andrew, yes I'will love to go there. I heard so much good about this country. And i am very please about your much more positive comments you are giving us in your last post; talking about people from everywhere. That's what we are my friend. I'm sorry about my excessive nature but you have to understand it start with your title here. I do not deny the facts but i feel very boored about this attitude to mixt terrorism with colors (we have other kind of terrorism by here too, not the same I agree)). If theses colors things are true, I will be a big of this so called terrorist with my palette.
What about we stop talking about americanism and terrorism for a while? Just to have a peaceful break in our mind, you know in afganistan most are very poor.. since a long time... it is not funny. As artist I beleive we should give a deeper insight of our society. We are not here to make money or nourish the system, we should be here to give another ideal as an alternative. Something witch probably will never work but at least give our community of artists the energie to keep going and get these empty wall in any corner of the planet where we like to see our work.
You deserve the rotonde in the center of the house. That's fine for me, you are inteligent, you work show many sort of talents. For me I just need a litle nail in the bathroom, one in each country.
PS we had a Turk accessing my web site from this page. I know nothing else than an Istanbul IP. It will be nice one more time if we can talk together, with other community in the world. I know I'm just a dreamer and I like it. At the end I am not so much of a tourist, never been

on Tuesday, April 24th, Andrew said

Olivier, I would never turn my back on someone like you. Just like I didn't on the other Olivier. A plant like a stinging nettle, is good in soup, and makes the woods more interesting.
I wanted to mention that the current Istanbul scene has a bit of all the cities of the world where art has flourished. It is in the area between Taxim square and Sultanamet. Once it was an are where you didn't want to be at night, but now it has developed into an international art scene, full of writers, musicians and painters from all over the world. There are clubs, hang-outs, and restaurants with very innovative themes and decor, and the people here are from everywhere. French, Germans, Japanese, Asians, and even a sprinkling of Americans. And Turks, with a very well developed understanding of what's happening in the rest of the world. It is still cheap, but won't be for long, nor will it even exist in a few years the way it does now. Go if you can. This is the place where a true cultural exchange is taking place, right at this very moment.

on Friday, April 20th, jose said

he, he! thanks for the tip, it's now on my list.

on Friday, April 20th, olivier said

Snow is great, "the memories..." never heard about. The good reason for the prize thriller is that the action is hapenning in the Turkish art community, written by Orham Pamuk a fantastic Turk author. Trust me it worth the reading.
Yes you look weird, I agree one more time

on Friday, April 20th, jose said

I'm not worried about Andrew, mon ami, I was worried about you... for a moment there I didn't know where you were heading but now I see we all seem to share similar concerns - which doesn't mean we are right but at least keeps us debating. I read Snow and am contemplating buying Istambul - Memories of a City as soon as I sell a painting. I'm a weird guy, I don't usually go for the book that got the prize until after I've read a few others.

on Thursday, April 19th, olivier said

Jose: I kind of agree with you as always. By the way did you read " My name is red" ( Mon nom est rouge) litterature nobel price in 2006? A great book to be read by all of us.
I do not think, despite all the problems, the Turkish society to be so close on itself; but rather to be in between as the location of some problems are today. Like in Algeria and Morocco. Problems to make me think about our own problems. Like Somalia I am ready to go there all together and do an human shield: I'm only 5 feet 10! They are big.
It is about a western attitude and importation of these idea imported in these country I am talking about. Don't worry about Andrew he is strong. But what are we showing?
We are talking about great peoples like you and me, with a fantastic culture.

on Thursday, April 19th, jose said

Olivier, an open debate and exchange can only happen in an open society. Turkey still has to get there and is taking measures, slowly and at its own pace, to get there, this much i believe. but the present reality, or so i percieve it from what i can read in the papers, is that there is a situation where the input of new ideas has to be done wisely: there are tremendous writers and artists, there are great ideas being discussed but there are also forces that would gladly pick up on those very ideas and call them subversive and ungodly. i think this is the fear Andrew was hinting at. it is not Andrew's fear or shortcoming, it is his understanding of the situation he has shared with us and i don't think he is altogether wrong. one false move and we're back in the dark ages - that's no joke.

on Thursday, April 19th, olivier said

Sorry to offend. I will do it again if I think my point worth consideration. If you are not open for this, don't make me cry. Stopping argumentation could be seen as an insult for some.
About the show? Yes I did talking about Italian Renaissance witch did the same effect in Turkey in the 1450 as I will presume this Biennal will do soon. Despite all the religious opposition, the quality of the Turk artists in the 19th and the 20th century show how well both of our culture could mixt together. Did we embrasse their culture? Not so much as I can judge. Time is sensible again we have to make attention on what we have to say. You don't want to destroy everything, or to be scare like Brad, do you?
There is nothing wrong in the shock of cultures until it is disposed to be open minded, on the contrary it is necessary to help understand each other.
Yes I am French, and a proud Canadian too since 5 years. I am not fan of borders either but that the way it is. If only we can respect each other with all our differences. We as artist, far from the political/economical gain, perhaps we have a role to play to make it better.
Don't worry their is nothing personal against you Andrew. Sometime there is kind of attitude I just want to shake hard. It is not black and white. I am not a Saint either, did mistake too, and if I disturb you I will expect a friend to talk to me,argue, not to turn his back to me

on Thursday, April 19th, Andrew said

Olivier, you sound so judgemental. You can express your opinion, but...there's a limit to what you can say without being just plain rude. I use the example of how one can be taken advantage of, and you mock me with it for nearly a page. If it were an up front offer of a bottle and a beautiful woman at a given price, you don't know what I would do. Yet you sneer as if you do. And, by the way, most of the women in Turkey don't cover their faces.
You haven't said anything understandable about the reaction of Turks to an American show which in my opinion is bound to offend them. You did say something like, 'any show is good for artists' which I totally disagree with. You sneer about me destroying a piece I didn't like. You sneer about me doubling the price on the two dancers when in fact I did that after they were put in a gallery which wanted half. You insinuate I had an unpleasant experience in my travels in Turkey, and contrast that with the wonderful experience someone you knew had, when in fact everyone I met was wonderful, and I will treasure my experience until I return there again.
You're originally from France, right? I once met a Frenchman named Olivier, and he sounded exactly like you. We eventually became very good friends despite all those insinuations along the way.
Mark, you're absolutely right when you say we ought to behave as brothers and equals, not as rulers of the world.
Brad, what do the Turks deny?

on Thursday, April 19th, Mark said

America, we, need to act act as a brother in the world and not as a bulling father. We may be rich, we may be powerful but we are no better then any other country and it is time to act as equals instead of superiors.

on Thursday, April 19th, olivier said

Brad it will be interesting to have the Turks point of view. Now I understand the way Andrew described their beloved country could hurt the sentiment of a nation much larger than what has been said here.
Ten years ago I had a cousin, a beautiful 24 years old girl who spend by herself a mounth an a half walking all over this old country. The stories of this travel she shared with us on a so welcoming place with people opening their table for exchanging idea is far from andrew experience. Other friends also did return and return with enthousiasm. Here we are an art community going in a country where art is even as much important and complaining about a typical western champagne mess up. I feel ashamed!
Do your math. If you go to the score in Manhattan, sit next to a beautiful girl in the champagne room it will cost you $400. It is fantastic, you get a 888 number witch will cost you X a min (I did not go so far) and a clean moment of sensuality with a girl who really worth any penny. I know the majority think it is a crew up of they can get more the money. I'm married thank you I do not need more, but if I can choose I will prefer the same with the view on the Bosphore instead of these mirrors reflecting these lubric guys. Now here you are in a country where a few miles away you have other beautiful girls on the beach, wearing a simple line.It is free but you keep you hands in your pockets and don't talk too much.
Tell me if I'm wrong Andrew. On the Bosphore, you can seat have a nice view with a girl you forgot to tell us if she was nice, we don't even know if the conversation has some interest, no name nothing. There you can share a bottle of champagne for $1000. Considering you are in a country where many intellectuel, student, artist beleive the face of a women should not be seen in public; I think Andrew for a $1000 you had a bargain! Hey you can look at her, talk to her and you got the champagne on top nearly for free. You should go back, perhaps during the Bienales and apologize, next time give the money and just take a glass of water to show you humility. And please tell us what she has to say.
No arm Andrew I am not better than you that is not my point. I just want to show foreigner, who study to learn English better than me, who are curious of our community. I want to show them that like in their country there is different point of view by here. We are not made of one unilateral mold. Not all of us zap the conversation when it does not go in THEIR opignon.
What do you think this girl think after all. What if she realized than a western artist change the price of a nice pair of carved women from $140 000 to $300 000 over night after visiting the page of a pseudo nobility artist (I still love the "Please keep out" on his page). An noble artist who has a legitimate average price on his art and a piece at something crazy like these number just to give it a try. If ,let call her Sherazad know about our financial fights, destruction of unpaid art to gaine exposure. Don't you think she worth a thousand bucks, a nice story and more kindness toward her country.
The thing is, I beleive she know about all of that and she is just playing our game with people like us. There is no extremism in Sherazad and his boy friend attitude. Just a couple who understand that we occidentales come in these places knowing nothing about bargaining, and trying to have everthing for nothing.
A bottle of champagne with a nice girl is expensive everywhere, even more in a country where half of the population doen't not accept both of them.
Anice hight standart carpet could represent hundreed of thousands of hours. You don't see these in our shop they are too much expensive for our knowledge.
I'm not a pope fan but as Hou harrau it is agood thing these celebrities go in Occidentale Turkey to reconcile both world. I understand the works will be difficult, even more difficult than expected.
I sincerely hope turks artist don't see in my work any kind of human representation like many of their homologue by here. That obsess me when a totem is so detourned from their primary goal. This to say than more than everything I would really appreciate to have a Turkish point of view on my monologue. Turk artists please post here and show how strong is your work to this community. I apologize for talking too much of a bottle of champagne, I know you worth better than that
and i do not do corrections!!

on Thursday, April 19th, Brad said

Cecil, I want to wake up... Olive I want to wake up my Brother... Andrew, if only I had the heart of an Armenian - perhaps the meaning of time past could again amount to something, and I could find my eyes wide open. To share what the Turks deny - it is a universal medicine we all need a dose of - some in greater doses than others...

on Wednesday, April 18th, Olive said

The end of a civilization is not necessary the end of the world. What is sure is without winning they are creating a new one..without us. Perhaps in their view they are seing it more civilized then ours. It's difficult to be in another skin to judge. More difficult when you feel screw up by a simple bottle of champ at a thousand,like here and there.
By here people zap when they don't see any personal interest. It will be a time to learn back the art of argumentation For that you need more than simple ideologie somethings likes creatives ideas will be better. Time pass new arrise. If you put two intolerant people in a room they will be busy puntching each other, a thousand the room is gone.
It's time to punch hard the hammer on the rock, time to wake up brother

on Wednesday, April 18th, Cecil Herring said

Brad: I completely agree with you about the state of our country and what the world thinks of us. Before my eyes I have seen our Constitution, our respected place in the world and even our way of life crumbling before my eyes. Indeed, how can we make art while "Rome" burns? Your brief comments hopefully serve as a wake up call and not a prophesy.

on Wednesday, April 18th, Brad said

While living in Europe in 1982, I traveled to the top of the continent (Lappland) south to Albania, and from Spain east to Czechoslovakia. Only in Czechoslovakia was I made to feel uncomfortable - both by the Communist Guard, and the ostracized Bohemians where I found them. Today is such a different story. Until the Bush Kingdom lays down its arms in Iraq, and a new America rises from the ashes of our ruined nation - we will only continue to be the target of fanatic ideologues � the counterbalance of America's present Neoconic Icons who tender the silent wars of race and class in America. How brave one must be these days not to be a fatalist in a world where conservative religious zealots yearn for end of days, and Eastern extremists and fanatics want to bring end of days to everything western. It's hard to think in terms of art in such grave worldly circumstances. Is it our lot, as artists today, to record the ending of our civilization - in case someday this world is visited by some galactic alien Paleontologist? If not, there is much work to be done - healing to be acted, and hope to be uncovered.

on Tuesday, April 17th, olivier said

Cecil I cannot more agree with you. And if I join this forum from time to time it is because it is all of a painter life without the pseudo intelectualism we see so often in these kind of blogs. The refences here are simple and accessible to the everybody with fact part of the general knowledge. Just because I do not consider myself as an intelectual.
As well as for the many books by artists I did read I never saw any 'intelectualism" in it but more thought and little stories about what I feel related too these days since I devoted my time to put colors together. My words are poor, kind of like them and my thoughts are conflictuel like some of them. Some Artist like Alberto are very poetic in their thinking and put them on another sensuality of colors, others are historian modernist,I feel closer to a Keith Harring in my fight to a kind of injustice even if I always experienced food on my table. As you can see I am not an art critic at all. Poor with a lot of reading, memories, experiences and common sense.
My intellect was gone in these books after Malraux. But we have to admit the important role of the art critic in the second half of the last one. Every time my friend Alain Bonfand (also teacher at the "college de France") wrotte a book on an artist in France in the 80;s, as difficult as these books are with so many (intelectual)references, any time the selected artist interest was on a big rise. Hello Alain you still have this Pincemin I still dream about?
I beleive today too many so called "critic" have corrupted the market. Old fashion? In one sense the fragmentation of our world was good for the public comprehension, on another way we won a lot out of this political game. The same as in the music industry.
So it is only about fun and curiosity. I am sorry if I strangle some dreams. Andrew come on be honest, you not an intelectual, but you are a good guy with a nice experience and must of all you are a good carver. That's what I like about you, even if I know you do not share much of my thinking. Or is it only what you think about it?
Now about being secure? I feel secure in my life at least I like to beleive so. In my art? I did not know such a thing could happen. Hello is there an artist here who sincerly feel secure in his art beleive? I'm not but I like it so far, I used to say the next one will be the one and keep going. But know they are looking at my early work ??? It must be speculation
ok that's enought about me, who's next? Aren't we a little egocentric?

on Tuesday, April 17th, Andrew said

Cecil, I went and took a look at your paintings. In them, I am assuming you are pleased when you find you've created something eloquent. I use the term 'eloquent' because it is normally used as an adjective for words. Writing, about any subject, is an art form, which can be very poor, or absolutely beautiful. It depends which words you use. Intellectualism, as you put it, thinking about things, is nothing more than another color on your palette. The entire world and all that's in it, as in no other field, is your media when you create art. What you personally choose to use or not to use is up to you, and makes its presence or lack thereof, felt by a viewer seeing your work.

on Monday, April 16th, Cecil Herring said

You all are thinking individuals and the world is better off for all of you. I enjoyed reading your comments. I myself am a simple artist. For me intellectualism is a kind of enemy because it is not a place where my art spirit exists nor do I really understand residents of that ivory tower nor do I want to live there. I find intellectualism and art discourse interesting but I think it is a form of science and not an art form. I have always viewed with a certain disdain the efforts of writers, intellectuals who use art to build by extension layers of talk about art, and careers in their respective fields. I respect them for trying and they give us press coverage, good and bad but I do know the difference between artists and critics and curators. It is nice to read art writings, critiques, discussions, abstract conjectures about artists and their creations. As much as they put themselves in power and blur the lines I perceive their efforts as scientific experiments in the realms of sociology, paleontology, psychology and even religiosity ABOUT ART and NOT ART. I have always felt those writing about art are out of the realm of experience. Those creating paintings, sculpture, conceptual art, film and other directly constructed or implied media are actually EXPERIENCING ART so those disciplines are EXPERIENTIAL ART FORMS. Those writing ABOUT ART are not EXPERIENCING IT. They are speaking from a different place. Be secure in yourselves. You all deserve the best words however you MAKE your art.

on Sunday, April 15th, olivier said

Andrew,
I am a day sailor on a lightning and do cupside once in a while. Not soooo good I do enkoy it a lot. Trust me you don't want to go sailing with me today. Come back in a month when the snow will be gone, it's fun

on Sunday, April 15th, olivier said

Jose I do agree with you, except for accepting
fences in the world, like borders. I beleive that is a political game to rally collaboration to a most often unformatted cause. Now for the Star system we all deny it has more than an economic role. It is too bad they copy/paste as you said, but if this is what some understand. Any interest is welcome and will help any of us in the long run.
Like if you have success you buy a lot of colors, company growing I will have more choice of colors in my Holbein line. You will say: just mix them, you will be richer. But I'm lazy and like them pure. Thanks to the Star, I wish them success.
Look at my work, look at yours we both keep our key in a secret garden. Stars in their ambition work for the public, in that sense they are helpful for the community. It give more dynamism. I will not do any concession; being nearly useless? As for the fence, yes I do have my bad neighbour, yes I did built a fence in my backyard.
Who said I cannot play with my own contradictions Andrew may say it is useless and will not help to get to any goals(I think you did, sorry if I'm wrong), for me it is a part of my creativity. I'm a door opener on top of a color dealer.

on Sunday, April 15th, Andrew said

Olivier, if you need the weather to change for a good sail, you maybe only like to sail one way!

on Sunday, April 15th, jose said

Olivier, of course the celebrity system is part of our world. It does its part to keep some people happy and looking busy and so on and so forth. But is it the only dimension possible? Must we aspire to become stars? I think not. As for truth, I don�t know. I don�t really know what that might be on a universal level, what is true for me might not be true for some guy in Turkey or for our friends in the US until we have a chance to get together and discover that neither of our truths was fundamental and we uncover a new truth that brings us together. But that only happens when people from both sides of the fence get down to the nitty gritty and work hard at being understood, just like Andrew put it in his last comment. However, what we see happening increasingly is distance and imposition, no need to understand profoundly what is being presented but quickly copy/paste because it looks good. No, I wouldn�t say there is any truth in art, there need be no universal truth in art, but let there please be depth and genuineness and at least some generosity in what we as artists decide to expose.

on Sunday, April 15th, olivier said

Jose, do you think really there is any truth in art?
We like it or not the celebrities system is part of our world, and it has proven to be efficient, even when we know it is all but made up..sad world. A world our generation,after all our dreams, as built. That been said I do not think there is any place for complain. Constructivism and har work is key. As artist we should just try our best to make it better in our own view. If a star system can bring more people to be curious about art, I can only see good for that matter. Thank to Hou Hanru for the fantastic job he is providing to bring art from arround the world to the world arround,
Isn't Istanbul the European door to Islam? The symbolic here is of perfect timing in my sens if we want to stop this American/Stranger degredation before we cannot move back. Islam is a great culture, we can only learn from each other on the knowledge side. As much as I know from Turkish people they are more welcoming than many of us by here and curious of our culture than we are. Despite the difficulties to bring the New Florentine Renaissance School in their religious thought at the time, at least they had bloody opposition to demonstrate how much art is vital for them.
Let appart the Las Vegas/Istanbull champagne/*** screw up to the one who see in art only a financial institution and potential profit.
"L'art pour l'art".
As for the Biennales, I do not really know much about what has been said here. For me the main part is to bring more people to whatever is called art. My biggest shock once I moved from France to Canada was these empty walls we see here so often. I visited a hand full of these mansion we have here in Toronto in what is said to be the highest real estate of the country...none of them had art on the wall, none of them...They had guard on duty. Despite the money involve I still think art will bring people together and quality of life. For the quality of my dreams I refuse today to talk anymore of t..ism, tai, barriers,anti- ect. Yes I am not fanatic about americanism but I do have great friends americans, who care about -ism, my friends have a name for me. That's it! In islam too.
To be honest I cannot wait for the weather to change for a good sail day on our great lake.

on Sunday, April 15th, walt said

Thanks for reining me in a bit Andrew. I'm afraid I was extrapolating to a larger world than Turkey. Hope my comment about starting a riot hasn't convinced anyone the Turks are about to go hostile on anyone. From my limited experience Turks are a lovely and very level headed people generally speaking.

on Sunday, April 15th, Andrew said

Jose, it's very insightful when you comment that events like these need to be born of true interaction between cultures in order to have any positive effect on the participants and the people from the area where the event is held. And it's also true that as anything becomes noticed, becomes famous, it's original reasons for being done are obscured by the personal benefits reeled in by the few who've figured out how to exploit the publicity such things generate. I always like the freshness of something the first time it happens.
Walt, I don't think there's potential here for a riot. What can happen is more of a slow absorption of the idea that America is operating in the dark, in a realm beyond the reach of nearly all people everywhere. The natural reaction to things you can't see that affect you is paranoia, and the desire to somehow stop them is often expressed in acts of violence, sometimes so far from the source of their inspiration that the connection is never made.
Here, the organization of the event, the fact that it happens at all, is more important than the artists who are participating. The way to construct cultural bridges is to make contact on a personal level, sort of one to one. If an artist is seen working, if people stop to admire what they see being made, and to talk to the artist, then they walk away with a positive feeling, glad that they stopped, and even more so that the artist took time to talk to them. The contact, the warmth, the understanding that takes place in encounters like these, is what evaporates the barriers between cultures that are there because of an ignorance of what the other is all about. A lack of this type of contact is what reinforces cultural barriers. So if one day, the work just suddenly appears, and you only see the artists being interviewed on TV, never having any personal contact with them, the result can be very negative.
Olivier, I don't think there is enough about anti-americanism in the media. If there was, then the sources that inspire it, usually powerful individuals who end up having a negative effect on vast numbers of people through their love for profit, would be held to account for the damage they do. Just look at Cowparade, which after angering people so much in the States had to go elsewhere, did, angering people all over the world, and notching up the level of anti-americanism wherever it's victims were to be found. England. Australia. Belgium. Switzerland. Sweden. All this damage done by one money hungry Connecticut lawyer. One problem about America is that its businesses are much freer to do as they please than businesses are elsewhere, and do so with less social consciousness as a result. That reflects upon Americans as a people, regardless of whether they participate or not in these things.
The other part of your comment, about positivity, seems to me to be onto something worthwile. But if you ignore negativity and refuse to understand it, then your positivity can't be pointed in the direction where it will do the most good, be the most effective. Think of it like sailing...you can make the most of just about any wind, as long as you understand it, and know what to do with it and your sails to get the best out of it. Knowledge is power.

on Sunday, April 15th, jose said

I�m not much into the politics of Biennials and how or why they come about. The feeling that I get, however, is that nowadays these events escape the common artist�s real needs. They serve some other purpose quite alien to the artist. I would think, though I am not too certain about this, that initially they would have been instituted to bring about an encounter between artists and promote interaction and learning in accordance with certain guidelines and within parameters that suited all parties involved. The outcome would thus be a learning experience.

Correct me if I am wrong, but nowadays the interests and the needs of the artists and public involved have ceased to be part of the equation. The interests are merely those of a selected elite and the results quite far from providing true and worthwhile sustenance in both directions � that of the selected artists, and that of the visiting public, be they artists or not. The event is emptied of any significant value. In many cases it is a very cerebral thing with very little connection to the gut and to the roots. Artists are taken to these events as �Stars� and very often go about their business as such. It becomes very Art-ificial.

Maybe these biennials should be toned down just a little. Especially in times and places like these, as Walt points out. On the one hand it is important to keep people informed of what is going on and it would be wrong to deprive viewers in Turkey to have a chance to see what�s out there, but then again, the event should be managed with great skill so as to bring about positive and constructive interaction and learning that may lead to meaningful assimilation.

From my experience in the past I have learnt that this is only possible when you do not simply import models from abroad but work towards generating something new that comes from the core at which you stand within this new reality, and truly aims to address its needs. I am not familiar with the organizers of this event Andrew is telling us about and do not know if this has been done or not, but if it hasn�t it is regrettable, it will serve little purpose and his friends are quite right to be apprehensive.

on Saturday, April 14th, walt said

I agree completely with Andrew concerning the appropriateness of so called cutting edge art shown in a culture that is so different from our own. Our cutting edge may not be the same edge in Turkey. Especially during times of socio-political and religious turmoil. This is not about being politically correct in the common sense of the term in which it is used pejoratively but in the sense that one could start a real riot. These are dangerous times in which societies are polarized by terrorism and religious extremism, especially in the Islamic world. That is not to say we don't have our own brand of religious extremism in the United States. We do. But it hasn't managed to become quite so violent in recent times as it was a few years back-- remember Waco, Ruby Ridge and the Oklahoma City bombing.

But there is an entirely different cultural sense of what art is about, what it is for and how it should be measured in the Middle East. And while urban Turkey is perhaps the most modern state in the region there are still many taboos that we in the States would probably not understand.

It will be curious to hear how this Istanbul Biennale is percieved. One hopes that Hau Hanru knows what he is doing.

on Saturday, April 14th, olivier said

Never been there, you gave me the curiosity to have Istanbul on my wish list.So many great paintings has been done there, and the modern Turkish school is so unknown in North America. But why are you talking of Anti Americanism? Don't you think there is enought on that in the media? As an artist I will suppose we are more here to make someone dream. If we start talking peace may be something good will come out of it? Anyway that is what my pin up totem are thinking you may disagree. For now I am in a peace mode even with Ben, yea you too. Inch'Allah

on Saturday, April 14th, Andrew said

Mark, what I mean is, we should show work that will be appreciated and to some extent, understood. Not work that will be rejected and anger the people who see it. While we can say all great work was not understood when it was first presented, the context here is different. If you're talking about a Paris of the 1890's, a post war New York, or a Berlin of the 1970's or any of these places, you have to remember that these were the centers where such work was being created, being shown, and breaking boundries. Istanbul has its own cultural identity, and the substitution of that identity with our own for the biggest cultural event of their season, will make us some enemies. Were the roles reversed, that would not be the case. That's because of our singular power position as a nation. Not that we should be afraid of breaking new ground, but if we do so, we should do it in a better chosen place. Besides, groundbreaking is not what's happening here. It is the expansion of our art power base into a region that as yet, isn't ours. Nor should it be.
I also believe that to some extent, the organizers of this event are exploiting Turkey's interest in becoming a member of the EU. Certainly from a PR point of view, the similarities to other places in Europe where the same type of work has been shown, may fulfill Turkey's desire to be seen as just like everyone else. But...the cultural differences, not the similarities, are what make it's entry into the EU more interesting for the other member nations.
I've always been one to eat the food of the places I go to. I don't go looking for a place that will serve me bacon and eggs for breakfast, although I know many travelers that do. In the same way, I can't stand to see the cultural treasures of a place obscured by a cloud of American power. Among the wedding guests, were some Turks whom I continued an online dialogue with. Their feelings about this issue are what led me to write this blog.

on Saturday, April 14th, Mark said

Andrew, I am a bit confussed and maybe it is because of the unintentional symbols in the blog, plus I find it hard to read anything long on a computer (old fashion me I still like paper) any way I have a question. I get the feeling that you feel if we Americans show our work, say in Istanbul, that we are forcing our culture on them, is that what you mean? I can not believe so as an exchange of artwork from country to country is an exchange of culture, to share and better understand, I believe you feel that way as well. Could it be the attitude behind the work you are reffering to? I don't mean to sound stupid about this but I don't quit get your though there.

on Friday, April 13th, Andrew said

I just wanted to make it a bit clearer that the Florence Biennale and the Istanbul Biennale don't have much in common. Hou Hanru is a noteworthy person who has done a lot of worthwhile projects around the world, and if he's personally making the selections as it seems he is, there is bound to be an insightful cohesiveness. That won't be the case in Florence, eager as they are to take anyone who can come up with the money. Istanbul is actually paying the artists who are chosen, as well as covering their other expenses. Now that's night and day.
I'm not sure how many people were involved in the American decision to go for Istanbul, or who they were, but I suspect motives far removed from establishing a cultural bridge. Probably, the name 'Istanbul' will look good on some other kind of promotion, and the wreckage an event like this leaves in its path will be of little or no importance to them.
Florence, on the other hand, will just add to the already huge pile of stories Europeans can tell about 'stupid Americans'. And Cecil, the Florentines are not at all proud of this event. They view it as just another example of how the glory that Florence once had before all those tourists over ran the city, is a thing of the past. Ignoring, of course, that tourism is now one of the largest industries their municipality has.

on Friday, April 13th, Gabriella said

Andrew - this is a great blog, and the way you travel and fit into the flow of the place, the people, and the customs seems to be a most sensitive and respectful way to be a traveller.
I do hope Turkey becomes included in the EU. Turks have had a long history in Europe, and their culture has had much influence on the cultures of much of Eastern Europe. The tulip, a flower Nederlands has become famous for, was imported originally from Turkey. The indigenous arts of many Eastern European countries clearly show the Turkish influence, in music, in decoration. Language too has adopted from the Turkish.
The US is not the only culture that has practised a form of cultural imperialism. History is rife with numerous examples!

on Friday, April 13th, Ellen said

Andrew- Very interesting ride! Turkey is not currently on my list of places to travel, but you made it come alive by highlighting the details. And, of course, the people...the most important aspect of a place. Like Mark, I think that we need to celebrate the differences. This does not mean to embrace con artists or those who wish you ill. I am priviledged to be an American and thus resent anti-Americanism anywhere: even and perhaps especially in America. But I long ago realized that all peoples are different. That's what makes the world so great! Sameness is boring.
Last week-end my husband and I went to a party where we were different from ALL of the other guests. It was a great time because we highlighted the differences without self-consciousness, but also reached out as human beings to each other. Actually many of our views were shared.
Anyone been to Sweeden? My son wants to take me there to see Zorn's paintings....sadly so few in the US as compared with the French Impressionists' work. How do the Sweeds view Americans?

on Friday, April 13th, Mark said

There are two large cogs that make the machinery of the world run, Money and Religion.

Lets start with religion, but first I feel I must explaine my feelings about it. I do not believe in religion or god, at least not the god or gods that we humans have conjured up to explaine the world. if there is a creator it is far greater then our little pea brains can imagine and all the gods we now have names for do not, can not, fit that bill. Religion is a strong force though in our world and I know of a few people, very few, who actually benifit from religion, most are still holding on to hope.

Money, we all need it, we all want it, and that is fine. I need money, would like a bit more of it from my art, but I do not need much. I like a simple life. Like religion though many think more of it will make life better. It does for some, maybe, but most still hope getting it will make life better. A lotto ticket please.

What is the commom factor here between religion and money? Greed. Power. That is what both can give. At the basic level religion and money are fine, but it never stops there. Power and greed comes into play and whatever good meaning religion or money may have is perverted.

How does this play into anti-americanism? We as a country are greedy and we feel our religion (at least the neo-con religious right's religion) is the right one. So we spread our beliefs to change others in hopes of having more, and more, and more. But you know what? Given the chance there is not one country in the world today, not one religion, that if it could have the ability to spread and take over, it would. So see it all boils down to power and greed. America just happens to have the greatest ability to push our culture for good or evil, for now. Make no mistake about it other countries are right behind us waiting their turn.

If only we all could learn to except each others cultures and beliefs (and be honestly curious about others as Andrew is and try to understand and not judge) and give them the respect they are due because as humans we all deserve respect simply because we are humans, just as all life deserves respect be it man, animal or plant. But so long as there is power and greed, "My way," will always be the best way.

I will now step off my soapbox, anyone else wish to use it.

on Friday, April 13th, jose said

Andrew, you come across as someone who is out there looking for answers to the things that befuddle us and doing so in a positive way, establishing bridges of understanding and having the guts to cross over when they are made available. I find this to be a most important trait to have in these times when most of the world is at loggerheads with itself, clueless as to what can bring it back together. Your manner of relating your travels without boasting or arrogance makes the reading and the learning all the more enjoyable. Thanks.

I feel what you speak about is the curse of the West, not just the USA as you mention: in some way we feel we are superior and can impose our views and models of the future on others when in reality what we are doing is presenting a �headless chicken� to people with as great if not greater cultural heritage.

I�m one of those few lunatics who dreams beyond the idea of a unified Europe. My belief is that Europe without the richness of the Mediterranean basin is a lesser Europe � the head without the gut and the roots that reach out further and deeper to feed it. Why we have turned our backs on the Basin is a mystery to me: geo-politico-economical reasons no doubt, definitely not historical or cultural. This, in short, to say that I�m one of those who favours Turkey�s entry into the EU. Sure there are problems to be solved, sure there was an Armenian genocide, sure there are differences, but by turning our backs on one of the most important nations in the Mediterranean basin we are turning our backs on one of the main routes [roots] that fed our cultures and contributed to our mutual history. Are the Barbaric tribes of the Visigoths and Ostrogoths to be less European because they did away with Rome? Is France less European because of Napoleon, Germany because of Hitler? By slamming the door on Turkey we are slamming the door on Turkey�s possibility of redemption from whatever wrongdoings or deficits it brings along with it [a redemption I genuinely believe they are capable of bringing about if we, in Europe, are willing to accept]. By removing the possibility of redemption Europe will be contributing to a much greater rift amongst the countries of the basin without ever really solving the economical concerns it hides behind. We will never be at peace.

Sorry for that tirade but your blog made me feel their humanity. I�m afraid we Europeans hide behind new economical and political and religious ideals and often forget our common human bond and where our cultural richness once had its roots.

Biennials? Never pay to get in them, work towards being invited! If you have ever paid to get into one don�t include it in your C.V. or you�ll run the risk of never being invited to the ones that count.

on Thursday, April 12th, walt said

Sorry, my lumping of street fairs with other scams in which artists are used to foster someone elses goals may have been off the mark. Street fairs are good for certain kinds of art. I used to go with my mother to lots of them when I was a kid where she sold her brand of tole painting...a fashionable craft mostly for amateurs and Sunday painters which she did very well. Even then I considered myself more serious about what my art was about. I always wanted to be part of a higher dialog. Rarely have I seen anything of any real consequence at a street fair. Mostly it is crafty stuff for pocket change. That is not to say there may not be some cities that run something of a higher level. But all the same to hang a serious painting inside a small tent along with hundreds of other works does not give the work much room to have a real effect. So while they may not be scams I still do not consider them of any merit other than for an artisan, craftsman or amateur who needs to make some pocket change. Maybe they should be lumped in more precisely with the starving artist sales.

Now Cecil, I don't mean to make any comment on your work, much of which I find rather enchanting. Once in a while I've seen a number of artists participating in these street fairs who did not belong there. Their work stuck out like a sore thumb because it was so much better and more interesting than the rest. But rarely have I seen them do well since they usually don't fit the nature of the market. Like it or not, and this is my opinion, I think there is a difference between a truly serious artist and an artisan. It is the difference between a splash of color for a wall and a work of art that has some social or cultural significance. Popularity doesn't always confirm either.

on Thursday, April 12th, Cecil Herring said

Well said, Wait. I want to clarify one thing in my comments about the Florence Biennele: I did not say US street fairs and festivals are scams. In fact, I have never been to an American outdoor festival that was a scam. They no doubt are out there. I was fortunate in over 20 years exhibiting at the outdoor shows in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina not to ever have been in one I considered some kind of scam. I sold thousands of dollars worth of my art works at outdoor festivals and really got a lot of exposure in shows like Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, Images, Gasperilla, Festival of the Masters at Disney World, the Cocoa Village Shows, Ringling Crafts Show and Spacescoast Art Show at Cocoa Beach. I loved doing them and always had a great time. No doubt the Florentines feel the same way about their Biennale Festival. I bet they don't consider it a scam. Sorry.

on Thursday, April 12th, walt said

Andrew, very interesting account... Yes, with a journalist's eye. The anti-Americanism is the consequence of our arrogance. While we may have a successful system it is an inheritance and one we haven't particularly earned ourselves in this generation but one handed down from generation to generation. We can't assume that our version of it is generic or something that can be passed on in its current form. Certainly Japan and Germany after the second world war established their own variations as has most of Europe.

We spread our culture generously so many of us believe that we are doing a good thing, but forget that what we are spreading often offends local customs, religious and social. And because we think we're being generous we can't understand why so many are hostile to our projected superiority. It is a blindness that we've cultivated. And it will...no, it has caused us to fall into a ditch.

I'll be going to Argentina soon in July. I'll be asked many of the same questions there about American politics, American art, and the wars we are currently involved in. I am proud of my American heritage. Not so proud of how we export our culture at the moment though. Like you I'll meet people on the streets and intellectuals and artists in livingrooms, galleries and cafe's. I'll speak with taxi drivers, botega owners, students, government officials and well known artists. What I say and the questions I ask will be carefully considered. One cannot assume everyone agrees with you when you travel. Being courteous,sensitive, a good listener and going with the flow is required.

As for the Biennales, yes-- with few exceptions they, like the art fairs in the States, are scams. We talk a lot about it here on aa. Younger artists still have a hard time discerning a serious venue from a scam. The more the word gets out the less often we go like sheep to the slaughter. Culture Vultures abound everywhere. Watch your back. Keep your head full and your belly empty.

on Thursday, April 12th, Cecil Herring said

You are an adventurer, Andrew and a kind of reporter because you are very curious. I found your comments about Istanbul, the different attitudes and your rather laconic ease of dealing with it refreshing. What is is and there's not a lot we can do about it all.
Also, thanks for your comments about Florence Biennale. I get several entry invitations a year and followup notes asking where is my entry. One day, I read through the material. That big entry fee is buried back behind what a great honor it is to be there. I realized it would be easier and more lucrative to just show my work someplace around here and not bother to go all the way to Florence for their street fair and pay thousands at the Euro rate of exchange! And if I want to see Florence I can just book a flight!
Beware American artists! There is a scheme a minute out there. The world is on to our naivete.