Contemporary Istanbul

A great number of art lovers, collectors and members of foreign and domestic press gathered at the only international contemporary art fair in Turkey, Contemporary Istanbul. This one was the 6th exhibition and opened on 23rd November. The fair has been visited by 62,000 art lovers and 2,100 collectors in 5 days. As the most extensive modern and contemporary art event in Turkey, Contemporary Istanbul hosted national and international galleries, artists from all over the world. The exhibition was to showcase contemporary art through different media like painting, sculpture, photography, performance, installation and video. But among all forms, I was more attracted by large scale sculptures and motion based installations.

Compared to previous years, it took more time to visit all pieces as the participation was enormous. My favorite pieces were various from sculpture to installation; however one that took my attention in the first place was the moving sculpture of Server Demirtas. I spent almost 5 minutes watching the sculpture with spontaneous movements back and forth hanging in deep perspective background. Another tempting corner was by Soda Art Gallery having a dominant scene with Derrick Santini's lenticular lightbox pieces. I like Soda exhibitions, as the gallery focuses on artists and designers using different materials and medias from various disciplines. They also support contemporary art jewellery, which is a globally rising trend. Jan Fabre's bronze statues represented by AD Gallery were stunning. The gallery was established in Athens, exhibiting avant-garde Greek and international art for more than a decade. Every exhibition by AD is organized according to its own criteria and with no reference to any previous shows.

6th Contemporary Istanbul will be welcoming guests at Istanbul Congress Center by November 25th.

Istanbul Biennial

Long awaited 12th Istanbul Biennial takes place at Antrepo 3 and 5 since September. Having hosted many biennials, starting with the fourth edition, these venues have also witnessed important transformations in terms of architectural design. This time, Hoffmann and Pedrosa invited the Office of Ryue Nishizawa to create the environment, the architectural reflection of the ideas they were developing. With our belief in art’s power to understand and change the world, it is possible to say that “Untitled” exhibition is organized with an effort to transform the world we live in into a better place.

Among various, my favorite piece of the whole exhibition is Giant (Gigante) by Portuguese artist Francisco Tropa. The artist believes that death is the matrix that emanates from all and any artistic construction. "It perhaps lies at art's primeval origin, as a mark of this secret threshold or celebration of this passage, to which was later added a sense of religiosity that has forever impregnated the artistic object as a mediator between two worlds" says Tropa about this compelling piece. In Giant, beyond an evident irony, the title involves an allusion to the use of scale in sculpture. The artist presents two identical skeletons arranged on the floor, molded in bronze, based on the same absent original. These two bodies are accompanied with a projection of a feather, of a magnified image of it, of a breath of air, allusions that evince a certain melancholy. The entire image is offered to whoever passes by. And whoever looks at it also observes the observer. I believe this remarkable piece of work is one of the most compelling yet touching installations of the "Untitled" exhibition.

12th Istanbul Biennial will be welcoming guests at Antrepo, Istanbul Modern Museum of Art by November 13th.

Green Living & Sustainability

Global warming has brought two issues, discussed only by a minority of business people and scientists, to the attention of masses: Sustainability and Green Living. Although the two terms are used interchangeably or as equivalent, they are actually two separate concepts that feed each other.

Sustainability has been a widely acclaimed issue by many Fortune 500 companies. In ecology, sustainability describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. In business environment, sustainability is the potential for long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of stewardship, the responsible planning and management of resources. Green Living concept is adopted in thesustainability strategy usually by promoting widespread commitments to green behaviors and personal health through business activities.

By 2050, there could be two billion cars on the road - twice as many as there are today. Energy demand is expected to be 35 percent higher in 2030 than in 2005; and pollution of drinking water is becoming the prior environmental concern as indicated by Wall Street Journal article. Our world economy faces unprecedented challenges; from soaring population growth to resource constraints, warming climate to myopic financial markets. Some companies see opportunity from these challenges and are pursuing bold projects that take sustainability to a new level.

Carbon-neutral organizations and zero-emission products are only initial steps to create a sustainable world - yet business environment. However, what many companies are missing is totality. Business innovation to scale sustainable solutions exponentially is what we need to put our global economy on a sustainable path. Scattered shoots of sustainability will not do the job. Businesses that are managing these risks and developing opportunities for green living will survive in the second decade of the Millennium.

Homemade Trend

Homemade nourishment has been a trend among intellectuals and riches for quiet some time. However with the right equipment and totally natural ingredients, it has become a new trend among young urban professionals.

In today's world, fast consumption and quick fix products are life savers for many who race against time. Meetings, business occasions, social engagements and allocating time for friends/family along with creating an agenda for self-care are only some of the contemporary challenges in urban living. It is interesting to note that the budget we reserve on what we eat is far less than the money we desire to spend on fitness and self-care treatment. And majority of this limited budget is usually spread between our daily Starbucks pleasure, weekend occasions and ready food and beverages. Preparing your own bread, jam and espresso with coffee beans you grind fresh sounds like an idealistic concept; even cooking at home itself is difficult enough. However, you can create your own Michelin-starred kitchen by investing in a few affordable equipment along with fresh ingredients you buy regularly from open markets. With timer function, you can take control of these devices and let them do majority of the work before you arrive home. All you have to do is enjoying your freshly brewed filter coffee and homemade bread along with a delicious salad you can fix in minutes.

A growing legion of persnickety chefs also use the term housemade instead of homemade to emphasize their own special cuisine. In Brooklyn, restaurants such as the Michelin-starred Dressler rarely deign to serve dishes not described as housemade. Housemade breads, jam and even cheese are important side dishes that differ a restaurant from the rest; and effect the choice of many diners looking for delicious and healthy dining experience.

Escape from Reality

The downtown art scene is electrifying, but frankly it's heaven when my friend Allen kidnaps me away to his family's house in Alacati, a tiny village off Cesme. Before we catch the ferry that will take us from Karsiyaka to Goztepe, a stop at Reci's for a piece of Charlotte cake is a must. Allen is quite the host, planning our trip; however this is the city that I was born and raised since I left to build my future abroad.

Alacati has evolved so rapidly in the last couple of years - from being an international windsurf spot into a fine dining & wine area. The village has been renovated in line with its origins, and you can feel the common Greek aura of the Aegean coast while you walk through the stone houses with blue wooden doors. The village is covered in pine trees and surrounded by freezing cold water - it doesn't prevent us from wind surfing though. Back on the main island, there's a lot of wild life - rabbits and goats. Ilica is known for its golden sandy beach beaten by rough-and-tumble waves which reminds me of my childhood as I used to spend majority of the day here, next to our summer house.

Unlike the other side of the coast, Alacati is quiet, and the calming ebb of the tide is the very definition of escape. Here nothing is prepared or planned. All you have to do is to close your eyes, and listen to the wind harmonized by the waves as the sun above bathes you with its rays of joy.

Smart Living & Cloud

Imagine your laptop and all of your mobile devices being in sync all the time. Imagine being able to access all of your personal data at any given moment. Imagine having the ability to organize and mine data from any online source. Imagine being able to share that data - photos, movies, contacts, e-mail, documents - with your friends, family, and coworkers in an instant. This is what personal cloud computing promises to deliver.

Whether you realize it or not, you're probably already using cloud-based services. Pretty much everyone with a computer has been. Gmail and Google Docs are two prime examples; we just don't think of those services in those terms. In essence, personal cloud computing means having every piece of data you need for every aspect of your life at your fingertips and ready for use. Data must be mobile, transferable, and instantly accessible. The key to enabling the portable and interactive you is the ability to synch up your data among your devices, as well as access to shared data.

Ultimately, your personal cloud which includes everything from your address book and music collection to your reports and documents for work will connect to the public cloud and other personal clouds. Everything connects. That means every place on the Internet you interact with, as well as every person you interact with can be connected. This includes your social networks, bank, university, workplace, family, friends and more. Of course, you will determine what you show the public and what you keep private. Clusters of personal clouds will form new social networks that will likely have a lot more privacy settings than Facebook, especially if these clusters are family or business oriented. Privacy will be a huge issue as personal clouds hit critical mass.

Eventually, in the smart living era, your devices will learn about you and eventually intuit what you are doing, where you are going, and what you intend to do when you get there. This might all sound a bit like science fiction, but this is exactly where we're headed with cloud computing. We're not quite there yet, though. We're all still creating our personal clouds.

The Last Sitting

In 1962, photographer Bert Stern shot a series of photos of Marilyn Monroe for Vogue magazine that have collectively come to be known as The Last Sitting. Taken during several boozy sessions in Suite 261 at the Hotel Bel-Air in June, photographs are arguably the most famous images ever captured of Monroe, sleepy-eyed and naked, sips from a Champagne glass, enacts a fan dance of sorts with various diaphanous scarves, romps with erotic playfulness on a bed of white linens.

The three-day session yielded nearly 2,600 pictures - fashion, portrait, and nude studies - of indescribable sensual and human vibrancy, of which no more than 20 were published. And yet these few photographs ineradicably shaped our image of Marilyn Monroe. The complete collection of photographs is displayed within the book Marilyn Monroe: The Complete Last Sitting. Showing many of the photographs that were never released and an insight of Bert Stern’s memories of the sitting where he saw a vulnerable, confused woman who although at the apex of her career, had relinquished control of her life.

Six weeks after she had posed for Stern, Monroe was found dead of an apparent barbiturate overdose. The Last Sitting produced extraordinarily beautiful and unique images of Marilyn.

Culinary Explorations

A very niche area for those who are really into traveling around the globe is local cuisine and high quality wine. From adventure seekers to romantic destination travelers, variety of options along with an authentic presentation of the food in its own traditional way sounds exciting; and yet adds value to your vacation by transforming it into a journey experience.

Spain…on the road Again is an American food and travel series produced by PBS. The show features Iron Chef Mario Batali, actress Gwyneth Paltrow, New York Times food writer Mark Bittman, and Spanish actress Claudia Bassols. Each episode covers a different region of Spain as the foursome explore the country's culinary traditions and history. What I like most about the show is that it is not focused on a specific subject as many of the similar shows do. It takes the city (or an area) as its base point and reflects every aspect that makes that spot special in an explorer mindset.

Among the various food and travel shows that I like comes No Reservations featuring top chef Anthony Bourdain. As he continues to explore every corner of the globe on his Emmy Award winning Travel Channel series, Anthony Bourdain encounters the weird, wild and downright outrageous personalities and places that help define the international cultural landscape.

Communication Strategy via Art & Design

Art can be described as the expression or application of unique creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form to be appreciated primarily for its beauty or emotional power. The ability to communicate ideas in original and innovative ways is essential for all art, craft and design professionals. In the digital era we are in, potential audiences are becoming increasingly knowledgeable about the different forms of communication. And there's a constant need for distinctive and seductive creativity to take attention of target audience.

Communicating different meanings and messages through manipulation of formal elements is the new form of advertising in today's market. So it is a vital point for future brands to differentiate the way they encode their messages as well as the medium through which we receive messages from numerous sources of information. I believe that art in that pure sense is an untouched method of expression that brands haven't discovered as a way of communication. The Artwork Project that I conducted for a huge holding firm in Istanbul last year was exactly aiming this kind of interaction with the brand's potential audience. Expressing the main cause and motive of the business along with the benefits attached to the product or service in the form of art achieved a certain and structured perception in consumers' minds. And yet, an empathy is formed to the brand and its reason of existence. This objective also lies in the heart of many successful Corporate Responsibility (CR) projects.

Art is no longer a subject of discussion among a very small group of intellectuals, and has become an agenda of the public. Thus your audience.

Work of Art: Season 2

One of my recent favorite shows on HDTV is Work of Art: The Next Great Artist. Bravo’s latest stroke on the reality canvas brings Sarah Jessica Parker and her production company, Pretty Matches, together with the Emmy-nominated Magical Elves (Top Chef, Project Runway) and Eli Holzman, to produce Work of Art: The Next Great Artist, an hour long creative competition series among contemporary artists. Work of Art: The Next Great Artist brings together fourteen aspiring artists to compete for a solo show at the prestigious Brooklyn Museum and a generous cash prize.

Hosting this colorful new series is art enthusiast China Chow. She serves on the judging panel alongside art luminaries Bill Powers, a New York Gallery owner and literary art contributor, Jerry Saltz, current art critic for New York Magazine, and Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, esteemed curator and owner of Salon94 gallery. World-renowned art auctioneer Simon de Pury adds his voice of experience as a mentor to the contestants.

In each episode, contestants are faced with the challenge of creating unique pieces in a variety of mediums such as painting, sculpture, photography, collage and industrial design. The weekly assignments are exciting, original and will challenge the artists' to push the limits of their technical skills and creative boundaries. Completed works of art are appraised by the panel of top art world figures alongside a new celebrated guest judge every week. Through a gallery showing at the end of each challenge, these industry select dictate which artists have successfully mastered the subject matter and creation of their piece, as well as whose concept leaves the greatest impact.

Work of Art: The Next Great Artist, is produced by Pretty Matches and Magical Elves for Bravo. Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alison Benson and Eli Holzman serve as executive producers.

Premium Marketing Communication

Premium brands distinguish themselves from the competition not only in their products, but also in the way they communicate with their customers. Brands like Gucci, Bentley, Swarovski, Centurion Black or Shiseido do not only offer premium commodities or services, but they also offer a lifestyle that surrounds it.

Knowing your customers, especially those who have enough positive dispositions towards your brand to give you permission to contact them directly, is essential in building a premium brand. If you can’t be relevant, then why bother? Consumers of premium segment do not have the time and will to go through long stated campaigns or product offers. As a high contributor to the brands they use, they want to be known as an individual by their brands in return and treated differently from masses. Their individual hobbies, lifestyle preferences and everything that surrounds that lifestyle should carefully be analyzed and used by the brand to make each communication opportunity meaningful and beneficial.

There has to be some sort of strategic plan and knowledge of the individual consumer in place. If the powerhouse of social marketing hasn’t proven this already, each consumer wants to have a unique voice, and needs to be marketed to independently.

So, the question to be asked is: do you manage your information to keep things personal for your consumers? Or, are you just creating opportunities for them to opt-out of engaging with your brand?