Thursday, March 4, 2010

Task 7 & Task 17: Music Inferno

Day 7: Along with sucking at being in pictures I'm also crap behind the camera. But I want to be better. I've had this idea kicking around in my head forever and I want to just get out and do it. A complete photo-book called Heavy Metal Istanbul documenting, guess what, heavy metal in Istanbul.

Changed my mind. I am not a photographer nor do I want to be. There are enough pseudo photographic artistes out there anyway, taking pictures of their shoes and feet and calling it "unique." See? I'm more of a poet, and I know it.
...

Moving along then, I'm quite happy not attempting to be a photographer, so new task. It kind of goes in with Task 17, working with my mom and our company, Borusan's, Arts and Culture Foundation to create a concept to display at the newly opened Music House.

I've already begun that.

The Music House is a house (yes thank you captain obvious) that works to promote music and art in Turkey, you can look it up online! Shameless family promotion. We recently had an art exhibit for emerging young artists in Turkey and there have been quite a few performances there already like the Borusan Chamber Quartet and Kerem Gorsev, a jazz musician. I missed the opening because I was still under the delusion I was going to LA and had returned to Boston at the time, but I watched the DVD and it was amazing. It completely set the tone for this huge undertaking. You know, being the go-to people when it comes to arts and culture in Turkey. First we start at home, then we take over the world. Anyway, we had re-known DJ and Sufi Mercan Dede along with the Quartet play music while a male and female dervish danced the sema and artist Carlito Dalceggio painted on a huge canvass. I met Carlito and Mercan Dede before I left and they were truly some of the most kind and inspirational people I've had the joy of talking to. They're basically on another plane because they get so lost in their art. It's hippie-dippie crap but none of the kind that makes me roll my eyes. You can tell they have talent and that they're humble about it, but you also want to match them, creativity to creativity. Here are links to their websites and some pictures from that night.

http://www.mercandede.com/EN/
http://www.carlitodalceggio.com/






It quite clearly was an unforgettable night and my family, though our name is already sort ofrecognized here, is now at the forefront of innovation in the arts. We could've have been prouder of my mom who heads the department. As well as the entire Borusan Art and Culture staff whom I love and spend more time with when I'm home than anyone else.

So it's been a good year for my family work-wise. We also had a concert conducted by a really well-known Turkish comedian, Cem Yilmaz, to raise money to provide scholarships to talented musicians who want to further their craft abroad. We've held this concert every year for the past four years but because Cem Yilmaz is so beloved, this year's concert created sort of an uproar. Instead of one, we raised enough money to sponsor 5 people and the entire night got written about and reported in every major news outlet. I would love to be a part of my family's growing projects and endeavors and I want to be able to do so in the future but based on my own innovation and creativity, not because I'm someone's granddaughter. Like A Muse is also my first steps into doing something I could be good at, writing and making stuff happen from the writing therein.

I was asked to come up with a new concept to put on in the Music House. My taste is, as you might know, not quite on par with everyone else's (I mean, I can match any of their classical music knowledge too. Ahem, I did take History of Classical Music in college and minored in Music. I also threw a fit when they changed said minor to Music Appreciation rather than plain Music therefore making it sound about as useful as a philosophy degree. Not that I don't appreciate music but nevertheless, the resume reads a minor in music, period. ) so it could be an interesting project. I thought of a few pieces that could happen relating to metal and to my delight some people at the office seemed to respond really positively. That's when I re-imagined Task 7. Instead of photographing Istanbul's music, I could contribute to it. Plus, Heavy Metal Istanbul would've probably ended up as five pictures of the one metal bar in town, a couple long-haired dudes walking about in Slayer shirts, and angry men in the midst of breaking my camera because I was photographing the black market metal t-shirt shops.

Along with the art pieces I thought up I needed something directly music related as it is the MUSIC House. So I thought of bands I could contact and maybe convince to play for a fee. The building is not equipped to deal with a full-out metal show, but maybe a different re-imagining of the chosen band's songs? And maybe showcase a local band too like an opening act? I used my old music-writing contacts to get in touch with a couple managers and sent off my emails to the world. Including my current favorite band, Hardcore Superstar. I interviewed their drummer so I still had their manager's email and he was kind enough to forward me to their European contact. I wrote my typical flowery email, beseeching them and sucking up like there was no tomorrow. But I might add, sucking up sincerely because I am a fan and man alive, I want to meet them and have them here working with me! They're so good. Oh my God. So. Good.

But, it's been a couple weeks and still no response. I'm going to try again soon because I think this could be a great project. We could even print up t-shirts and have them for the people coming to see like at a concert! And have an Iron Maiden retrospective in a corner with all my stuff! Heh, I wish we could get them buuuut I doubt we have the budget.

Now if they'd hurry up and respond, I can sign off on this task. Until then, I'll just sit here, in the Borusan BMW lot and listen to the orchestra rehearse Mahler. It's kind of peaceful having a 100+ person orchestra play as I type. God, that sounded spoiled, I'm going to go do my internship reading and coverage for which I work too hard and receive no pay. That'll bring me back down to Earth.

1 comment:

  1. More power to your pen, Muse, and I'm delighted that you are putting together some ideas for the Music House - I think it's one of the most exciting buildings I've seen in a long time. Will you consider dance as well as music ? I hope to come to Istanbul next month as I hear there's an unusual fiddler coming to town...

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