Through the Curtains of Memory
Oztekin-Koymen's "installation" on display till July 12, in NC
The Turkish Times - Tuba Oztekin-Koymen, a young Turkish-American artist from Texas, has developed the concept of a "curtain" to the level of a perfect metaphor to express the now-you-see-now-you-don't memories of the motherland that all immigrants to the United States carry with them. In her exhibition Inside/Outside, she projects photographs of Turkish women on moving curtains while speakers overhead whisper words in Turkish and English. The "installation," sponsored by North Carolina Arts & Science Council and currently on exhibit at The Light Factory, 809 West Hill Street, Charlotte, NC, is on display until July 12. Call (704) 333-9755. You can see Oztekin-Koymen's highly original work at www.lightfactory.org as well.

The art correspondent Max Halperen said Oztekin-Koymen "attempts to make one experience the sense of arrival in a strange place, with a strange language and strange customs, while holding in memory the sights and sounds of one's homeland."

The photographs Oztekin-Koymen used for her installations were all taken by a pinhole camera, and shows her family and friends in Turkey.

These photographs undulating as ephemeral sheets of memory "are disorienting enough," Halperen wrote. "Patches of light and dark areas suggest the mind's way of holding on to pieces of memory. In the simplest of them, two women sit on a beach, while to one side and attached to nothing we can see, windows and blinds appear out of darkness. The figures are often vague, though circled in light. Walls and windows are set at odd angles. In a double exposure of the same woman, the left side of the figure is relatively sharp while the right side disappears into a sudden lurch of darkness." "Inside/ Outside is an exhibit to be fully experienced, nor simply seen,""another art critic wrote. "In this installation of photographic projections and English and Turkish audio, artist Tuba Oztekin examines the ways that point of view, perspective, and experience can alter the meaning of images. She relates these ideas to universal experiences of displacement that touch us all. What does it mean to belong to a new place? How do we create a sense of belonging in a foreign or a different place?"

"I am using the curtain as a metaphorical symbol to show the differences between east and west, inside or outside," Oztekin says. "A curtain both reveals and conceals. It can keep you out or in. My objective is to bring attention to the nature of transitory living experiences by setting up an imaginary or virtual window," she says. "The curtain makes me aware of the space between myself and the space between the viewer and the image; it is intentionally open to encourage viewers to insert themselves into this realistic and fictive state. The space illuminates the sense of estrangement. This is meant to be a diasporic experience creating a sense of displacement."

Amy Swisher, writing for www.creativeloafing.com, said "the sound of her voice [coming from speakers above] coupled with the sound of the projectors ... it is as if the artist is there with us sharing her thoughts. her intentions and her actions. Through the presentation of layers - layers of voice, sights and sound - we're invited to consider the complexity of images, especially the subjectivity of what and how images make meaning to individuals."

Tuba Oztekin-Koymen holds a BFA from Department of Graphics Design, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey (1990-95) and an MFA in Photography and Digital Imaging from Maryland Institute, College of Art, Baltimore, MD (1997-99).

The artist can be reached at tuba_koymen@yahoo.com.

With Few U.S. Visitors, Turkey Becomes Bargain
"We felt completely safe," Mr. Titus said.
Douglas Frantz, The New York Times, May 12, 2002, ISTANBUL - In recent years, whenever Turkey seemed on the verge of taking its place as a big-time tourist destination, a country where natural beauty, rich history and hospitable people co-exist, something happens to push it backward.

In 1999, most people in the tourism sector here were predicting a record year for visitors. Then came two devastating earthquakes that claimed nearly 20,000 lives and knocked tourism for a loop.

Last year, Turkey's image was on the mend and the industry was once again optimistic, particularly because the ailing national currency had pushed some prices down. Then came from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Travel anxieties washed across the world, sending tourist numbers plunging.

Turkey was hit particularly hard because it is a Muslim country in a rough neighborhood. Recent Israeli-Palestinian violence has spilled over into safety worries here, though Turkey has remained calm.

The impact was strongest among Americans and Japanese, the groups that spend the most on visits to Turkey. In the first two months of this year, the number of American tourists was down 29 percent and the number of Japanese 44 percent compared with the first two months of 2001, said Basaran Ulusoy, chairman of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies.

Yet even as nerves calm among travelers and a cautious optimism is developing among tourist businesses here, the big spenders are staying away. "Americans are not coming in groups and not coming in conferences or on cruises," said Markus Iseli, manager of the Four Seasons Hotel.

In recent years, Turkey in general and Istanbul in particular became popular destinations for cruise ships, with passengers crowding the museums and shops and spending layovers in hotels. But since the Sept. 11

attacks, few American-based cruise ships have stopped in Istanbul, said Melek Gozubuyuk of Cruise Line, a travel agency in Istanbul. And this year, the number of ships catering to North Americans that are scheduled to call on Istanbul is a meager 19, compared with 94 last year, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, an industry group in New York.

The decline in cruise ships, and in upscale tourists in general, can translate into a boon for travelers willing to overcome anxieties and dismiss misperceptions about Turkey. This is particularly true when it comes to luxury hotels, where occupancy rates this summer are expected to be well below 50 percent.

Mr. Iseli said summer rates at the Four Seasons, which regularly wins honors as one of the world's great hotels, are nearly one-third lower than last year's. The Conrad Istanbul, part of the Hilton chain, is offering similar discounts, and other five-star hotels have either cut prices or offer special packages.

Along Turkey's expansive Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, though, most of the large seaside resorts have managed to maintain prices and occupancy because their core customers -- groups on package tours from Britain, Germany and Russia -- have kept coming. Turkey offers strong value, particularly since the lira has depreciated by 50 percent over the last two years.

Budget hotels in Istanbul and elsewhere also seem to have kept their prices and pretty good occupancy rates, several operators said.

Turkey is sometimes lumped in with neighboring countries where anti-American sentiment is stronger. In fact, Turkey is a NATO member and its long friendship with the United States is reflected in the attitudes of Turks toward American visitors, and Westerners in general. At the same time, the efficient and sometimes brutal police have kept the anti-American and pro-Palestinian demonstrations to a minimum.

William Titus, a retired minister from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and his wife, Molly, spent most of April touring Istanbul and the rest of the country.

They said they ran into no anti-Western sentiment, though they did watch a peaceful pro-Palestinian demonstration in Istanbul one afternoon. "We felt completely safe," Mr. Titus said.

To be sure, there are reasons to remain alert. Istanbul is home to enough big American companies and other Western symbols that visitors should be cautious.

But security has been increased at Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport and other public places, and there have been no reports of violence aimed at Western residents or tourists."After this quiet period, we all hope tourism will flourish again," said Yasemin Pirinccioglu, general director of VIP Tourism here. "However, if the Bush administration happens to declare war on Iraq, Turkish tourism would be terribly affected."