Kutlug Ataman: the enemy inside me

The first retrospective in Turkey dedicated to the work of Kutlug Ataman and his cinematographic reality.

Video art has mostly developed over the last 15 years thanks to contemporary-art biennials and it has invented a new territory - that of the middle space between cinema and art – becoming a genre in its own right. Kutlug Ataman, who was born in Turkey in 1961 but spent around 15 years in Los Angeles in close contact with the American film scene, is one of the protagonists of the recent video-art season. Indeed, he was one of the first to explore this new genre. He pursued contemporary art's need to move closer to reality and was fascinated by the view of fiction as a prerogative of the film world, making him one of the pioneers of the "middle ground" invented by video art.

As he himself says: "I want to show that life itself is art, that it is a kind of construction, how in front of the camera everyday constructions can be formed by everyone."

I first saw an Ataman work, Never My Soul, at the Berlin Biennale back in 2001 but it already contained many of the features of his poetic. It is the true story of a transvestite who imitates the life of the Turkish film star Türkan Soray. Never My Soul contains all the seemingly absurd and tragic (e.g. the sequence on dialysis, which the lead character has to undergo regularly) melodrama needed to turn a true story into a fiction-film narrative. That is, Ataman constructs a story by simply describing reality, which takes on the semblance of fiction thanks to the strong distorting force of reality. This is the core essence of Ataman's work, using video to describe events that belong to modern everyday life and showing us that their potential to become fiction, without the films actually turning them into that.
Never My Soul, 2001
Courtesy of Kutlug Ataman and Thomas Dane Gallery, London
Produced by The Institute for the Readjustment of Clocks, Istanbul
Never My Soul, 2001 Courtesy of Kutlug Ataman and Thomas Dane Gallery, London Produced by The Institute for the Readjustment of Clocks, Istanbul
The exhibition curated by Levent Çalikoglu at Istanbul Modern seems like a retrospective and retraces Ataman's work since 1999. Although it lacks some major works such as Kuba and Mesopotamian Dramaturgies, it does feature a number of videos that have marked the artist's career. His 2010 Beggars, already shown at the Saõ Paulo Biennial in Brazil is also presented for the first time in Europe.
Testimony (2006) delves into the past of his father’s nanny, who had to keep her true identity a secret. Courtesy of Kutlug Ataman and Thomas Dane Gallery, London. Produced by The Institute for the Readjustment of Clocks, Istanbul
Testimony (2006) delves into the past of his father’s nanny, who had to keep her true identity a secret. Courtesy of Kutlug Ataman and Thomas Dane Gallery, London. Produced by The Institute for the Readjustment of Clocks, Istanbul
The exhibition is the first on this artist in Turkey. While Ataman's work shows us how extremely "cinematographic" reality is, it also addresses many issues, revealing that today's art seems closely bound to the social, cultural and identity issues of our society and, as the artist says, is interested in how each of us establishes narrations for the others, which is sheer ideology. Maurizio Bortolotti, curator
I want to show that life itself is art, that it is a kind of construction
Beggars (2010) is a seven-screen installation of as many beggars. Courtesy of Kutlug Ataman and Thomas Dane Gallery, London. Produced by The Institute for the Readjustment of Clocks, Istanbul
Beggars (2010) is a seven-screen installation of as many beggars. Courtesy of Kutlug Ataman and Thomas Dane Gallery, London. Produced by The Institute for the Readjustment of Clocks, Istanbul
In The 4 Seasons of Veronica Read (2002) Ataman describes the world of the main character who lives with 900 Hippeastrum bulbs in her apartment waiting for them to flower. Courtesy of Kutlug Ataman and Thomas Dane Gallery, London. Produced by The Institute for the Readjustment of Clocks, Istanbul. Installation view from Istanbul Modern, 2010
In The 4 Seasons of Veronica Read (2002) Ataman describes the world of the main character who lives with 900 Hippeastrum bulbs in her apartment waiting for them to flower. Courtesy of Kutlug Ataman and Thomas Dane Gallery, London. Produced by The Institute for the Readjustment of Clocks, Istanbul. Installation view from Istanbul Modern, 2010
It’s a Vicious Circle (2002) on the life of a Jamaican immigrant, who describes his experience as a foreigner in Berlin. Courtesy of Kutlug Ataman and Thomas Dane Gallery, London. Produced by The Institute for the Readjustment of Clocks, Istanbul. Installation view from Istanbul Modern, 2010
It’s a Vicious Circle (2002) on the life of a Jamaican immigrant, who describes his experience as a foreigner in Berlin. Courtesy of Kutlug Ataman and Thomas Dane Gallery, London. Produced by The Institute for the Readjustment of Clocks, Istanbul. Installation view from Istanbul Modern, 2010
Women Who Wear Wigs (1999) looks at four women who wear wigs to repress their identity in modern-day Turkey. Dr. Nejat F. Eczacibasi Foundationn Collection. Installation view from Istanbul Modern, 2010
Women Who Wear Wigs (1999) looks at four women who wear wigs to repress their identity in modern-day Turkey. Dr. Nejat F. Eczacibasi Foundationn Collection. Installation view from Istanbul Modern, 2010
fff (2006-09) is a film on the personal memories of two English families. Courtesy of Kutlug Ataman and Thomas Dane Gallery, London. Produced by The Institute for the Readjustment of Clocks, Istanbul
fff (2006-09) is a film on the personal memories of two English families. Courtesy of Kutlug Ataman and Thomas Dane Gallery, London. Produced by The Institute for the Readjustment of Clocks, Istanbul
Stefan’s Room (2004) tells the story of a butterfly collector who devotes his life to their metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly. Courtesy of Kutlug Ataman and Thomas Dane Gallery, London. Produced by The Institute for the Readjustment of Clocks, Istanbul. Installation view from Istanbul Modern, 2010
Stefan’s Room (2004) tells the story of a butterfly collector who devotes his life to their metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly. Courtesy of Kutlug Ataman and Thomas Dane Gallery, London. Produced by The Institute for the Readjustment of Clocks, Istanbul. Installation view from Istanbul Modern, 2010

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