The controversy over alleged censorship at Istanbul Modern is spreading. Refusal to display an artist’s piece raised the eyebrows of other artists, who on Dec. 27 entered the museum and hung banners that read: “There is censorship in this museum.”
“First Istanbul Modern requested a work, without telling me any concept. They told me that they wanted to exhibit the work during the gala night and then make the work a part of the exclusive catalogue,” Bubi (David Hayon) told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Istanbul Modern told Hayon he was “free” to create what he wanted, he said. Upon this request Hayon created a large seat with a bed pan in the middle of it.
“With this work I have criticized the general museum idea which came from 1900s,” said Hayon, adding that he criticized the “sacred” idea of visiting a museum. “My aim was not to be political.”
However, things did not go as Hayon planned. The museum refused to collect the work and did not exhibit it. “It is not important whether they like it. There is something more important than that,” Hayon said.
The approach was more like a censorship process, according to Hayon. “The work was found contradictious and inconvenient.”
Later, Istanbul Modern requested Hayon to change the work. “However, this was a later phase of the incident,” he said.
The museum’s decision
Hayon said the problem was not a commercial concern. “It is a fact that every work, which detaches from the artist, becomes commercialized and it becomes a capital.” He thinks the museum made a decision on behalf of the collector. “With not taking my work to the gala night or not showing it to the collector, the museum made a decision on behalf of the collector. How can a museum decide something like this?”
This is also a problem of approaching the collector, according to Hayon. “This is judging the collector,” he said, adding that creating a work “to sell” or “sellable” was not creating shiny, tiny, beautiful things.
“This would not make the artwork more sellable,” Hayon said. This was like judging the collector, implying “they do not understand this work,” which is inappropriate, said Hayon.
He also criticized the approach of Plastic Artists Institution. “Because they have said that this is not censorship, which it is,” he said. Hayon quit the institution and refused to be a part of it after this approach.
(The work of Bubi (David Hayon) which was rejected by the museum)
Museum rejects allegations
Istanbul Modern’s decision not to display a work by artist Bubi (David Hayon) was not an act of censorship but rather a decision by the curators, the museum said in a written statement Dec. 29.
“We have watched the allegations and the incident with astonishment. Istanbul Modern is an institution which tries to stand with the support of patrons and visitors,” the museums statement said, adding that the Gala Modern night, which was organized to support educational programs, had requested works from prominent Turkish artists.
“The aim was to sell the works to create support for the museum,” the statement said, adding that the museum explained the importance of the event to Bubi, like it did to other artists. “After this, the curatorial team of the Istanbul Modern decided not to [display] the work at the gala night.”
The museum said its aim was not to exhibit the work, but to use it for a donation project and added that all artists were aware of the event’s aims.
The refusal to display Bubi’s piece raised the eyebrows of other artists, who entered the museum Dec. 27 and hung banners that read: “There is censorship in this museum.”
Hayon said the problem was not a commercial concern. “It is a fact that every work, which [comes] from the artist, becomes commercialized and becomes capital.”
He said he thought the museum made a decision on behalf of the collector. “By not taking my work to the gala night or not showing it to the collector, the museum made a decision on behalf of the collector. How can a museum decide something like this?”
This is also a problem of approaching the collector, Hayon said. “This is judging the collector,” he said, adding that creating a work “to sell” was not creating shiny, tiny, beautiful things.
“This would not make artwork more sellable,” he said.
This is like judging the collector, implying that “they do not understand this work,” he said, noting that this was inappropriate.