Hasta La Ideas

Our video inside a workshop reviving the lost art of Turkish tiles

by
Gregory Mitnick

A celebrated Turkish art form dormant for more than 300 years, Iznik tiles play an integral role in Turkey’s Ottoman Empire history and the production of them today is a labor of love.

In 1993 economics professor Dr. Işıl Akbaygil visited some of Istanbul’s historic buildings and noticed that some of the tiles were as bright and clear as new, while others were dull and deteriorating. Research soon confirmed that these tiles were indeed special, though they hadn’t been made since the early 1700s and there was no historical record or documentation of how they were made.

Dedicated to reviving this lost art, she founded the Iznik Training and Education Foundation. It took around ten years for the Foundation, along with a host of government, preservation, research and university partners, to determine what made the tiles so unusual, to recreate the lengthy handmade production process, train local artisans and construct a manufacturing facility. Today the Iznik Foundation creates tiles for repair and restoration of historical buildings, pubic works (including large murals in Istanbul’s subway stations) and for private use.

The secret to the tiles is their composition, primarily ground quartz, which also makes up the bright glazes that adorn them. Quartz brings many purported health benefits, such as improved circulation and shielding from radiation, but they also have some practical features such as being temperature neutral (ideal for warm environments) and durable—these tiles are engineered to last 1,000 years.

Our video features Istanbul-based architectural historian Gökhan Karakuş, who takes us through the history and modern-day labor-intensive process of making these beautiful tiles.

A bespectacled limited-edition tribute to the NYC and Istanbul area code

Launched by vintage eyewear purveyor Vidal Erkohen, RVS by V. is steadily gaining notice for its retro-styled sunglasses in vibrant matte finishes. The 212, the Turkish label’s first limited-edition frames, recalls the brow-heavy specs of the ’50s and represents Erkohen’s personal connection to New York City and Istanbul, which coincidentally share an area code.

“I was born in NYC, moved to Turkey at a young age and have been living here while traveling back and forth ever since,” he explains. “The 212 was designed to have a bold, brave, and, most importantly, strong character in its design, which I believe is a trait I see and feel in both cities’ people and energy.” Available in a black or white matte finish, the colors symbolize the “contrast and differences” Erkohen observes between the cultures.

Limited to 100 pairs, the 212 is available as sunglasses ($700 online) and opthalmic frames. Each is crafted by hand, down to the signature red screws, which are individually painted. For inquiries and to view other collections, visit RVS by V.’s website.

by Alexandra Polier

Known for beautifully raw images of the modern world, Bas Princen’s exhibit “Refuge, Five Cities” currently on display at the Storefront for Art and Architecture shows a series of rare architectural finds in the Middle East. A trained architect, Princen uses photography not only to capture a sense of space but also as a way of subtly discussing current problems occurring within his field.

In “Refuge,” Princen stresses the growing divide in the Middle East between those living the dream and those building it. With little or no people pictured, the images remind us of sites whose initial purpose are long forgotten and have been completely abandoned by man.

Photographed during his travels throughout Istanbul, Beirut, Amman, Cairo and Dubai, the obscure buildings also represent the influx of refugees hired on for their cheap labor, but who in turn have created an infrastructure nightmare.

“I didn’t want to show these people as poor,” Princen said at the opening in lower Manhattan. “They are all part of a master plan, a plan labored by the poor and paid for by the rich.”

The stunning photograph “Mokkatam Ridge (Garbage Recycling City)” (pictured at right, click for expanded image) depicts the city of 80,000 Coptic Christians who make their living recycling Cairo’s waste. This unbelievable image of houses stacked on top of one another, covered in trash—with the occasional clothesline—challenges perceptions of the alluringly burgeoning Middle East.

Priscen came to this project through the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam, an international event of exhibitions, conferences, lectures and other activities devoted to themes in the field of architecture and urbanism. The organization is releasing an accompanying exhibition book, “Refuge. Five Cities Portfolio,” that sells from Sun Architecture for €15.

The exhibition runs through 26 June 2010.

I grabbed this out of a section in this month’s Azure Magazine that highlights great design coming out of Istanbul. From the recently disbanded ünal&böler, ömer ünal designed these book and wine hangs called Sek. It’s an interesting concept, one that he seems to have explored in a few of his other projects (salkım, nar, petek, and sema), all of which approach book storage in an interesting and unique way. Plus, I’m a big fan of the photo.