"(Sanat işletmesinin) herhangi bir işletmeden farkı yok aslında. Sadece ürün olarak sanat yapıtları var." *
Oya Eczacıbaşı
"There is no actual difference between art business and any other business. There are just works of art as products." *Oya Eczacıbaşı
*Ali Artun; "Çağdaş Sanatın Örgütlenmesi" (İletişim Yayınları, 2011) s.125
Data Matrix Decipher to Censorship by Public Art Laboratory
February 15, 2012
On Wednesday 15 February at 19.00, Istanbul Modern Museum held an opening for two exhibitions: "La La La Human Steps" from the collection of the Boijmans Van Beuningan Museum in the Netherlands and "After Yesterday" from the Istanbul Modern photography collection. Kamusal Sanat Laboratuvarı (Public Art Laboratory) carried out a performance during the opening as a silent protest. This performance, entitled "The Museum Director’s Bag", involved an artist carrying a
digital bag while visiting the opening, at times placing it on the floor in the exhibition hall or cocktail area or simply holding it in his hand while examining a piece of art.
The bag contained a digital screen showing the words "These premises are air-conditioned" using the font and colours of the "İstanbul Modern" logo to make an ironic statement. Members of the group gave no explanation of the performance while carrying out their silent protest but handed out cards on which the barcode featured on the bag's digital screen were printed. When they scanned this barcode with their phones, guests at the opening were taken to the "Museum Director’s Bag" link on the web site of Kamusal Sanat Laboratuvar where they found a text explaining that Oya Eczacıbaşı, the director of the museum, who has been the subject of the most heated and tense debates in recent times, runs an "Art business no different than any other business. Works of art are only there as a product".
digital bag while visiting the opening, at times placing it on the floor in the exhibition hall or cocktail area or simply holding it in his hand while examining a piece of art.
The bag contained a digital screen showing the words "These premises are air-conditioned" using the font and colours of the "İstanbul Modern" logo to make an ironic statement. Members of the group gave no explanation of the performance while carrying out their silent protest but handed out cards on which the barcode featured on the bag's digital screen were printed. When they scanned this barcode with their phones, guests at the opening were taken to the "Museum Director’s Bag" link on the web site of Kamusal Sanat Laboratuvar where they found a text explaining that Oya Eczacıbaşı, the director of the museum, who has been the subject of the most heated and tense debates in recent times, runs an "Art business no different than any other business. Works of art are only there as a product".
Public Art Laboratory