}

sea/see/saw

Commissioned Installation by Artists Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett

June 5, 2015 - February 14, 2016

In 2015 Pera Museum celebrated its 10th anniversary. To commemorate this celebration, the museum commissioned Canadian artists Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garrett to create a special and inspiring artwork for the museum’s façade.

Couched in the historic quarter of Tepebaşı, Beyoğlu neighborhood the impressive museum building was originally conceived as the Bristol Hotel – originally designed by Greek architect Achilleas Manussos in the late 19th century. In 2005, the building was renovated preserving the exterior façade.

Conceived in response to Pera Museum’s historic façade for the cultural space’s 10th anniversary, “sea/see/saw” invited viewers to re-examine a familiar space through a new lens. sea/see/saw’s use of lenses playfully spoke to changes in perception, celebrating Pera Museum’s contribution to Istanbul’s cultural landscape, with an eye focused on the future. Constructed from 10,000 eyeglass lenses, the installation intended to mirror the dynamic and shimmering surface of the Golden Horn, and introduced movement to the otherwise static structure, as drawn by the wind. Built from used glasses that merge to create a simple, geometric form, sea/see/saw invited viewers to engage in a momentary shift of perspective.

If eyes are “windows to the soul,” how do lenses revise our vision of the world around us? Do our former accessories carry faint ghosts of those who used them? As the materiality of the installation became apparent, the watchers became the watched, and this spectacle of spectacles took on another subtext as an icon for collective vision, compound perspectives, and the power of collaborative sight.

#seaseesaw

 

lighting sponsors

 

Marcel Duchamp’s Bicycle Wheel

Marcel Duchamp’s Bicycle Wheel

In 1998 Ben Jakober and Yannick Vu collaborated on an obvious remake of Marcel Duchamp’s Roue de Bicyclette, his first “readymade” object. Duchamp combined a bicycle wheel, a fork and a stool to create a machine which served no purpose, subverting accepted norms of art. 

Nudes With Mirrors

Nudes With Mirrors

Although mythological themes are not commonly encountered in Turkish painting, it is possible to see variations of widespread themes such as the Venus at her Toilet. 

Soothsayer Serenades I Beautiful People by Sarp Dakni

Soothsayer Serenades I Beautiful People by Sarp Dakni

Today we are thrilled to present the second playlist of Amrita Hepi’s Soothsayer Serenades series as part of the Notes for Tomorrow exhibition.