TR

2014

It would be nice to daydream while drinking my coffee and gazing at William Kentridge’s “Journey to the Moon” or to hang paintings of Yüksel Arslan and René Magritte on my walls; or some “Los Caprichos” of Goya and a large sized photograph of Elina Brotherus…

How would you describe the artwork “Lonely Skater” that you bought from Mixer Editions to someone who has never seen it?

A skater is passing through the snowy trees. On the left of the picture, there is a space coherent with that speed and going, just like before it goes out of the frame. It is a digital print; therefore, rather than the painting affect, it’s more likely to be graphical. It almost looks like an animation. Because of the colours and the indiscernible face of the figure, it does not arouse that ‘loneliness’ feeling for me. The spooky feeling arising from the area of the lake and forest predominates the lonely sense. And I like the painting as it is: at the first glance cute, then after distressing.

Did you get an edition work before?

No, I did not. I have some authentic prints. Besides that, I don’t have any artworks at my home. For people, to hang on the wall as real artworks at their homes, editions seem to be better than reproductions, posters and so on. At least there are not dozens of them. More or less, editions have closeness to the dearie of art; and the earnings go straightly to the artists. I bought this picture as a gift to my wife. I wanted to buy her a small gift, but rather than buying her clothes or jewelry, I bought her a beautiful picture.

What does art mean to you?

Is it a passion, workspace, addiction or an alternative investment? Or anything else? I feel great when I step out of a good exhibition: Overthinking more than I do usually, witnessing the efforts of more creative people than me, and living the state of art of ‘beauty and love’. I think the thing that pushes me to arts and artists since my youth lies beneath somewhere under these sentiments and notion. Of course I am not just an art-lover. I am one of the actors at the much loved ‘culture industry’ (we don’t know if it is real) or as its old saying, ‘the art world’. I am an arts and culture journalist for a long time and this has been my one and only job. Hence, all those exhibitions, artworks, books, films and plays that I love deeply, have been taking up my entire spare and work time. In sum, according to your options in the question, I may prefer “passion” although it is timeworn but fits, and definitely “work.”

In your opinion, how important it is to meet the artist of an artwork?

I would like to talk on this matter lengthly. My colleagues and I have an inside joke about the book we would write collectively when we retire: Artwork and Personage. Surely, this book will never be written and even if it would, it will contain interesting information about literature more than visual arts. Meeting with the artist is good for contemporary art because it helps you to read his/her works better and to penetrate his/her world more. Mostly, artists like to talk about their works and thus you can see the things you did not notice at first. This is good for journalists, art writers, curators and so on. But what about the audience, collectioner? Do they necessarily have to comprehend the artwork and love it? Maybe it is the best when the artists do not intervene between the audience and artwork. And in case there is an artist you admire, think twice if you have the chance to meet them.

Is there any artwork that you would love to have it in your collection?

I do not have a collection. But imaginary collection idea is a tempting game. For instance, if I would find a chance, I would replace the only replica in my house with the original one. (Actually, it is more fair to locate the Egon Schiele’s picture at the museum in Vienna.) It would be nice to daydream while drinking my coffee and gazing at William Kentridge’s Journey to the Moon; or to hang paintings of Yüksel Arslan and René Magritte on my walls; or some Los Caprichos of Goya and a large sized photograph of Elina Brotherus…

Which is your favorite museum collection and throughout these years, how did it remain in your mind?

This is about age. In my early twenties, the art museum in Prague that I encountered with French impressionists was the most magnificent museum of the world. Again around same years, I adored the Ludwig Museum of Köln. Because for the first time I attained this much pop-art artists and their famous paintings; not the mention the Fluxus artists. Needless to say, no museum is a patch on museums in New York and Paris but luckily I visited those later and for example, for me, Musee d’Orsay is the Origin of the World (L’origin du monde/ G. Courbet), MoMA is the Young Ladies of Avignon…

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