Hoppy Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year - the year of the rabbit!  This picture is of Turkish rabbits, not Chinese, but surely, just as cute. 

What we do have in Istanbul that is Chinese, is a photo exhibit at Istanbul Modern by Yao Lu, titled "New Landscapes".  Yao has cleverly created landscapes similar to those painted during the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279), but using photo images of the commonly found green dustproof nets covering construction debris in the landscapes.  From a distance, the photoes look peaceful and poetic.  Upon closer examination, the construction debris mounds are evident, as well as the digitally inserted pagodas, waterfalls, animals, etc.  Wonderful images!

The exhibition is sponsored by the 798 Photo Gallery in Beijing.  For anyone who toured the 798 art district with me in Beijing, this was our first stop.  Their website is located at http://www.798photogallery.cn/ and contains samples of Yao's work as well as other artists.

"New Landscapes" is on exhibit at Istanbul Modern until May 22, 2011 and well worth a visit!

Have a happy, hoppy and healthy Chinese New Year!

Istanbul Modern

The early morning ferry down the Bosphorus was a pleasant means of travel to get down to the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, also known as Istanbul Modern. Here is the museum as I passed it on the ferry. In the background on the left is the famous Galata Tower. After passing the museum and docking, I walked past the local police station housed in a beautifully restored older building with not one, but two vintage Chevrolets nearby. My day was to have a third Chevrolet a little later.

Outside Istanbul Modern, an exhibit, titled "Rusty End" by German photgrapher Thomas Radbrush, was exhibited on a long wall of the parking lot. 29 photoes of old cars from car dumps of different countries were displayed on a plastic type canvas that can handle weather. The rust, funghi, and colors gave the pictures a modern surreal look. Very impressive!!!

Inside the museum, were exhibits by Turkish modern artists,and photography is not allowed. I did sneek one picture of my lunch - chicken Ceaser salad, which was a work of art in itself. Beside my salad is the small notebook given to me my Laurie, in which I am recording artistic impressions.

One of my favorite paintings exhibited in the museum, is Hikmet Onat's "Morning
at Topgartepe", painted in 1956. Onat was born and lived in Istanbul and painted this and many other paintings along the coasts of the Bosphorus. More about him and his picture are available on Vikipedia http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikmet_Onat . I was able to purchase a print of the painting in the gift shop and now it is hanging in our dining room.

On my way home, while waiting for the ferry from Arnavutkoy,
I saw this mint condition powder blue Chevrolet with two actors

being filmed. I do not know if this was for a movie, TV show or advertisement. I do know I will not be in any shots as an extra.

All for now,

Amy