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Felts - The New Materialism: On Günnur Özsoy's Felt SculpturesA Reflected Assertion - A Conversation between Günnur Özsoy and Melis GolarFrom Habitus to Momentum, and from Object to StructureLight is Whole, My World is in PiecesCosta Mea at Esma SultanCosta MeaOn Costa MeaNotes For GünnurStories from below and above the horizonSpeed, freshness and vitality - A Conversation between Günnur Özsoy and Marcus Graf Dichotomy of Coincidence and PlanPebblesGünnur Özsoy's SculpturesAll Day / Everyday 2Art has one purpose; and that is to discipline the soul. Paul Valéry
Marcus Graf, Günnur Özsoy, 2017-18
21.03.2018
Foreword
 
This little book contains fifteen letters between the artist Günnur Özsoy and me, Marcus Graf. Over a period of approximately one year we have conducted an extensive written dialogue about her current work and her upcoming solo exhibition at PG Art Gallery. During this conversation, we also discussed issues about art and its multiple environments.  
I have written several texts about various series of her, and I did a few interviews with her in the past. As art historian, I value artist interviews very much, as I believe they reveal the original sources of the actual work very well, and they help to understand conceptual and formal meanings. This is the reason why I accepted Günnür’s invitation for participating in this intellectual exchange. I hope that our written dialogue will contribute to the mediation and understanding of her work, and I believe that these letters give a good insight in artist’s thinking and working processes.
Marcus Graf


24.02.2017
Letter 1

 
Dear Marcus,
 
I am writing a letter to you. “I hope nothing’s wrong,” you might say. I hope so! ???? 
Let me try to explain to you where on earth the idea of correspondence came from… I was in Ankara last week. An exhibition was held in honor of Siyah Beyaz’s 33th anniversary. We lost Faruk Sade last summer, you know. After his death, Fulya and Faruk’s daughter Sera found a note in one of his notebooks, which reads: “Art saves us mainly because it makes us doubt our existence.” So they called several artists, including me, to inform us that they were going to hold an exhibition based on this note, and to ask us whether we were willing to take part in it. I said yes without a second thought. I don’t want to write that I said yes because I really admired Faruk as a person. I said yes, because his overflowing existence is eternal for me. You are one of those of people who know my spiritual side inside out, so I believe that you know what I mean. Anyway, the opening of the exhibition was on Saturday, but I went to Ankara as early as Thursday. Leaving my suitcase at the Tunalı Hotel, I walked to Siyah Beyaz. I was born in Ankara, as you know, so I had to walk through Kuğulu Park on my way to Siyah Beyaz. When we lived in Ankara, I used go to Tunalı and to Kızılay usually on foot with my elder sisters, and we sometimes took a dolmush (jitney), but Kuğulu Park has always been special to me. It seemed larger to me then, but it is a very small park indeed. If you haven’t seen it yet, imagine a pond with swans swimming in it. It was a sunny and relatively warm day. I recorded a video in Kuğulu Park with my phone and posted it as a story with the title “My Childhood” on Instagram. By the way, it was Pırıl who signed me up on Instagram, and I have real fun using it. As a rule, I share the photos of my sculptures, in this manner, they reach many different people. I suppose you are not an active Instagram user, I think you should become one. Now, where was I? I continued to head towards Siyah Beyaz. What I felt was excitement, it is weird, isn’t it?... Why do people get excited, really?                       
 
Then came the next day. I went to Siyah Beyaz again at 7 o’clock in the evening. This time we sat at the bar with those who had recently arrived in Ankara… After all the kissing and hugging, I noticed a pink book on the bar. Oh! It was the book of the exhibition! The cover was pink and the binding was superb. I began turning its pages… I saw the article that Sera wrote in the memory of Faruk. I read a line, but closed the book right away in order not to cry… Afterwards, we went out to have dinner together. Ours was a table like those seen at “sira nights.” Sera stood up and delivered a short speech. Later, toward the end of the night, she handed me a thick mechanical pen and the exhibition book with my page open, and asked me to write something on it. I did… After cracking a few jokes about the pen, I told Sera that the book looked wonderful, but that I was going to read her part later as I was afraid to cry while reading it. Sera told me that Faruk had given her an envelope after her wedding, right before she went on her honeymoon... Could I ever stop? I said: “I assume it was full of dollars.” My dear Sera told me that it was a letter, opened its photo on her phone and handed it to me. I read it and my fears, or rather, the only thing that I tried to steer clear of that night came true: I cried buckets, I could simply not stop it. Later, I learned that Sera’s article in the book was indeed her reply to Faruk’s letter… The next day was Saturday, the day of the opening… I had let my friends and family living in Ankara know that I was coming. One of these friends was Sultan. She called me in the afternoon, telling me that she was going to come to the opening. We met in the late afternoon, and as we headed towards the gallery, she told me that she had brought with her all the letters I had written to her since around 1985. Believe me when I tell you that my ass would have hit the ceiling if there was a ceiling on top of us at that moment. That’s how thrilled and elated I was. As a matter of fact, Sultan kept talking about these letters whenever we met, telling me that they were very funny, that the envelops were handmade, and that I was a creative person as early as that period… Anyway, Sultan took out a pile of letters from her car’s trunk and gave them to me as we stood in front of the gallery. I was beside myself with happiness, I felt as if I was holding my youth in my hands… I put them all in my bag after running my eye over one of them. It was time to be with Faruk and his friends now… The exhibition, which included a sculpture of mine from the “Costa Mea” series, was very crowded. Sera put my sculpture in front of the window right across the door, along with a note that Faruk had sent to us when Cengiz, who is Ömer’s father, and I got married. The note read as follows: “Congratulations, we love you. Fulya/Faruk Sade, there is an exhibition opening tomorrow, please forgive us.” Faruk had put lipstick on, kissed the paper, and then drawn a moustache over the lips with a pen. Isn’t it waggish? As I liked this note very much, I glued it on the passe-partout of a black and white photograph by Paul McMillen...       
 
Toward the end of the night, Nevzat and I left Siyah Beyaz, and as we walked to the hotel, I told him that Sultan gave me the letters that I had written to her. We decided to take a look at a couple of them together. It was much fun… Nevzat chose and took out a couple of letters that seemed interesting to him from the pile, and read them aloud. The content was rather childish, and peculiar to that period in my life… Decorations, hearts, lip prints, nonsensical drawings, collage attempts, and envelops that I made myself accompanied these letters, which were full of jokes. Nevzat said: “You were a whizz-kid, that’s for sure.” I laughed a lot, and said “Am I the child prodigy Bedri Baykam?”    
 
After Nevzat left, I continued to read the letters. It was a rather interesting experience, because most of the time, I couldn’t recognize my own handwriting, and realized that I was severely dyslexic. I had written Fatice instead of Hatice, for instance… I read quite many letters, laughing out loud at times, and then went to bed.   
 
My dear Marcus, the morning after the opening, I got ready to go back to Istanbul. And in the meantime, I forgot to write to you. Among the letters that Sultan gave to me, there were those written to her by other people. I wrapped them separately and left them at the reception so that Sultan could come and fetch them. The moment I came home after having arrived in Istanbul, I read the rest of the letters and called three old friends whom I had mentioned in my letters. I told them one by one the story. Our conversations were very cheerful thanks to this up-to-date information. The idea of an exhibition based on letters came up when I was speaking with Cemal. I don’t intend to put these letters on display as they are. I made some preliminary sketches. Time will tell how it will end up, but my gut feelings tell me that I will come up with something gratifying, as I have a strong itch to produce something concerning letters. I am so motivated that I can even turn a lake into a waterfall. Ahahahaaaa!  I admit that I am exaggerating, but I am overwhelmed by emotion. In this process, I would like to write letters to you. It would be marvelous if you wrote back to me. I believe that this correspondence between us would be very frank. Let’s become pen friends. You can write in English too, if you like. This is all for now.
 
Kindest regards,
Günnur

-
01.03.2017
Letter 1
 
Dear Günnur,
 
Forgive me for writing in English. Over the years it became a habit and I am too lazy to change it…
 
I got really excited when you asked me to start a letter conversation with you for your upcoming series of work. I always believed in the exchange of thoughts via written words. This kind of intellectual exchange has a long tradition going back to the sorts of Western philosophy. So, pressure…
 
A long-term conversation between an artist and a curator is also very interesting and will bring up ideas from which you, me and maybe later the audience will benefit from. For more than 20 years now I write about art. This form of writing will be new for me, and I am looking forward to the challenge. I am happy and honoured,
Marcus


05.03.2017
Letter 2

 
My dear Marcus,
I had planned to write to you in the daytime, but I couldn’t sober up until the evening. Yesterday, I went to Rejans with Arie and Hülya. I dote on this popular hang-out, and also its vodka lemonade, needless to say… You know Amaya Akkermans, or Arie as we call her. We have much fun when we are together. Hülya Hatipoğlu, on the other hand, is an old friend of mine who happens to be an editor. They got to meet each other in person yesterday night, but became friends right away. So we could not put an end to the evening after dinner, came to my flat together, and continued to drink. When I was younger, I managed to carry on with my normal routine the day after such a night of drinking, but now it is not that easy, well… This is a sign that I am getting older… I understand that I am aging not only in such situations, but also due to the way I have begun to think. I came to reflect more on my childhood, and my sweet memories from my youth, for instance. Isn’t it rather interesting that my old letters resurfaced at a time like this? If I had got hold of these letters ten years ago, I wouldn’t have felt as delighted and as blessed as I feel now. It makes a whole lot of difference to consider things from a mature point of view. As time passes by, one gets to appreciate the values that one has more than ever before. People remember their past only when they get hold of documents like these letters, and it is only then that long-forgotten incidents and their state of mind at a certain point in time appear to them in a much clearer light. I see from my letters that my main concern during those years was to study. I wrote about studying in nearly all of my letters, and then changed the topic right away. I understand my son Ömer much better now. He is weary of his classes. He takes after me more than anyone else in the family... As the saying goes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, that’s why. He told me the other day: “You and dad are very lucky. Both of you are into what you do in life, and you have an itch to do your work. I am not going to be a doctor or an engineer, I suppose. I will probably work in the field of art.” Whether one enjoys his/her work is a matter of utmost importance. Dad used to say to us: “Whatever you do, do it with love.” When people do not only their jobs but also everything else with love and sincerity, the results become all the more amazing. And what people do without love and halfheartedly, in my opinion, is destined to remain stunted. You know what my father’s words reminded me? That keeping a diary or a journal, and preparing a slam book was the order of the day during my childhood and youth. I, too, had diaries, but I haven’t kept even one of them. It is rather contradictory, don’t you think? :) Diaries are called “hatıra defteri” (meaning “memory notebook”) in Turkish… But, even though they are meant to give you the opportunity to remember your past, and your friends when you read them, I preferred to throw them all away. And the interesting thing is that I don’t remember how I took this decision. One day, when I was tidying up my room, I thought that my notebooks took up too much space, perused them over and over, and finally told myself that I was finally ready to throw them away as I would never forget what was written inside these notebooks. I contented myself with tearing the pages with my father’s, mother’s and elder sister’s handwriting out of the notebooks, and tore them into pieces to finally toss them out. But the only thing from these notebooks that stuck in my mind is the expression "Buna baktıkça beni hatırla" (“Remember me when you look at it”). I googled it just now to be certain, so look what the correct version of the expression actually is:                       
Memory, memory, you said
And thus badgered me to death
Here is a memory from me to you
Remember me when you read it
So there you go... From time to time, I read the pages with my mother’s, father’s, and elder sister’s handwriting. I conjure up the mental image of their personalities and outer appearances, pay heed to their advices, and check to see whether I put them into practice. I get emotional each time, and sometimes even cry. In those years, an old friend of mine kept a diary, but I have never in my life felt like doing it. The thought of someone else reading my diary after I die has always sent chills up my spine. Many of my artist friends keep diaries. But I could never do it as I have grown up feeling that fear. As a matter of fact, I began keeping a diary at Nevzat’s (Sayın) strong insistence, because I think the world of him. And yet, I soon gave up. But as it turned out, I have been making chin music recently, while I am writing letters to you. Ahahaha! I believe I am in the process of requiting the past years, Marcus, and this process coincided with our correspondence. You are in big trouble… Let me put an end to this letter now so that I don’t get you in any more trouble.     
 
Kindest regards,
Günnur :)
 -

15.03.2017
Letter 2


Dear Günnur,
In my youth, as well as during my time of study, I never had a diary and I was never a good writer. I hated writing, because I was struggling with words, sentences… It is actually funny, because today, I am known as a writer and academician. So, for the last 20 years I write a lot. And I realized, that the more you write the easier it ge ts. Obviously, I never write in my mother language. Actually, today German feels strange, becomes difficult sometimes. Anyway, I also never had a letter-friend…
Nevertheless, in 2001, after I left Germany for New York City, I started to work my thoughts and daily routines as a road-book. I stayed for 3 months in New York City and filled a couple of notebooks. I guess, I needed a possibility for an intellectual output, because I was most of the time alone, walking the streets of New York City and inhaling the atmosphere. My little notebooks became dialogue partners; a form to put my thoughts and feelings into.
At the time when I was writing it felt like a mental relief. Later, long after I had left New York City, when I read the books it felt strange, just like I was reading the stories of a stranger.
You mention the issue of memory and reminiscence through letters in your previous letter. I believe that the letter and the memory it represents, causes a strange sort of alienation. It becomes a distorted reflection of the memory of a subjective reality-reflection. So, it becomes something in between reality-documentation and fiction. How nice that you have letters by your family. I wish I had some too but I guess I am not the only non-writer in my family. We were never intellectuals, never thinkers but actors and activists. The working class people are not very good with pencil and pens as far as I experienced it. We were talking, not writing…
You mentioned your son's relation with school. Lukas is in fourth grade now, and he has 20(!) exams to prepare! After school he comes home at 16:30 and has to prepare for his exams. I believe that the school system is weak and old-fashioned because it only believes in logic, ratio and functionality. It is based on formal knowledge. That is why creativity, flexibility and interpersonal skills as not given. Though, I guess in today's world, these "soft" skills are the actual needed one for making a difference. Especially if you want to become a leader.
Often Lucas claims that he is already tired of the school. He is only at his beginning.
In the end, I believe your father was right about finding the things you love to do. It is very simple, if you love what you do, you do it a lot, with passion, and in the end you become good at it. This is how I designed my life at an early stage. I wanted to do the work I like and that am good at.
I feel lucky because I could do it. Sometimes I even say that I am not working in the regular meaning, because for me, life and work are interconnected. Right now for example, am I working or is this a spare-time-activity? Who knows, most probably it is both.
Marcus

 
Note: In our letters we connected the matter of memory and idea with the habit of writing letters. In a way, this relationship between thought and its record/memory is also fundamental for every artwork. So, a close conceptual as well as formal (paper, letter, typography, traces etc…) relation exist between the visual arts and letters. In the end, every letter is a physical manifestation of thought. This equation is a valid for art too.
 
Questions
"How can we be productive and creative today?”
“How can art be taught?”
“How can art be mediated?”
“What does visuality mean today?”
“How is intellectual/spiritual counterstrike possible?”
“What is the meaning of humor and irony in art?”

21.03.2017
Letter 3


My dear Marcus,
After my last letter to you, the expression "Buna baktıkça beni hatırla" (“Remember me when you look at it”)  rang in my mind for days. The ditty, however, ended with the words “Remember me when you read it”… I had found this out online, you know. Anyway, as my mind hovered between “when you look at it,” and “when you read it,” John Berger’s book entitled Ways of Seeing, which I had read during my university years, flashed through my mind. I know no bounds when it comes to free associations, as you well know. :) In the past, people used to say to bodyguards waiting at the entry of bars and discos: “I will look for a friend very quickly.” Also, “Remember me when you look at it” reminds me of old Turkish movies. To cut a long story short, I want to use this sentence in my exhibition for all the things that it reminds me of and makes me feel. There are other expressions I might use as well depending on the course of events, but “Remember me when you look at it” will certainly make it to the exhibition, even though I will not have it written in neon lights. I have to reflect more on the material and the typographic characters to use. As I work, it will take shape and find its place within the exhibition. “"Buna baktıkça beni hatırla." Yay!... It will be lovely! 
You wrote in your letter that you didn’t like and had difficulties in writing in the past. How interesting! You also said that writing gets easier as one continues. You are damn right! Last year, I took part in a dream group therapy. During our first session, when I admitted that I was not good at remembering my dreams, İskender Savaşır said: “Keep a notebook and pen at your bedside so that you can write your dreams down when you think that you have dreamt.” Everything went just like he said. I thought that I had a dream, so I got out of bed and began writing right away… And the moment I took the pen in my hand and began writing, I began to remember more of my dream. The more I wrote the more details I remembered. Maybe it was the pen that did the trick. Or maybe Harry Potter gave it some of his powers? :) Why not? You wrote that you felt alienated when you read your own notebooks after a while, that the subjective moment became a distorted reflection, and that you oscillated between reality, documentation, and fiction. Brilliant ideas worth reflecting on…      
You asked me some questions; let me answer them to the best of my abilities.
1- Being productive is but the harvest of hard work. Remember the Turkish proverb “İşleyen demir ışıldar,” which can be roughly translated as follows: “The iron that is in use keeps shining.” I don’t know how one becomes creative. I believe that one either has the courage to create or doesn’t. A person who wishes to create eventually creates. I don’t think that creativity is a skill that can be acquired. 
2- I don’t believe that art can be learned. It is just the techniques that can be taught.
3- Art is open to all kinds of transmission and presentation.
4- In our times, visuality corresponds to a sentence like “You will pay for it!”
5- Intellectual and spiritual resistance is certainly possible. This resistance is sustainable and not likely to trigger counter-resistance when one experiences this as a part of himself/herself and not as a fight. 
6- Humor and irony entertain me a lot in my daily life, and I use them both quite often. I am not interested in the question of whether they should be a part of art or not. But when they are, I consider whether they add meaning to artworks or not. In my opinion, an artwork has to attain unity. Otherwise, it is destined to be dull and superficial, as far as I am concerned. 
Let’s meet sometime these days. There are other surprising letters that I want to show to you.
Kindest regards,
Günnur :)

 -
05.04.2017
Letter 3

 
Dear Günnur,
 
The expression “Buna baktıkça beni hatırla” is quite beautiful and meaningful.
Let me think about it for a moment and let me share my thoughts about it.
The sentence has four parts. The first part refers to a physical thing. Seeing is always about aesthetic, as aesthetic is the science of perception. Everything has an aesthetic…
We discover, look, see and (hopefully) understand, give meaning to the thing we perceive. In the context of an art-show, used by an artist, the sentence seems to refer to an artwork. An artwork is always there to be seen. Its existence is bound to its aesthetical presence in time and space. That is why every artwork has a socio-politic disillusion as it is visual expression of an indvidual’s thoughts and/or feelings.
At the same time, after seeing, the sentence refers to a person (Beni). So, an interaction between an object and two subjects (the one who sees and the one who is remembered) occures. Again, here it refers in the exhibition to the “natural” link between an artwork and its creator/ producer / author. Since Romanticism, we as the spectators connect the being and matter of an artwork to the existence of its author (the artist). Even, although Roland Barthes and Michel Foucault tried to kill the author and neglect its importance, we still try to “understand” an artist through his/her works, or on a larger macro scale, try to understand the World through art.
In the end, the sentence is about memory. We discussed this in our previous letter. Writing in general is about recording, communicating and memorizing incidents of life. So, in your sentence translocated into the context of art through its presenting within an art Show, you beautifully and poetically connect the dimensions of memory through letters and artworks.
In the end, I am happy that one letter exchange already brought up something productive for your work!
Marcus


21.04.2017
Letter 4


My dear Marcus,
I am delighted to hear that you liked the expression “Buna baktıkça beni hatırla.” And how nicely you put it when you said, “you beautifully and poetically connect the dimensions of memory through letters and artworks.” What a coincidence that I have recently been reading poetry. :)       
Until now, I have prepared some models as preliminary drafts, and I made some of them out of metal. For the moment, I imagine all my future works in metal. The material gives me a feeling similar to that of exchanging letters; both metal and letters are direct and crude… I would like to display the works that I have created until now and their likes on walls. The size of the pieces ranges from A4 to A2 paper sizes. These works include curves in accordance with my usual choices in terms of form. In addition to that, sharp planes, which I had refrained from using until recently, produce the effect of lines in these works. The lines and planes came out of nowhere when I was working. Thinking that they were visually powerful, I continued using them. These works are no different than my previous works in that they are separate sculptures that also attain unity when they are brought near one another. As usual, I plan the relative positions of the sculptures without constraint, that is, without limiting myself with a formula, so that anyone can arrange the positions of my works as he/she likes. The freedom to position the works as one likes matters a lot to me. I can visualize what the finished works will look like, so I feel free from worry. And you know what? Nevzat Sayın and Zeynep Göğüş visited my studio. Nevzat noticed the metals right away, and he was taken by them. “Very interesting,” he said, “Seyhun Topuz is making similar sculptures these days.” And I said, “Oh! You should document this situation by writing an article on it.” Isn’t it interesting that there is such similarity between our recent works? I find this coincidence rather pleasant.   
By the way, a portrait exhibition will be held in May at Siyah Beyaz Gallery in Ankara. It is entitled “A Reflected Assertion.” Half of the works will be self-portraits of various artists, and the remaining half will be portraits of the artists who made these self-portraits. Bora Akıncıtürk asked to make my portrait. So thanks to him, I made a self-portrait. I believe that it will surprise you. I am sending you its photograph and the text that will accompany it. Atilla Yücel happened to be the first person to see my self-portrait. We had a little chat on it. He wrote something on it too, which you will also find attached to this mail. I am curious about what you will think about this all.       
Kindest regards,
Günnur
 -

05.04.2017
Letter 4


Dear Günnur,
The self portrait is great! I liked the balance between abstraction and poetry. Also, it is good that you have selected a different form of expression. This is something which I always liked about your work. You constantly experiment with forms, materials and techniques. Your will to “play” is one of your strongest Powers. I always believed that artists are special people because they are the few who manages to keep the inner-child alive. The rest of us burries it under the weight of school, work and other borders of adult life. So, keep on playing!
By the way, you wrote that Bora Akıncıtürk will do your portrait. That is a great coincidence, because he did a portrait of me a as well. We collaborated in Siemens Sanat in an exhibition more than ten years ago. He is a former student of mine and I value him as artist very much! My portrait is great. I am sure your’s will be strong too. Though, the outcome will be a surprise. You never know with Bora. Though it will be great!
Ah, inbetween us: A while ago Ali Elmacı agreed on doing my portrait! Ha, what do you think of that?! I believe that protraits are a very intimate and exclusive form of self-reflection. You see yourself through the eyes of an artist. 20 years ago, I did a portrait-project, in which I dealt with him and he with me. In the end, we did a Show with the works. I will Show you maybe the pieces.
Marcus


02.05.2017
Letter 5

 
My dear Marcus, your words regarding my self-portrait encouraged me, thank you so much.
You also wrote about my desire to “play,” I certainly agree with you on that. My curiosity and thrill remind me absolutely of the feelings of children during play. I don’t know whether I have already told you about it, but when I was a child I used to enjoy playing in the sand and building things out of it, like all children do. I especially liked making fairy chimney-like forms by dripping wet sand from my fists. I excelled in this technique, and the people who saw it would be amazed. I would show and tell them how to do it. Keen and curious children, and sometimes adults would sit next to me, and begin building these forms with me. But usually it didn’t take long before they got bored, as their forms came out to be crude, which annoyed them. But I was interested in the process rather than the final product. It was an incredible pleasure for me to try to create spontaneous forms out of wet sand. And watching the way sand changed form so quickly would warm the cockles of my heart to such an extent that I would realize how sore my arms were much later. Children, who used to build castles by filling their buckets with damp sand and placing them upside-down, didn’t want that their constructs be destroyed. So they stood guard by and protected them. I, on the contrary, didn’t mind it. I felt at ease and fulfilled as the pleasure and joy of making these forms were to remain with me. Years later, when I saw Antoni Gaudì’s buildings in Barcelona, I thought that he was a child like me. By the way, I googled Gaudì’s name in order not to misspell it, and noticed that the Wikipedia ban still continues. I don’t know what the future will unfold, but I have accessed a great deal of information on www.wikipedia.org. Anyway, let’s leave it at that and return to the desire “to play.” I believe that it is this very desire that underlies the importance I still continue to attach to the production process, and also my liking for it. There is yet another thing that I would like to mention concerning my life as a sculptor and also this subject. As you know, not being able to pursue my dreams at school while studying industrial design at the faculty of fine arts, I decided to study jewelry design in London, and afterwards I started my own jewelry business at the Grand Bazaar and held jewelry exhibitions. At that time, we used to document my jewelry using slides. One day, when we were watching these slides on the screen with my friend Ela Çil, and his father Nafi Çil, the latter told me: “These are sculptures, you should make sculptures.” That’s how I began making sculptures. But it was hard to work as a sculptor from home, so I began to use a foundry in Dudullu as my studio. This was a foundry where the works of several sculptors would be cast in bronze using the sandblasting technique. So I began playing with my own forms in compressed sand this time. That’s how I prepared the forms of my first sculptures, making their negative versions before their positive versions. It felt exactly like playing in the sand as a child. When I told Nafi Çil about the production process of my sculptures, he gave me a speech, telling me that I was like an architect who chose to draw the empty space surrounding a building before drawing the building itself. For me, though, it was a fast and amusing play. The production process that took place in the sand impressed me to such an extent that I took photos of its different phases and had them printed within an exhibition catalogue of mine. At that time, this method of production kindled no one’s interest apart from that of Ahmet Soysal, and of course Nafi Çil, I suppose. I don’t think that there has been a substantial increase in this number since then, because the process in question can be understood either through experience or empathy. I know that it sounds funny when I say it out loud, but the production process thrills me so much that I can even write a novel about it. Don’t be scared: I am going to cut it short in order not to bore you to death. Finally (this word is a lie par excellence ?), unlike many artists, I can’t use the word “problem” when I am talking about the production process. Because I see no “problems” there. A problem is a difficulty that needs to be solved. But the process of production, which I am going through these days, is a state of meditation where I engage with exciting experiences, make discoveries, and lose myself. By the way, I don’t know what “meditation” exactly feels like, but I deduced this from what I been told.
The meditation is over, now I will talk about reality ? Last week, I met Bora Akıncıtürk. He is both polite and cheeky at the same time. I liked him a lot. I threatened him of course, saying “I wonder what your portrait of me will look like, I will knock your teeth out if I don’t like it.” He said that he decided to make my portrait because he felt drawn to my works. These words made my day, as you can guess. I set much store by an artist’s interest in and relating to another artists’ works.      
Ahahaha! You said “Mum’s the word…” after you wrote to me that Ali Elmacı will make your portrait. I am really curious as to what it will look like. Please update me on new developments. And let me repeat this: Our correspondence will be printed as it is. So we will keep this all between us. ? I believe that these letters constitute the backbone of this exhibition, and that these are “a piece of art” per se. I am just kidding, it’s much more than that…
“A piece of art” did me the world of good, I bit all my nails due to my excitement. I want to give my brain some time so that my thoughts can mature. But know that writing broadened my horizons, really. I can even sing a song about it. See you tomorrow at the exhibition “Tomorrow.” I hope that there will be sales, and money will be made. 
Kindest regards,  
Günnur
-

03.05.2017
Letter 5

 
Dear Günnur,
Your description of the sand-scupltors in your childhood was great. You beautifully outlined the relation between playing, improvising and artistic creation. The power of playing releases a force that is stronger than any rational or intellectual consideration. That is why children have such a power, such a passion while they play. The style of “flow” brings their mind on such a level that they forget the world and its concrete reality. That is pure power which causes great creativity.
There is even a term for this state, a person forgets time and place, as he/she becomes one with the act he/she is doing. Children, artists are perfect examples for this state, but everybody knows it and can enter it.
I am looking forward to the opening of our show “Tomorrow”, tonight at Gaia Gallery. It is the biggest show that we did so far with Plato Sanat.
Around 40 artists with around 100 works are on display. I hope we will sell some works, so that students at Ayvansaray University can get some extra scholarships.
I am happy and thankful that you participate in the exhibition. You present two beautiful works. It is hard to believe that these pieces a long time ago somehow have their origins in “Takı Tasarımı” (Jewelry Design). The relation between industrial design, takı tasarımı and your current sculptures is fascinating and we will talk more about it later.
Hope that art can save us and the world. We definitely need it currently. Tonight, we will see how concrete this wish is!
To a better “TOMORROW”,
Marcus


12.05.2017
Letter 6
 

My dear Marcus,
 
We could not have a proper chat at the exhibition “Tomorrow” but let me tell you straight off that I loved it. God bless your hands. And I had not visited Gaia Gallery previously, and I was thrilled with this exhibition space. 
By the way, our letters are being translated into Turkish and English. Azra is helping me with the translation and she is also archiving our letters. So everything will be much easier when the time to publish them comes. I called Timuçin Unan and we met as we talked after your visit to my studio. Life is indeed full of coincidences. :) He has a good grasp of typography, so I am sure that he will design the book containing our letters just like we imagine. We also agreed to prepare a book about my works. I believe that, with these letters, I have entered a new and different period. I might need to have my sculptures re-photographed for the book. I find such work extremely onerous, but I have to start from somewhere. Recently, I ran across Merih Akoğul at the PG Art Gallery. He offered to take the photographs of my sculptures making up the series “Costa Mea” and make a book with these photographs. It is really marvelous to hear such words from my artist friends. I have to call Merih at the earliest opportunity so that we can talk about the details of this project. Right now I am flying to Ankara for the opening of the exhibition “A Reflected Assertion” at Siyah Beyaz this evening. I will have the chance to see Bora Akıncıtürk’s portrait of me; I am extremely curious to see what it looks like. Let’s see how Bora sees me. As my auto portrait will also be on display, it will be rather interesting to see these two works together. I saw your posts on Instagram, the Venice Biennale seems to be going great…                    
I had written to you in my last letter that the words “a piece of art” strikes a chord in me. Apparently, my thrill was not momentary, I still have it. Because in my opinion, our letters are a kind of art, whose language is different than the one I have been constructing until today. I felt like uttering the words “a piece of art.” When I was learning English, the phrases “a piece of cake,” “an umbrella,” “an apple” evoked powerful images in my mind, and I also liked the way these phrases sounded. I would use the adjectives “easy,” “entertaining,” and “sincere” to describe our correspondence. It is “just a piece of cake.” That’s why I uttered the expression “a piece of art,” I suppose. You know that I set much store by things that come into existence spontaneously and by coincidence, and I feel as if some of such things belong to me. I find myself 100% in the expression “a piece of art.” “Remember me when you look at it” and “a piece of art” will hence be a part of my exhibition.   
18.05.2017
I forgot my notebook at the hotel in Ankara. They sent it back to me, so I am sending it now. I am on my way to Cappadocia right now. I hope that I won’t forget it there too.
 
Kindest regards,
Günnur
 -

22.05.2017
Letter 6


Dear Günnur,
 
On the cover of my old notebooks was following line written:
WRITING IS ACTING!
Although I have some hesitations about the truth of such a slogan, I believe there is a certain power about it. It also fits to your show. Writing is the expression of a thought, which formed in language is the communication of an idea. Thinking is abstract, informal, without concrete form. Writing gives it a physical existence. The visibility of an intellectual concept is given by and through its written being. Thinking is not really acting. It is intrinsic and stays in the head of the thinker. Writing turns the intrinsic act into an extrinsic action. Therefore, writing is always expressive. Some people think that art can not exist without an audience. Without a spectator, the work only remains form. I agree to the same about writing. A text without a reader is silent, passive and non-relevant for the world. That is why texts have to be published and art has to be shown. This is the reason why value publications and exhibitions so much, as I believe that writing and art-making both are per se socially engaged. They have to be shared, because the nature of literature and art demand its sharing and communicating.
In the end, real acting comes after writing, as a text can inspire a reader to act, or create an impulse of the author to turn his thinking fiction into writing and then into acting. So, the order is: 1) Thinking 2) Writing 3) Acting.
This is why writing and art-making are so closely related; and this might be the reason why you decided to interpret writing into your next show. I would not call our written exchange art though, because I believe that every field and discipline has its own history, rules and functions. A too wide and trans-disciplinary notion of art puts it in danger. Though I might be called a conservative now. Maybe I am still too human and I believe in order, categories and rules.
In the end, after you have found an artistic/visual/plastic form for our writing, it becomes art. Otherwise it is writing.
I am looking forward how you will find a form for the presentation and mediation for our conversation in the conceptual and concrete context of your upcoming show in 2018.
Marcus


31.05.2017
Letter 7

 
My dear Marcus,
 
You have again poured it out in your latest letter, I love this state, I am glad to know you. You claimed that the nature of literature and art necessitate its sharing and communicating. I also value this sharing likewise I greatly value our sharing of ideas and feelings through these correspondences. They have been a great source of motivation to me as well as a mind-blowing experience...
 
As I lately wrote you, I went to Cappadox on the 19th of March. Cappadox was one of Mehmet Uluğ's dreams, a dearest friend of mine who is no more among us. In the last three years, his brother Ahmet Uluğ and his (partner) friend Cem Yegül have been achieving this dream. I hope that we will go together next year, I am sure that you will enjoy it.  The exhibition curated by Fulya Erdemci was spectacular. Erdağ Aksel, Nermin Er, Halil Altındere and Hector Zamora became my favorite artists.
 
When I got back, I had to accomplish so many unnecessary works. Spending my time for daily life issues is really exhausting for me, especially when I have to concentrate on new art projects. Anyway, I could finally make my market research for the scripture of “Buna baktıkça beni hatırla” and bought the materials I need. I would like to conceive the scripture by using optic fibre cables. Let me explain you the reason why...
 
In my childhood, my mother had a friend called Yüksel. She was a lovely woman who would always wear red lipstick and earrings. She was married to a gentle Diplomat that I called Uncle Kemal. They had a son who was older than me. Mehmet was always playing piano, sometimes I would approach and listen to him and he was never bothered. One day, they bought him a grand piano, unfortunately the piano was as big as his room so his bed did not fit the room anymore... Instead they replaced it with a camping bed. It really surprised me that Mehmet had to sleep in a camping bed for his piano but I thought that if I had a Barbie house as big as my room, I would rather sleep on the floor.
 
Aunty Yüksel had beautiful napkins that she collected from all over Europe. Each time I visit their house, she would always give me a few of them. For the first time I saw a color Television, it was in their house and I was really stunned to find out that the football field surface was made of natural grass. But the most important thing that amazed me in this house had been a lamp.
 
The lamp had the appearance of a huge sea urchin but it was white and it was radiating colorful lights from its extremities.  I adored it, I could never understand how the color s of the spines were constantly changing. As they allowed me to touch it, most of the time I was gently caressing the lamp. It became for me a sort of unknown sea creature which was waving, radiating and talking as long as I touched it.
 
I consider this lamp that was produced between the end of 70's and the beginning of 80's due to the massive usage of optic fibre cables, as a fantastic lighting. This lamp may be assimilated to concepts such as retro or vintage for some people but according to me, it is a source of light that enlightens my memories. There is no doubt that I will have difficulties working in an unknown area but I am extremely motivated  to reach the visuality that I dream of. Wish me good luck.
Günnur
 -

31.05.2017
Letter 7


Dear Günnur,
 
I have followed you and Cappadox via social media and Internet. Therefore, I have an idea about the show and the works You mentioned. Of course, being there is highly different, as an exhibition is based on the experience of art. Only when you physically experience the works, the interconnection between the displayed pieces and the space as well as its context, the meaning of a show can be grasped. So I have an intellectual and theoretical idea about Cappadox, but no real and spiritual. Is it not strange that we experience today most incidents firstly through a medium? Often, it seems like this second reality is enough for understanding the first one.
 
Anyway, for three years I try to attend the festival. Though because of the load of life, work and family, it was not possible. Nevertheless, my wife Şebnem and I will visit it. I have never been to Cappadocia. Can you imagine? I have visited many places in turkey so far, but this is still on my to-do-list. It seems like half of Istanbul's art scene was there. Its popularity depends partly on the location itself. This is both the greatest plu- and the biggest danger for the exhibited pieces. The location and its environment are so strong that it is difficult to cope with them. Most artist did a good job it seems as they created site-specific pieces.
 
Coming to your idea of "buna baktıkça beni hatırla", you will create a mind-specific-piece. I do not believe that such a term exists, but if not, it should. First, you experienced something in the past, then it gets recorded in your brain, now you remember it is in mind-construction, and finally you develop an artistic idea / concept for a work which will be concretely produced by you later. Everything in this process is mind-related, and mind-specific. So, you create - like almost all works of (contemporary) art - a mind-specific work. The degree of individuality depends on the uniqueness of the idea / concept / mind. I believe that your story behind the idea is pretty extraordinary and more than worth to function as the base for an artwork. The power of the idea, and its beauty was perfectly expressed by your short reminiscence about the piano, bed and lamp. You can really nicely express yourself via the written word!
 
When you first mentioned the material "fiber optik" I thought about the cables that are used for Internet connections today. Anyway, this parallelism makes sense because the Internet cable is there to make our minds virtually travel around the world. Your work will make the mind of its spectator travel too. In your past the cables of the lamp also carried you out of this reality into somewhere else. That is why it left such an impact on you.
 
I wish that your work will do the same to you and to the spectator it is presented to.
Art is like a plane that helps you travelling to different real, virtual and spiritual world. I guess your work will be such a carrier!
Have a safe flight,
Marcus


04.07.2017
Letter 8

 
My dear Marcus, hello after a long time,
When the schools closed, Ömer and I went on holiday. And it was a holiday for me in the full sense of the word. I haven’t read even a single word of the three books that I had taken with me to read. : )    
Anyway, let me continue from where I left off.
My priority is to finish the sculpture that I had begun making for Contemporary Istanbul. And by the way, thank you for inviting me to your upcoming exhibition that will be held in Gaia Gallery in May. I will be working on a project with Nevzat Sayın, and I believe that we will come up with something that is worthwhile. That my solo exhibition and this exhibition will both be on view in May is a nice coincidence that thrills me. I want you to know that what you wrote concerning the expression “Buna baktıkça beni hatırla” encouraged me. Sharing one’s ideas and feelings in this manner is extremely precious. Words themselves will be the content of my exhibition for the first time in my artistic journey. I am genuinely curious as to the image that will emerge from within the language and words making up this exhibition. Even though language is the main medium of communication insofar as human beings are concerned, it is also a trap for them in that it has deep connections with the subconscious. This experience is reminiscent of delirium and dreams. The images that are flying around freely in my head at the moment, for instance, are way too complex to put down on paper. I suppose that this is how language works: I feel like I am navigating through a terrain that is both extremely familiar and completely unknown to me.                   
I always say that “All kinds of material appeal to me,” but I feel as if all the materials and colors that I use in my sculptures belong to me and to me only. 
This time the material of my art is language, and the texts that I have produced using that language belong to me. What I meant by saying “Buna baktıkça beni hatırla,” and "a piece of art" was that I intend to use language as a material in my new works, which will take their place in my world of art among the rest of my work, all of which I call “mine.” There are things that I need to figure out regarding my artistic production, and I wish to do it as soon as I can. When it comes to my book, Timuçin and I have already begun gathering visual material. When I come up with a draft, I will share it with you right away. This is all for now.
Kindest regards,
Günnur
 -

21.08.2017
Letter 8

 
Dear Günnur,
The summers in Istanbul are long, hot and humid. It is difficult to think, to work, to sleep. After 17 years here, I still find it hard to exist between the burning concrete and the flaming sky. No wonder why our scene takes a break during the summer. Heat and intellectualism are no good friends with each other. I personally prefer colder times to think, to create. Heat forces your body, and therefore also your brain to cool off. Cold temperature has quite the opposite effect. It pushes you to get moving and heating up your body. At least that is how I experience the difference between working during the summer and winter.
Winter is also the time of melancholia. When the days are short and the nights take over, the mind is more likely to enter forbidden ground. It is then easier to step into the shadows of the mind, the dark corners of the soul to discover alternative insights into yourself. Who you are is normally based on the reflection of the bright side of our soul. But the real base of our being is formed by the darkness of our mind. The darker the environment you are in (physically and metaphorically speaking) the more the shadows of the soul will find a way out of their shelfes to surround you with even more darkness. That is the reason for so many depressions during the winter I guess.
Anyway, how did we get here? Ah yes, summer, vacation and work. You wrote that you will include text in your upcoming exhibition, and this will be the first time. This made me think about the relation between abstraction and figuration.
You are an artist that mainly works in the field of (organic) abstraction. Now, using text requires a linear and rational figurative structure. This is quite the opposite of your artistic practice. Your sculpture inspire thinking and leave a lot of space for the spectator's imagination. These works are based on informal knowledge. Written text though, is based on formal knowledge of course, the sentence "Buna baktıkça beni hatırla", in the context of your exhibition has a lots of different meanings, and it is quite poetic. Still, a clash of aesthetics and forms will be seen in the show. I believe it will look good and work out fine. Still, together with this series of letters, in which the written word is the form of expression, formal knowledge and linear expression gain weight in your show. Seems you want to make yourself clear. What do you say?
Marcus


23.09.2017
Letter 9

 
My dear Marcus, as you wrote at the end of your letter, I would like to express myself to the best of my ability. I try to convey my flickering thoughts, my past experiences, and what I went through in this period, as all of these play a major role in the creation of my works. And writing to you gives me the opportunity to focus more on what I did and what I will do, which pleases me greatly.        
Since my last letter to you, I have chosen a typeface for the texts. Next, I have to make a 3D model of it. I attach great importance to making models as they reveal all potential flaws. The proportions of certain things become rather disturbing when they increase in size. This is why I am going through a tense period. I want to write the sentence “Buna baktıkça beni hatırla” using stainless steel. Its surface should be shiny and mirror-like. I find this mirror-like appearance very important as well, because as such, the work will be capable of reflecting the objects and people around it, but it won’t do it in a blatant (even pornographic) manner, but in a subtle manner. This will create a space of ambiguity and memory for me, because if a saw an artwork like this one, I would first read the text and focus on it, and then realize my own reflection on it, proceeding from objective consciousness to self-consciousness. The meaning of the sentence intertwines thus with my own reflection. This situation took me back to my childhood once again. When I was a child, I used to look at the moles on my skin, put my finger on them one by one, saying “Ben, ben, ben!” and feeling surprised that there were so many of them. I was unique, but there were so many moles on my body. At one point, I was convinced that I was made up of many moles. One day, I connected all the moles on my body to one another with lines that I drew with a pen, believing that I was going to find the real me in this manner. During those years, water supplies would often be cut off in Ankara, so we couldn’t take a bath whenever we wanted to. On one such day, mom scolded me as I had drawn lines all over my body. I deemed Turkish to be very stupid. Why do we use the same word for “I” and “mole”? Why “ben,” really? This is a rhetorical question, of course. My intention is that my works and my life experiences be comprehended, and not finding answers.   
The process of creating the metal sculptures that I will display on the wall is going well. I began working on the patinas, and so far, I am very pleased with the results. Making patinas is like watercolor painting for me; it is a process where I retain speed, fresh, and vitality, just like I do while casting lead... In the processes of applying patina and casting lead, fire always plays the leading role. The vitality and changefulness of fire motivates me, I guess. During these processes, I feel like I am visiting an unfamiliar land. And yet reality accompanies these archaic imaginary travels: a couple of weeks ago, a biennale, many exhibitions, Contemporary Istanbul were held. I was dog-tired due to this extreme busyness, but I enjoy this state too. And of course schools opened as well. Ömer began the first year of high school this year, and I am bored as if I am the one who goes to school. I don’t like this hackneyed education system at all. Anyway, it will pass. This is all for now.                    
Kindest regards,  
Günnur :)
 

05.10.2017
Letter 10

(I am writing to you before receiving the 9th letter from you.)
 
My dear Marcus, I am writing another letter to you before receiving your reply to my previous letter. Recently, I suppose it was a Sunday, I decided to stay home and rest. I planned to read, watch a movie, leaf through my books, etc., and sleep in between. I don’t know how it happened, but I found myself in Ömer’s room, sitting down at his desk. I began scribbling at the back of Ömer’s sketchbook. I could not stop, I guess I drew and drew for hours. The interesting thing is that I didn’t smoke at all during that time. I got up from the table to go to the bathroom. When I came back, my drawings pleased me as stains, but they were stuck in the medium of the sketchbook. I got hold of a nail clipper right away, and cut and gouged certain parts of it, and phew! I can’t tell you how relieved and pleased I was. I have been drawing since that day. At times, I draw involuntarily as if I have the runs, and at others, I feel like eating sunflower seeds, telling myself “this is the last one,” but can’t stop. Pardon the crude expression and let me continue from here. My drawings reminded me of empty sunflower seed hulls in black, white, and the tones in between. Sunflower seeds reminded me of the Emperor of Sunflower Seeds. :) I haven’t yet had the chance to visit his exhibition, but I have seen tons of selfies with Ai Weiwei on social media. Anyway, what I really want to talk about and highlight is my desire to draw all the time.                       
All these scribbles also reminded me of my conversations with my artist friends. Whenever I meet Mustafa Horasan, Ahmet Tükenmez, Erdağ Aksel, and Nevzat Sayın, especially, they take a pen in their hands, and began scribbling on a piece of paper, paper tissue, or another different medium, and give these scribbles to me. I keep them as the precious reminders of the moments that we have together. Here is another memory. Perhaps, my scribbles are another memory. Whenever I utter the word memory, I remember old Turkish movies.   
To cut a long story short, I have been drawing excitedly and non-stop during these days. If you wish, call Dursun :)
Kindest regards,  
Günnur