Kutlug Ataman’s “Paradise” and “Küba” is in Vancouver Art Gallery from Febuary 9^th to May 19^th. Both video installations present the stories of people who live in what might be seen as utopian communities. These two installations both argue that “a place is as diverse and contradictory as the many stories (myths as in “Paradise”) that have formed it.”

In Ataman’s work “Paradise”, twenty four residents represent a southern Californian community to talk about the place they called paradise, and in “Küba”, forty people were interviewed to talk bout their neighbourhood. Through these interviewers, the community and neighbourhood is presented on an individual basis. It is engaging that Ataman chose myths from these interviewers to conceptually weave up this Californian “paradise” (as called by the twenty four interviewers) and the Istanbul neighbourhood. However, the method of Ataman presenting an allegory “paradise” could be expended wider on a public basis so that the videos are more persuasive to the viewers.

 “We all exist because of our stories, and if your stories are not told or preserved then your history does not exist anymore. You have official history, but your oral history, your myth, is very important”. Ataman argues that myths are as complex as the social and historical (linear) structures of a place and the myths of individuals within a space form the complex unofficial history of people. However, these interviews could not be claimed as representations of a space, because of the role-playing natures of these interviewers on the screen and these interviewers could had been chosen to act the interview. These personal myths portray plenty of events within the community, neither telling any exposure of the environment on people nor people’s reaction on the environment. These myths stand for the interviewers themselves. Therefore, these videos should not be the identity of a place.

Ataman states in the exhibition that “’documentary’ [of ‘Paradise’ and ‘Küba’] as it is claimed, doesn’t exist”. However, if the myths does not show any exposure or relationship of people or environment, using the word “Paradise” is redundant because Ataman may have ask questions that weren’t related to the idea of utopia or to the place they live at all to assemble this video installation. Though it has labelled that these two exhibitions are not about neighbourhood in Istanbul and the community in California, but about the complex structure under the environment, having a clear focus on exposures between people and spaces makes the title more meaningful and concise.

Though Ataman’s “Paradise” and “Küba” could be showing more on comparisons between the exposure of environment and people, his “Paradise” shows a degree that digital media, either unmanipulated or manipulated, function as authority to comment or mimic the reality we are in. All the interviewers in “Paradise” and the contents they had confessed may not be true, but they mimic the truth because they appeared on the screen and are showcased to the public, in which that the camera and T.V screen give them the authority to create a truth solely for themselves, but believed by the public.

Different from other contemporary digital video artists who utilize and manipulate the original footages with effects and time lapse to create surreal environments, Ataman’s “Paradise” with these twenty four residents’ interviews tries to create a space that’s imaginative but at the same time seems to exist. With similar concepts, digital video is not really about what viewer sees, but questioning about the physical reality that we are in, and the reality that exists in the recorded video.

It’s almost the end of the semester….Physical self recently floats more rapidly than my virtual self, meaning I have to be more realistic on my physical world working on my own businesses and taking care the things that I is “more relevant” to me (it’s actually a really redundant term, since nothing [or everything] is really relevant to one).

Sometimes I feel life is like a magic orb. When business hits, everything suddenly get sucked by that orb, and my concentrations and attention all get sucked into that orb. I found myself inside, and the flow surrounds me is really fast — too fast to feel though. Outside the orb I saw everyone, calm and smoothly moving from phase to phase, point to point. I have remembered that I called that serenes, maybe not…

Sometimes I am really confused by the two different flows in the orb and outside the orb. Like sometimes I meet a no solution math question…Every formula and equation look so right, but answer never comes out. —that to me is like the nature of reality, the more you think, the more confusing it becomes!

……Life is linear, time is linear, and facts are linear. These principles make me crave for balances, the balances for the restless mind, and unsettled internal flows. “You are so confused…” I sometimes hear it from the deepest core of my body.

Confusion sounds like the wrong world to describe my state, but that’s the closest word that describes it…maybe it’s not confusion at all…

The flow inside myself is still chaotic, but to find the true peacefulness, I must close my eyes, shut my ears and walk steadily.

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep riding” — Einstein.

It’s really interesting to do something to deal with Wu Xing, but the related researches are endless. From the type of geography, elevations to different representations of directions (north, south, east, and wests). I was sure people will get bored easily. So I went for more brainstorming….

I was really interested in dreams. It has been called “the subconscious reality”, maybe because of its property that partially represents one’s life. And I think it will be interesting to make a comparison between physical reality and my subconscious reality.

So I listed out the dream I had. Some of them are quite strange, and I could not find a certain physical space for it, but I locate it with the feeling I had when I was dreaming. I did some searches on Flickr, to find matching places for my dreams.

There were just too many dreams that I had and still remember vividly, but I just listed out the dreams that I remember most. It’s in my google map here:

Subconsciousness v.s Dreams

http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dc4wh2x6_0hbmjr9hj

Google Map seems more like a way to “lay out” information, the potential under information is “comparison” and “evolving”. Comparison though, seems more interesting to show. Two ideas in my mind, both have something to deal with supernatural (or mysterious..) genres.

1. Wu Xing (or Quintessence)— Wu Xing is a Chinese philosophy to describe phenomena, and to show different relationships between things. It is a practice in many fields such as Feng shui, astrology, traditional Chinese medicine, music, military strategy and martial arts. It is really broad so I was just thinking about showing different geography and their “Five Cardinal Points”. just draw out different stars on Google Map. It was quite boring, but quite interesting research~

So in geography. The five elements of Wu Xing will be located at:

• Water — North — Black Tortoise — Black
• Fire — South —Vermilion Bird — Red
• Wood — East — Azure Dragon — Green
• Metal — West — White Tiger — White
• Earth — Zenith — Yellow Qilin — Yellow

And the geography of China for example:

• The east is close to the ocean, and the weather is humid, ideal for trees (wood) to grow. View from the world map, it usually shows green.
• The South is close to the equator, it is usually hot (fire), the color is red.
• The Zenith of China is the Loess Plateau, full of yellow earth.
• The West is mostly deserts, and mines (metals). The deserts are famous for their white sand.
• The North of China is famous for its black soil. A lot of ice (water), cold weather.

The idea of Wu Xing really matches China’s geography, but it doesn’t really match with every part of the world though….

Ah……haven’t played asalato for so long. Really need to go and have some time practice. It’s a small instrument and can play whenever. Seems like long time not touching with a thing will generate some inspirations~~~

Before I came up with my final solution, I did three drafts. The first one is by using the font Helvetica, but it looks really corporative. I sent it to many people, people all asked me “what are you designing this ‘logo’ for?” So I decided to change the feel.

Then I came up with using Stencil Std. Jennifer (a friend of mine from Design) said that the body looked really balky and had a lot of power. With the stencil font, it looks like a rebellion aboriginal crew trying to challenge the tradition. But thank to her eye, I have never expected the shape of the his body actually conveyed heaviness and power.

Then I came up with putting two black rectangles on the top and the bottom, and make it looked like a Wanted poster. Most of my classmates from Design liked it, but at the end I erased the word “Native”, just to keep the message not that obvious and secretive.

” Dancing is not something that I do, but it is part of who I am.” This is a line I have heard a lot when I was dancing. The same line are re-put to form many declares that “art” as someone’s identity. I disagree with this kind of idea that using one’s occupations, passions and talents to prove one’s power and authority, because from my point of view, one’s fondness, passion, and ability should not be used as a tool to prove himself/ herself.

The logo for the I Love New York advertising, created by Milton Glaser, was criticized by WRONGWROKS, a fashion graphic design company. WRONGWROKS released the T-shirt I. NY, proposing that “we don’t need the heart, it’s inside all of us”. The aspect that it’s designed for the fashion industry as a limited edition tee and being sold to various countries are other issues, but the T-shirt comments on one’s passion and fondness is already inside one’s mind, it does not need to be shown and to prove one’s passion (or extensively ability, power, and authority.)

<– I. NY T-shirt.

The main thing that motivated me to make this vinyl sticker was an aboriginal artist on the street, who was carving his mini totem. I came across with a question, if it was not because him carving the totem, would I know he is an aboriginal person? When I was in foundation year in ECI, a third year visual art student introducing the visual art program to us once we were in a drawing class. He said visual art is dealing with “the stimulation of viewer’s spectacle.” The aboriginal artist carving his totem, to me, he was presenting himself in the public, and the spectacles were people who passed by, then himself became as a visual artwork. He was an artwork making an artwork that presenting himself, and I got confused. If art is meant to create meaning in our society, which is more meaningful in turns of being valuable in time than the other? the artist? or the mini totem? I think dignity of a person sometimes does not give a clear answer on values in time.

I was’t so sure about the Raven Christ + the Crucifixion after talking to Suzi and my classmate Kevin, so I kept doing some more ideation on different locations. I found two places that’s quite fun to do. I eventually didn’t send these to print, but it was quite interesting to see my vague ideas go together with the locations and their “air”.

Grandville Island Hotel: Just see the word “Us” and design a politically criticizing design, but not a good place for the graphic. (a hotel resort v.s political situation and comments !?)

B.C Hydro Box (near Kids’ Market) : Just a thought about trees protecting water streams so that we have water. I like this one, but there seems to be some ambiguity in it. Like people drinking the fluid from trees…

–> Original brainstorming and some thoughts.

So I chose the aboriginal workshop beside ECI as the location for my vinyl sticker. Aboriginal art or people as subject matters in art has often been controversial (as what I have learned from the foundation year.). But I made this simply because of my point of view toward the aboriginal people, not just in Canada, but around the world. I made this because of some of my beliefs too.

I noticed that some of the words from my mind-mapping are some impressions that people first see or hear the word “aboriginal” (based on some quick survey with my classmates and friends). They relate them to as people who receive privileges from organizations, who make totems and artsy masks firstly. Mixed with something that I have learn from Art History last year, I came up with powerless and spectacle as my main dynamic key words.

–> Two main ideas to think about: view & being viewed, cultural differences and commons.

afterward I brainstormed some ideas about the viewing and being viewed. I thought of that the person that is being viewed sacrificed their time, power (or dignity) to be viewed by others. My second point is to create something common in culture so that people can compare the common things in different culture. I chose religion and art. Then I came up with the sketch that a Salish sun mixed with Christ’s crucifixion. Then I afraid people might mix it up with Aztec’s sun, so I changed the sun into Raven to make the design easier to identify.

–> First mock-up.

(The talks with classmates and Suzi will be posted soon. To be continued…)