Great Expectations Great Concepts: Challenge Of The Istanbul Biennial With Popular Discourses Of Global Art World

Year 2024, Volume: 30 Issue: 52, 24 - 32, 31.03.2024

Nevin Yalçın Beldan

https://doi.org/10.32547/artvision.1413224

Abstract

The international mega exhibition Istanbul Biennial, which was first held in 1987, presents an unconventional exhibition model which has been structured with a choreography dominated by the curator's discourse. Within the framework of different concepts and themes determined by the selected curators, various venues specially determined by the curators were used in each exhibition to clearly reveal and characterize the artists' attitudes towards the subject. In this paper, the concepts and titles of the Istanbul Biennial held between 1987-2019 were scrutinized and the themes put forward by the curators for the exhibition were discussed in a certain categorization. This categorization is discussed under the three main headings: 'Global metropolis', 'political and cultural issues and borders', and 'ecology and human activities' and the exhibitions were discussed under these headings. Based on the analysis of these topics a question occurred: "Did the curators try to manipulate the concepts of the themes?" In addition, it has been discussed how much the Biennial titles and topics contribute to the idea of being a part of the global mainstream, which points to the initial founding goals of the Biennial.

Keywords

istanbul biennial, contemporary art, global art world, exhibition, curator

Büyük Umutlar Büyük Kavramlar: İstanbul Bienali’nin Küresel Sanat Dünyasının Popüler Söylemleri İle Mücadelesi

Abstract

İlki 1987 yılında gerçekleştirilen uluslararası mega sergi İstanbul Bienali, küratörün söyleminin hakim olduğu bir koreografiyle yapılandırılmış, geleneksel anlayışın dışında bir sergileme modeli sunmaktadır. Seçilen küratörler tarafından belirlenen farklı konsept ve temalar çerçevesinde, sanatçıların konuya ilişkin tutumlarını net bir şekilde ortaya koyabilmek ve bu anlamdaki tavırlarını karakterize etmek için her sergide küratörler tarafından özel olarak belirlenmiş çeşitli mekanlar kullanılmıştır. Bu makalede 1987-2019 yılları arasında gerçekleştirilen İstanbul Bienali'nin kavramları ve başlıkları irdelenmiş ve küratörlerin sergi için ortaya koyduğu tema ve konseptler belli bir kategorizasyon içerisinde ele alınmıştır. Buna dair yapılan sınıflandırmada 'küresleşen metropolis', 'siyasi ve kültürel meseleler ve sınırlar' ve 'ekoloji ve insan faaliyetleri' olmak üzere üç ana başlık tespit edilmiş, sergiler bu başlıklar altında ele alınmıştır. Buradan yola çıkarak elde edilen saptamada "Küratörler temaların kavramlarını manipüle etmeye çalıştılar mı?" sorusu ortaya atılmış ve bu soruya yanıt aranmaya çalışılmıştır. Ayrıca, bu çerçevede Bienalin başlangıçtaki kuruluş hedeflerine işaret eden Bienal başlıklarının ve konularının küresel ana akımda yer alma fikrine ne kadar katkıda bulunduğu tartışılmıştır.

Keywords

istanbul bienali, çağdaş sanat, global sanat dünyası, sergi, küratör

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