A PICASSO EXHIBITION

Yesterday we headed to Beyoğlu, one of oldest neighborhoods of Istanbul, to visit few exhibitions. One of them was Engravings and Ceramics from the House of Birth of Pablo Picasso exhibition at Pera Museum.

We are delighted to visit this exhibition. Not only for having the chance to see one more time this master's brilliant art work, also to see an impressive selection of his engravings and ceramics  to observe his stylistic and artistic transitions, how he combine the styles in his work especially in engravings.

Exhibition is open until 20 of April 2014 at Pera Museum, Istanbul. You can also find the book of this small but impressive exhibition at museum shop.

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Dün birkaç sergi gezmek üzere Beyoğlu’na yollandık. Bunlardan bir tanesi Pera Müzesi’ndeki Pablo Picasso’nun Doğduğu Evden Gravürler ve Seramikler sergisiydi.

Küçücük turşucuk bir sergiydi ama bayıldık. Sadece bu usta ressamın eserlerini bir kez daha görme şansını yakalamış olduğumuz için mutlu olmadık, aynı zamanda sanatçının özellikle gravürlerindeki üslûpsal ve sanatsal geçişleri, çalışmalarında değişik tarzları nasıl harmanladığını gözlemlememize olanak sunan eser seçimi ve sergileme şeklini de çok sevdik.

Sergi 20 Nisan 2014 tarihine kadar İstanbul’da, Pera Müzesi’nde açık. Ayrıca bu küçük ama etkileyici serginin kitabını da müze dükkânında bulabilirsiniz. 

A TATAVLA STORY

Yesterday evening in a theatre in Istanbul, Alkışlar Tiyatrosu players performed a story taking place in one of old neighborhoods of Istanbul, in Tatavla (actual name Kurtuluş). It was about Tatavla, it was about Turks, it was about “us”. It was about muslim, Greek orthodox, Armenian people of this country living together, sharing happiness and pain. Before the play, actors and audience shared a minute of silence for Berkin. He was a 15 years old boy, shot by police with a gas canister from his head last summer, during the protests against islamist government.

Yesterday, we farewelled him after 269 days of coma. Yesterday we felt ashamed for not being able to protect him. Yesterday, people talking of being religious but trying to divide this country as muslim, christian, jewish didn’t feel ashamed...

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Dün akşam Profilo Alışveriş Merkezi tiyatro salonunda, Alkışlar Tiyatrosu oyuncuları Bir Tatavla Masalı’nı sahneye koydular. İstanbul’un eski semtlerinden Tatavla’nın (şimdiki adıyla Kurtuluş), Türklerin, “bizim” öykümüzdü anlatılan. Bu ülkenin birarada yaşayan, acıyı ve mutluğu paylaşan müslüman, Rum, Ermeni halkıydı anlatılan. Oyundan önce oyuncular ve seyirciler Berkin için bir dakika saygı duruşunda bulundu, hep birlikte “Berkin Elvan ölümsüzdür” diye haykırdı.

Dün, 15 yaşındaki kara gözlü çocuğa veda ettik. Dün, onu koruyamamış olduğumuz için utandık. Dün, dindar olmaktan söz eden ama bu ülkeyi müslüman, hristiyan, yahudi diye bölmeye kalkışanlar utanmadılar...

Berkin Elvan illustration source / Berkin Elvan çizimi kaynak: Twitter @ Sinan Güler

ISTANBUL BY TAMER KÖŞELİ

Istanbul illustration by Turkish multidisciplinary designer Tamer Köşeli.

Source: www.tamerkoseli.com

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Türk tasarımcı Tamer Köşeli’den İstanbul çizimi.

Kaynak: www.tamerkoseli.com 

SMELLS LIKE SPRING...

EXLIBRIS

THE LADYKILLERS

1955 dated The Ladykillers is a British black comedy we watched last year. The film is based on the story of five gangsters who rent a room at the house of an old lady and pretend to be musicians while they are planning a bank robbery.

Yesterday evening we headed to Strand, to Vaudeville Theatre, for watching The Ladykillers at the theatre this time. We arrived little bit earlier and popped up at The George for few pints, a lovely old British pub established in 1723. Then continued with coctails at the bar of the theatre. As a dessert, we had The “spectacular” Ladykillers. We really loved the play, the performance of the players, specially Angela Thorne as Mrs. Wilberforce and John Gordon Sinclair as Professor Marcus but our special respects are for the set designer Michael Taylor and special effects designer Scott Penrose. What a wonderfull scenery they created in such a little place. It was just: impressive!

If you still didn’t watch The Ladykillers at the scene, last days to have the chance. Don’t miss it.   

NEW STREET ART IN DIBDEN STREET

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world”

FIRST DAYS OF AUTUMN

A linocut art work by Mick Armson for the first days of autumn in London: Under Hungerford Bridge... 

LOWRY AND THE PAINTING OF MODERN LIFE

We met with Lowry and his art last year in Manchester when we visited Lowry Collection in  Salford Quays and we loved his colors, his way to paint the life in industrial towns. We enjoyed the 20 minutes film about his life in the gallery and we bought a Lowry book to bring to our home the fascinating colors of his paintings.

LS Lowry (1887-1976) who painted the modern life, daily life of working class, crowds, industrial landscapes during all his life, now is in Tate Britain in London until 20 October 2013.

It was a big pleasure to see your beautiful paintings again Mr. Lowry.     

VERMEER AND MUSIC EXHIBITION

The last days of summer in our little kingdom and we are trying to catch up the exhibitions we didn’t visit yet in London.

Today we headed to The National Gallery for Vermeer and Music exhibition to enjoy Johannes Vermeer’s and other XVII. century Dutch artists’ music themed paintings. In the exhibition we also had a chance to observe different music instruments of same period between the halls.

The exhibition is open until 8 September in The National Gallery.

EDINBURGH JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL

Since two weeks we were away and had a little road trip around our little kingdom. We visited nice places, enjoyed the incredible sun and joined some cultural events.

When we were in Edinburgh, in this beautiful Scottish city, we were lucky to find tickets to two concerts in Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival. First one was Mike Hart All Star Band playing classic hot jazz from the 20’s and 30’s. It was a beautiful night.

After this American jazz band, the next night, we choosed Scotland’s leading jazz repertory band, Ken Mathieson Classic Jazz Orchestra with a guest from New Orleans, clarinettist Evan Christopher who joined them for this concert.

The second concert was the icing on the cake for us in our last night in Edinburgh. We loved them, we didn’t want the concert finish and it was a perfect way to say to Edinburgh “See you next time!”. 

QUIMERAS BY PACO PEÑA

Last time we have been in a Paco Peña concert was years ago, in Istanbul. When we heard that Peña’s flamenco project Quimeras comes to a theatre near to us, we were very excited to hear his guitar again.

Yesterday evening we were in Sadler’s Wells Theatre for Quimeras performed by Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company. Quimeras is an art project about Spain, flamenco, Africa, immigrants from Africa to Spain.

The performance was exquisite, the way they combined the flamenco music and dance with African music and dance was fascinating. It was a big pleasure to hear again the big flamenco master’s guitar. All musicians and dancers were superb but specially dancers Ángel Muñoz and Charo Espino were amazing.

If you are around London in these days, just go! Go and enjoy! 

ANOTHER LONDON

Another good B&W photography book about London city life’s past. The book, contains photos taken during the period between 1930 and 1980 by 41 international photographers such as  Eve Arnold, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sergio Larrain, Marc Riboud.

Another London published by Tate in 2012, is a look from different angles to London’s city life through the lens of foreigner photographers.

MY BEST FRIEND : CAT

Economist and photographer Andy Prokh’s black&white photos of his 4 year old daughter Katherine and their cat Lilu.

Pure love!

Photos © Andy Prokh                Source: ntvmsnbc

LONDON STREET ART IN PICKERING STREET

Pickering Street in Angel, is one of the streets we pass at least once a day. When we moved first to Islington, there wasn’t any graffiti in this street. Then appeared the girl with the dog, then during the Diamond Jubilee appeared The Queen, then weightlifter boy and finally the dog. Each time we walk in Essex Road and pass through Pickering Street, we check if another street art work appeared. So far we have:

I believe in Angels...

Diamonds are a girls best friend...

You lift my Spirits...

Ball Dog... 

LONDON 1958-59

London 1958-59 is a good documentary photography book about London life during these years through the lens of a foreigner photographer.

Chilean photographer Sergio Larrain (1931),  who is one of the members of MAGNUM agency and who visited London in 1958-59, documented a black and white portrait of this big city during his visit. The first UK edition of the book published in 1998 by Dewi Lewis Publishing. 

MAN RAY EXHIBITION

Today is another freezing day in our little kingdom but at least is super sunny. The sun is always a good reason to get out of the house in London and thats why we headed today, to the National Portrait Gallery for Man Ray exhibition, buying some tea in Covent Garden and coffee in Soho for home and visiting some bookshops in Charing Cross Road.

Man Ray is one the photographers we adore his works. We had a chance to see his photos first time in 1997 in a Man Ray exhibition opened in Madrid. This time came to the city where we live and we didn’t want to miss the chance.

Man Ray Portraits exhibition is the first major museum retrospective of the artist’s portrait works with over 150 vintage prints from the collections all over the world. The exhibition is a retrospective which brings together artist’s works during the period he lived in America and in Paris between 1916-1968.

Man Ray Portraits exhibition is open in London National Portrait Gallery until 27 May 2013. 

NEW STREET ART IN ADA STREET

Yesterday morning we walked to Broadway Market by the canal. For being the Easter weekend, canalway walk side was quite (no bicycle terrorism) and despite few flakes of snow -yes snow!- it was a pleasant walk.

The market wasn’t crowded and there were few new stalls. Another newcomer to the market was the big blue bird in Ada Street. The olympic street art work which was there before and which was vandalised, wasn’t there anymore. It looks like the Londoners are getting over the olympic syndrome step by step.... 

PETER AND ALICE

“When Alice Liddell Hargreaves met Peter Llewellyn Davies at the opening of a Lewis Carroll exhibition in 1932, the original Alice in Wonderland came face to face with the original Peter Pan. In John Logan's remarkable new play, enchantment and reality collide as this brief encounter lays bear the lives of these two extraordinary characters.”

Tonight, we watched Peter and Alice, a Michael Grandage Company play written by John Logan and directed by Michael Grandage at the Noël Coward Theatre. When we first looked tickets for the play, all tickets were sold out. And then luckily, we found a couple of returned previleged tickets for this evening.

The play was great, the theatre was a impressive building, the actors' performance was great. But having the chance of watching Dame Judi Dench in a London theatre was... Wooow! It was really amazing! What a unforgettable evening it was...

ROY LICHTENSTEIN EXHIBITION

Steel freezing outside. But today we have been brave enough for having a walk toward the Tate Modern to visit Roy Lichtenstein exhibition. To avoid crowds and childrens we prefer to visit museums, galleries, etc. week days. But this time didn’t work. Because, the cartoon images were children magnet and the amount of running and shouting primary school groups unfortunately was making very difficult to enjoy the exhibition.

Anyway, the exhibiton was great and it was a great pleasure to see one of the American pop-art icons Lichtenstein’s works and to observe from a very close distance how incredibly he used the lines and dots.

After the exhibition we bought some books and magazines from the Tate Modern’s bookshop. Then we stopped at The Centre Page, a lovely old pub near St. Paul’s Cathedral for cold day energizer bangers and mash accompanied by a pint. Now it’s the time to have a tea at home and to enjoy our new books and magazines.

Lichtenstein Retrospective is open at London Tate Modern until 27 May 2013.