Black Noise

Artists: Burak Arikan, Servet Cihangiroglu, Didem Erk, Richard Jochum, Mirko Lazović, Cengiz Tekin, Anna Vasof

Curators: Ekmel Ertan, Isin Onol

In fields such as audio engineering, electronics and physics the colour of noise refers to the spectrum of energy that it carries. White, pink or black noise have different characteristics. Black noise is a type of noise where the dominant energy level is zero throughout all frequencies, with occasional sudden rises; it is also defined as silence.

Contrary to general consideration, sound and silence are not each other’s opposite, but they are mutually inclusive. Their complex relationship becomes visible in this impossible set: sound is a superset of silence, and silence of sound; and both are contained by that which they contain. Silence has a sound, and with it, a measurable, transformable power. The opposite of this proposition is also possible: when sound loses its content, context, and meaning, it is transformed into noise, and noise into silence. Becoming silent and silencing do not point to a loss of power, and neither does the presence of noise refer to the existence, or the acquisition of power.

The contemporary art project, Black Noise, explores the complex relationship between sound and silence; it focuses on the transformation, the function, the functionlessness, the poetry, the occasional meaninglessness, and sometimes on the power of sound, as a means of artistic expression, in various different spheres. By activating the wide range of associations created by sound and silence, the exhibition encourages the works that carry social references to communicate with one another and with the viewer.

 

Is nature real, can reality be natural? 
September 14–17, 2017 

Contemporary Istanbul 2017 art fair 
Istanbul Congress Center
Lutfi Kirdar Rumeli Hall
Harbiye Istanbul

Artist: Ozan Turkkan

Curator: Hasan Bulent Kahraman

The real does not come to an end. It is produced anew in every period. But the sources of accessing reality and defining reality change in different times and in different cultures. There is not a single nature. Besides, nature also goes through change. The panta rei point of view of Heraclitus is true: everything flows! Still, the history mankind is confined to the search for reality. For a while, we sought reality in nature. Now we turn our backs to nature. The real is produced from another reality, from the unnatural. But reality always has an aspect beyond the real. Being beyond the real means being beyond nature. Consciousness is the source of the real, at this point! And we comprehend nature with our consciousness. Consciousness is ahead of nature. Without our consciousness there would have been no nature. Reality is fictional. There is no pure or absolute reality. Reality does not occur of its own accord. Reality is not natural. The reality of nature, the reality that is derived from nature, is merely one element of a larger set of realities. Nor is the real, fiction. Reality is just reality. Still, the fictional aspect of the real exceeds its naturalness.

We are done with the third dimension. We wonder what’s hidden in the fourth dimension?

We do not know. We are still looking!