"'Istanbul-Berkeley'
Actual art at the 'Orienting Istanbul' conference includes video works by Hou Hanru
BY ARI MESSER
Tuesday September 23, 2008
REVIEW When veteran Istanbulite Orhan Pamuk received the Nobel Prize in literature two years ago, the committee complimented his 'quest for the melancholic soul of his native city.' Melancholic? The world's third largest city has one big, melancholic soul? I think Pamuk, of all people, would disagree. The 10th International Istanbul Biennial, which was curated by über-busy San Francisco Art Institute faculty member Hou Hanru in 2007, took a more caustic if not realistic theme: 'Not Only Possible, But Also Necessary: Optimism in the Age of Global War.' The organizers of the 'Orienting Istanbul' conference at Berkeley this week have produced a truly interdisciplinary (and free to the public) conference that cuts through the jargon and confronts big ideas head-on. Nonetheless, I'm glad they snuck in some actual art, including 'Istanbul-Berkeley,' Hanru's selection of video works from the biennial."
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