An Afternoon of Art and Natural Beauty at Borusan Contemporary, Part Two

Isn't discovery exciting? One of my rules of life is - there must be some element of discovery in every single day. The "haunted mansion" Barb and I and our Internations friends had come to explore was actually Turkey's very first office art museum.

During the week, people who worked there were making decisions about a portfolio of companies collected into Borusan Holding Company. On weekends, from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. the whole building gets opened up to the public to explore and enjoy.

The entrance to the haunted mansion

did not feature cobwebs.

Instead, it hinted at the art collection focus:

many contemporary,

and especially,

video installations.

This particular piece of art

created by a German artist

used solar energy to power propellers
and

musical instruments

that emitted pleasing tones

This temporary exhibit was entitled Datascapes.

On the surface,

these may look like black and white photographs

of extraordinary mountain vistas.

 

What you see, is not what you get.

Each photo had been manipulated to represent

a set of financial data.

 

I'll let you guess,

which vista goes with which financial data set:

Nasdaq '80-'09 ,

and HangSeng '80-'09,

and Lehman Brothers '92-'08.

 

What great fun!

And what a clever way for an investor

to internalize the pattern.

 

This data visualization fascinated me

as it was the first time I had seen it used

for an art museum application.

 

A blue dot represented a certain collector.

A black dot represented a certain artist;

and a green dot represented a prediction

for an artist or a collector.

 

I found it to be a very cool

marketing, pricing, and strategy tool.

 Wow!

The breathtaking conference room

near the very top of the building.

Our museum guide shared that it illustrated

one of the focuses of the collection:

color repetition.

 

It made me wonder if there were any works of art

by Turkish artist Setenay Özbek
in the collection.

Her work would fit right in.

A view to the right

featured the ancient Rumeli Hisari fortress

on the Bosphorus

and closer in,

a minaret complete with an

emblematic crescent

at the top.

From the center end of the conference room,

I think it would be impossible to be bored

waiting for a meeting to start, don't you?

Instead of looking right or center,

 let's now look left,

 where there are doors

leading out to the terrace.

 

Don't you want to see the view

of the Bosphorus

from out there?

I do.

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Who doesn't love container ships?

And that glorious mansion or palace!

I wonder what it is.

That's the Black Sea beyond the ship.

The view closer in of the neighborhood.

A constant thought I had

during my visit is how

every aspect of the building

would delight any child

who comes to visit.

 

Yes, this is seating,

but how would a five-year-old use this?

It doesn't roll.

I checked.

 

So what's at the very top

of the haunted mansion?

In the very top turret?

Let's go look.

A perfect little spot for

two to four people

to close a deal.

Notice the color repetition

of coffee.

Magnificent.

 

 

Come back tomorrow to explore the offices of Borusan Contemporary in my third post on Istanbul's haunted mansion or Perili Köşk. Now you have discovery in your day too!

 

 

In case you missed it, here's my first post

on Turkey's first office art museum,

Borusan Contemporary:

 

An Afternoon of Art and Natural Beauty at Borusan Contemporary, Part One

 

 

Some additional posts about art you might enjoy:

 

"CuriousSouls" Gather in Istanbul for Discussion

What's there to do in Wichita, Kansas? Why not see breathtaking art?

Welcome to Capitalism!

Celebrating 90 Years of Artist Zenděk Sýkora

 

Yes, Empty Nest Expat is on Facebook. Follow my blog there with a "like."

 

 

 

 

Expat Envy on the 4th of July

On the 4th of July, it is hard to replicate the wonderful experience of celebrating America's independence the way it is done back home.  You can get together with fellow expats, you can try and make the right food, you can pull up some You Tube videos of "A Capitol 4th" from the nation's lawn in Washington D. C. but it's not the same.  Sometimes to really experience something, you just have to be there.

Today, I saw some smoked ribs, baked beans, and cole slaw my friend Scott made for his family, and I was filled with such longing for American food, I had 'expat envy.'

So here's a toast to my friends participating in boat parades on Ten Mile Lake in Minnesota, or marching in the 4th of July parade in Illinois, or watching the fireworks over the lake in Madison, Wisconsin, Chicago, Illinois, or Lake Okoboji, Iowa.  Enjoy your 4th, enjoy your wonderful plate of food, enjoy the view from Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs of purple mountain majesty or of gathered elk in Estes Park, Colorado and pinch yourself at being able to experience such a glorious day. Sometimes we don't appreciate the extra-ordinariness of our everyday existence until we can't experience it like we usually do.

To anyone reading this who has served, is currently serving, or keeping the home fires burning for someone serving our country, thank you so much for your gift of service to the nation.  I appreciate it. I have enjoyed the years of freedom I have experienced that you have made possible.  I don't take it for granted for even one moment.

Similar posts:
My Wish for You: Freedom

My Favorite Freedom

There are no atheists in a Rocky Mountain hot tub

Recently, my sister and I were petsitting at a friend's house when my sis told me about an incident that happened to the lady of the house when she was sound asleep. The lady woke up with a start -- there was a giant crashing noise in the kitchen. When my sister's friend went into the kitchen to investigate, she found a bear with his paw deep into her bread machine pursuing that fantastic fragrance that apparently could even be smelled outside. The bear went out the same way he came in (through the kitchen window) as soon as he saw the jig was up.

Later that night, after my sis had shared that story, we went out to enjoy our friend's hot tub. The stars were drop-dead gorgeous, so gorgeous that the next night when I used the hot tub I didn't turn on any of the patio lights so I could see all of the constellations better.

All of a sudden, in the dark, an adolescent bear pads up to the edge of the hot tub, not five feet from me, and sniffs the air with curiousity. We made eye contact! You're not supposed to do that with bears! I tried to shrink as best as I could into the water. He then turned around and padded up to the window where my mom and sister were watching TV, and then came back to a higher patio ledge overlooking the hot tub. Now he could get a running start to jump on me! Fairy tales provided my imagination all of the start-up it needed. "It's all the better to eat me with!"

What was I supposed to do??? I thought of getting under the cover but could picture the headline "visitor drowns in hot tub - no one knows why." I could try and run but I knew he could outrun me. I could go under water but I'd probably have to come up for air right where his big giant teeth would be waiting for me. All I could think of was that scene in the movie "The Parent Trap" where the two twins try to submarine their future stepmother by teaching her to hit two sticks together to keep the animals away. But I didn't have any sticks!

Eventually he wandered off and I rushed into the house back to civilization. I'd had enough more than enough wildlife for one night.

Elk Bugling Season

You know how there are those lists like "1,000 places you should see before you die?" I once saw a list entitled "1,000 events you should see before you die." Elk bugling season is one of those events - it is that magnificent.

Every fall, right as the aspens are at their peak, the elk of Estes Park start to mate. It's called bugling season because the big male elks "bugle" to warn other males away from their harem. To me, a bugling male going full out sounds very much like a humpback whale.

Hundreds of people come to see the elk, especially the big bulls, when they are in rut. Sometimes it just doesn't feel "right" to watch these animals during this season - like we as humans are invading paparazzi! It can make you blush.

From Wikipedia:
Adult elk usually stay in single-sex groups for most of the year. During the mating period known as the rut, mature bulls compete for the attentions of the cows and will try to defend females in their harem. Rival bulls challenge opponents by bellowing and by paralleling each other, walking back and forth. This allows potential combatants to assess the others antlers, body size and fighting prowess. If neither bull backs down, they engage in antler wrestling, and bulls sometimes sustain serious injuries. Bulls also dig holes in the ground, in which they urinate and roll their body. The urine soaks into their hair and gives them a distinct smell which attracts cows.

Dominant bulls follow groups of cows during the rut, from August into early winter. A bull will defend his harem of 20 cows or more from competing bulls and predators. Only mature bulls have large harems and breeding success peaks at about eight years of age. Bulls between two to four years and over 11 years of age rarely have harems, and spend most of the rut on the periphery of larger harems. Young and old bulls that do acquire a harem hold it later in the breeding season than do bulls in their prime. A bull with a harem rarely feeds and he may lose up to 20 percent of his body weight. Bulls that enter the rut in poor condition are less likely to make it through to the peak conception period or have the strength to survive the rigors of the oncoming winter.

Bulls have a loud vocalization consisting of screams known as bugling, which can be heard for miles. Bugling is often associated with an adaptation to open environments such as parklands, meadows, and savannas, where sound can travel great distances. Females are attracted to the males that bugle more often and have the loudest call. Bugling is most common early and late in the day and is one of the most distinctive sounds in nature, akin to the howl of the gray wolf.

The elk are not in danger or extinction and are thriving in Rocky Mountain National Park and the surrounding area. There are probably around 3,000 in the Estes Park area alone. I've been stopped at a traffic light and watched two bulls fighting right outside my car window. The sound of antler on antler can be heard for blocks, just like their bugles.
It's easy to see how the alpha bull loses 20% of his body weight during the rut. He is constantly moving, preventing females from wandering off, plus he's scoping out the competition.

While the bulls are bugling, the babies are braying for their mommas to feed them.

Europeans love to come to America and see the national parks in Utah, like Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park. I recommend adding Rocky Mountain National Park to the itinerary if you want to see the North American wild at it's finest.

The beginning of wisdom

is when you haven't seen your Mom for a couple months and right away she feeds you a beautiful lunch on her porch accompanied by the sunshine and mountains and you don't take it for granted.

A Spectacular Hike to Gem Lake

Do you need a break? Join me on a spectacular hike to Gem Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. The aspen trees are at their peak, and there is enough of a breeze so the leaves quake gently back and forth in the wind. It's not a long hike: about 1.7 miles one way. If we're quiet, we may see some wildlife.

The glorious aspens await you.

A view of Long's Peak, with Estes Park below it.
The locals like to come up here and watch the
fireworks on the 4th of July over Estes.

Elk scat

A beautiful side view of the mountain as we ascend.

Liquid gold

You can see why some people call this their church

Who saw who first?

The top of the mountain reveals Gem Lake

A beautiful spot for lunch

The Aspens are Quaking!

I've arrived in Colorado where my mom and sister live. My timing couldn't be better. The aspens are at their peak - it's as if someone poured liquid gold on the mountains and let it follow the path of least resistance this way and that creating stunning beauty amongst already stunning landscape.

Before leaving the American Midwest I took a trip through Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska to see some of the people and places I had a hankering to see. It was fantastic! One of the things that happens with an empty nest is that I'm able to devote more time to my friendships and letting people know they matter to me. Plus, I saw a lot of neat stuff. Over the next few days, I'll highlight some of the sights that I enjoyed. Meanwhile, I'm off for a picnic lunch in the Rocky Mountains!

Czech Rock Jumping

In today's New York Times is an article that begs for a soundtrack such as Tarzan-like yodeling or "Wipeout." It's about the nascent extreme sport of rock jumping in Adrspach, Czech Republic. Click on the title to read the whole story and access the video. Is there fun and crazy Czech music that would be perfect for this?