With a love of pattern, Berg's references to old wallpaper,
architectural whimsy, Tajik suzanis and temple/mosque tilework are charmingly
intimate and quirky, allowing the 'aesthetics of accident' which divides
the personal from the mass-produced
Molly McAnailly Burke
Ihope that everybody with an interest in old fabrics, especially those from
Central Asia, caught Mike Berg's show at the Dulcinea Gallery in Taksim,
which closed on Saturday night. Even if you prefer the traditional to the
contemporary, the sheer craftsmanship of these works, which are mostly large
wall hangings, are bound to impress. With a love of pattern, Berg's references
to old wallpaper, architectural whimsy, Tajik suzanis and temple/mosque
tile work are charmingly intimate and quirky, allowing the "aesthetics of
accident" which divides the personal from the mass-produced.
The image pictured here, titled, 'That day and the next,' is deceptive from
a distance. You might well think, at first, that it is an abstract painting
or a carborundu etching. It is only when you close in on the pitch-black
brush strokes on a loose-hanging canvas that you realize they have been
embroidered by master craftspeople, in this case a husband and wife team
from Tajikistan who worked on Berg's designs through an intermediary in
Istanbul's Covered Bazaar.
"It started as a gestural painting in oil, " says Berg, "which was then
cut and recombined. It was than traced with carbon paper, and the registration
had to be absolutely perfect. Then I filled in the lines with tailor's chalk
I order to make it clear."
The Tajik couple, friends of an Istanbul Suzani dealer, took two months
to complete the project with the perfect, flat embroidery ("lokay") typical
of top quality Central Asian tent hangings. The result is stunning, and
though the Tajik couple thought the designs a bit odd, they liked them and
wondered where they had come from.
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"I've always felt that suzanis were a type of painting with texture", says
Berg, who recognizes abstract to Central Asian fabric art in Istanbul less
than two years ago, but was no stranger to other types of folk art and architecture
from around the world, and received particular kudos for an exterior wall
mural at Colorado's Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art which is right next
to a teahouse given to the city by the people of Tajikistan. This work,
made up of enormous stencils, took only four gallons of paint, but the effect
is enormous. With luck you can a see a repreduction in the few copies of
an old gallery catalogue at Dulcinea. Another major exterior project, which
was to heva been made out of oxidized plates affixed to a triangular-shaped
building in Germany, was not so lucky as the to complete it were never realized.
Such vision, however, as well a decision to live in Istanbul for a while,
ought to put Berg in the front line up consideration in the 2001 Istanbul
Internatıonal Biennial, famed for its use of historic buildings. In fact,
it's high time that some creative use was made of Istanbul's less-than-beautiful
and even decrepit concrete tower blocks, a concept that has been going on
in New York City and elsewhere for many years now, but has yet to surface
in our metropolis. Berg agrees.
Other work in this exhibition are smaller examples of the artist's copper-plate
works, and wall hangings patterned with rubber stamps which were also made
to Berg's specifications. They may look like the classic images which sometimes
emerge from a palimsest of a century's worth of wallpaper in a crumbling
building, but that, too, is deceptive.
I was not to be alone in welcoming Berg and his delightful ideas to the
artist's community of Istanbul, and hope that he may have an opportunity
for many more such exhibitions as well as demonstrations for Turkish art
students interested in reclaiming their own past. So if you missed this
show, keep an eye out for future work. You'll be glad you did.
TURKISH DAİLY NEWS
LEISURE,
26 KASIM 2000
MOLLY MCANAİLLY BURKE
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