Good Things, 2003, 
3 min 52 s, colour, sound (music: Götterdämmerung)
Courtesy of Upstream Gallery

The part played by the ‘Gothic’ and post-punk subcultures in the work of the Dutch artist Marc Bijl is as important as political activism. In this work, he appropriates a song recorded by the British post-punk band The Sisters of Mercy in the 1980s and reinterprets it with his own band, Götterdämmerung, as the background sound for a series of images of depressed or half-abandoned outlying areas. Each video shot reveals details of public spaces previously covered in graffiti by the same artist which reproduces the lyrics of the song in their entirety, line by line. The counterpoint between the ‘good things’ the song speaks of and the images of outlying neighbourhoods and ‘non-places’ is an aid to reflection on the role of pop as an instrument of protest.

Joseph Beuys

Joseph Beuys

Dara Birnbaum

Dara Birnbaum

John Sanborn, Kit Fitzgerald (Antarctica)

John Sanborn, Kit Fitzgerald (Antarctica)

Pipilotti Rist

Pipilotti Rist

Bjørn Melhus

Bjørn Melhus

Charley Case

Charley Case

Olaf Breuning

Olaf Breuning

Cheryl Donegan

Cheryl Donegan

Ana Laura Aláez

Ana Laura Aláez

Marc Bijl

Marc Bijl

Carles Congost

Carles Congost

Joan Morey

Joan Morey

 Adel Abidin

Adel Abidin

Hugo Alonso

Hugo Alonso

Charles Atlas

Charles Atlas

Jesús Hernández

Jesús Hernández

César Pesquera

César Pesquera

Jorge Galindo and Santiago Sierra

Jorge Galindo and Santiago Sierra

The Ottoman Way of Serving Coffee

The Ottoman Way of Serving Coffee

Coffee was served with much splendor at the harems of the Ottoman palace and mansions. First, sweets (usually jam) was served on silverware, followed by coffee serving. The coffee jug would be placed in a sitil (brazier), which had three chains on its sides for carrying, had cinders in the middle, and was made of tombac, silver or brass. The sitil had a satin or silk cover embroidered with silver thread, tinsel, sequin or even pearls and diamonds.

Female Attires from the Perspective of Painters

Female Attires from the Perspective of Painters

Due to its existence behind closed doors, the lifestyle and attires of the women in the Harem have been one of the most fascinating topics for western painters and art enthusiasts alike.

Chlebowski’s Sultan

Chlebowski’s Sultan

This is one of Stanisław Chlebowski’s larger canvasses dealing with themes other than battles; only Ottoman Life at the Sweet Waters now at the Istanbul Military Museum can compare with it in size.