New exhibitions
KARAGÖZ (AS ART)
Karagöz is the archetypal Turkish “everyman,” and hero of the shadow puppet theater tradition that bears his name (a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage). According to legend, he was a laborer on a 14th-century mosque in Bursa, Turkey. Popular with fellow workers for his satirical jokes, he was executed for fear he might incite rebellion. The exploits of Karagöz and his more sophisticated sidekick Hacivat became the stuff of oral tradition, and have been immortalized in a style of theatrical production believed to have been introduced into Ottoman lands from Egypt in the 16th century. For centuries, Karagöz and other play characters have been beautifully rendered by puppet makers (hayali) and painters alike. We invite you to delight in images of this beloved rascal and his companions.
PORTRAITS OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG (IRANIAN) WOMAN
From early childhood, drawing and painting have been a source of solace—and escape—for Negin Noormand. Her intimate self-portraits courageously reflect the anxieties, fears, and hopes of a 21-year-old woman living in Tabriz, Iran. Whether uplifting or upsetting, all of her work testifies to her no-holds-barred honesty and self-reflection. They document the ever-changing emotional landscape of youth. In comments to specific artworks, Negin also reveals some of the personal symbols that have offered her comfort. With a nod to James Joyce’s “artist’s novel,” we invite you to visit the first solo international exhibition of a talented emerging artist who believes that “life with all of its pains is beautiful.”
MEMORY & MEMENTO
Part performance art, part installation art, part textile culture, part feminist statement, JoAnna Johnson’s photographs are magical, haunting, lyrical, poignant—and sometimes suggestive. She’s constructed more than 100 dresses over the past 20 years and photographed them in a variety of landscapes, from the Midwest to New Mexico and Texas. Empathizing with the vulnerability of young girls, when photographing them she unobtrusively documents their time in her dresses by creating an atmosphere of playfulness. JoAnna lets the images create a narrative rather than imposing one. She believes photography captures a moment in time quite different from those moments that come before and after it.