The National Frame

Based on long-term ethnographic research in the art world of Istanbul and Berlin, The National Frame rethinks the role of art in state governance. It argues that artistic practices, arts patronage and sponsorship, collecting and curating art, and the modalities of censorship, just like official cultural policies, continue to be refracted through the conceptual lens of the nation-state—despite the intensified and much-studied globalization of art. By examining discussions on the civilizing function of art in Germany and Turkey and moments in which art is seen to cede this function, the book reveals the histories of violence on which the production, circulation, and presentation—indeed our very understanding—of art are predicated. It is in the process of disavowing this violence that contemporary art as a global practice keeps being called back into the national frame. Turkey and Germany occupy different places in dominant geopolitical and civilizational imaginaries that have construed the world in terms of “East” and “West,” and, more recently, “Islam” and “Christianity” as incommensurable entities. Unlike German art, art from Turkey is often seen as merging “traditional” and modern motifs, and expressive of “Turkish culture.” Working against this asymmetric perception the book fosters a comparative perspective by showing that Germany and Turkey share a long, troubling history of cultural encounters and political affiliation and similar struggles in claiming modern nationhood. The joint analysis of both cases reveals how art is configured politically and socially and why art has been at once vital and unwieldy for national projects.

Role of Creative Symposia in forming the Artist

The cooperative creative work in the art has always facilitated the creation of artistic works of high quality and required this process to be organized in a certain way, from both material and ideological perspective. There are plenty of creative symposia and plein-airs in Ukraine. Therefore, in our opinion, it is important to generally characterize this process and to reveal trends and prospects for creative projects in the modern artistic world. The plein-air is instructive from both theoretical and practical perspective. Exactly on the plein-airs an artist experiences a first shock from what he has seen in the nature; this sinks deep into the mind and nourishes both studies from nature and the whole process of making of a painting in the art studio. The plein-air gives the freshness of light perception to the artist; colors become clear, lightful and transparent. Each hue brings the artist curious brain to a big secret hidden in the nature. Its motifs are inexhaustible for learning its each fragment and manifestation. The life, country and its history give all the most beautiful things to the artist. In most cases impressions got on the plein-air are brought to the art studio and generalized paintings are made exactly there. And this is not a wave landscape portrait but the generalized image of Ukraine. Fundamental plein-airs and symposia among creative teams are organized with the support of the government or private organizations that feel involved in the process of creating a culture. Organizers set a main theme of the symposium, cover the accommodation and meal as well as tour expenses, finance a report exhibition of the creative team, catalog etc. Artistic projects are sponsored by large corporations or business structures as well as by diplomatic corps as art patrons which can crank them up a notch in the society not thanks to the economic basis but thanks to the art. We can see how the Ukrainian business intellectuals grow, intellectuals that understand the role of arts patronage well by following the example of their high-ranking foregoers from the beginning of the XX century. Round tables at symposia offer an opportunity to discuss prospects of the modern art and its tasks; such discussions are the anvil upon which the spark of truth is struck. In artistic groups the inner psychological space is organized more quickly: What is meant here is the inner world of each artist. In the environment with the certain spacing it is possible to simulate individual features of perception of reality, response and life style, i.e. life journey. The Ukrainian folk artist Vasyl Perevalsky emphasizes that all artists are different. Not everybody is able to work in the creative team. It all depends on psychological features of the artist. There are artists who, when making a painting, work more effectively in their art studios by going deep into their ideas, other world and logic of perception. In the opinion of the Ukrainian famous painter Vasyl Hurin, “a thematic painting must be unique and not repeat the past things. It must maturate and naturally go up”. Artistic symposia and plein-airs play a major role in forming the modern artistic idea. By participating directly in symposia the artist can understand regularities of individual life, discover his reserves and thus change his behavior by stimulating development and creating a project of life.