Cornucopia Magazine Arts Diary

When the 25-year-old Francophile philosophy graduate Melike Koçak (portrait above by Monica Fritz) decided to dedicate her life to photography, she was unwittingly joining a new wave of young Istanbul photographers. Her work has already been widely exhibited. This year she was selected to become an ARTPIL 30-Under-30 Woman Photographer...

Posted in Photography

The inspirational Josephine Powell

Josephine Powell, intrepid photographer and nomad-follower, died in 2007. She would have been 101 today

By Monica Fritz | May 15, 2020

‘She was a sort of Canute, trying to halt the tide of modernity she saw eroding the nomad's dignity.’ (‘A nomad among nomads’, by Andrew Finkel, Cornucopia 47) Josephine Powell, photographed by Jürgen Frank (see Cornucopia 30, 2003) … I only met Josephine Powell a few times (writes Monica Fritz),...

Posted in Photography, Travel

Another quiet day…

… in Moda

By Monica Fritz | May 3, 2020

Spring has arrived in Istanbul, and the ancient gum mastic trees (sakız ağacı) of Moda are just coming into leaf. Only the crowds were missing on May Day… In Cornucopia 52, Monica captured the tree in happier days for Cornucopia's four-part Istanbul Unwrapped series, available on line here. Elsewhere, Moda...

Posted in Photography

The secret life of Singapore

A visual exploration of the lesser known

By Suraya Yusof | May 29, 2018

A stone's throw away from the bustle of Istiklal Caddesi, the Pera Museum nestles among the ivory façades of Tepebaşı. With its dual focus on historical and contemporary art, the museum has embarked on a series of international collaborations since its inauguration 13 years ago. Memorable shows included Andy Warhol:...

Posted in Contemporary Art, Photography

Cappadocia dreaming

By Victoria Khroundina | August 21, 2015

If you’ve been following the blog, you will know I have been travelling these past few weeks. Last weekend I finally got around to visiting Cappadocia, and out of all the places I have been to in Turkey this awed me the most. The otherworldly landscape peppered with fairy chimneys,...

Posted in Nature, Photography, Travel

Turquoise beauty

By Victoria Khroundina | August 14, 2015

If you want to get up close and personal with Turkey’s Mediterranean coast there’s no better way to do so than by boat. You can stay in a town such as Fethiye, Kaş, Kalkan or Antalya, and take daily boat trips or, better still, hire your own boat and spend...

Posted in Modern Art, Photography, Travel

“New Landscapes” - Yao Lu at Istanbul Modern

By Cornucopia TR | February 2, 2011

(Yao Lu, Early Spring on lake Dong Ting, 2008) Until 22 May, Istanbul Modern will be displaying 31 works by Chinese photographer Yao Lu, including 11 created exclusively for this exhibition. These images are at first almost indistinguishable from classical Chinese landscape paintings, but on closer inspection it quickly becomes...

Posted in Contemporary Art, Photography

“Desired” - Robert Mapplethorpe at Galeri Nev

By Cornucopia TR | January 26, 2011

(Robert Mapplethorpe, Self Portrait, 1983) Appearing on show in Istanbul for the very first time, the work of Robert Mapplethorpe invites you to take a walk on the wild side at Galeri Nev until 12 February. On entering the small gallery space in the Mısır Apartmanı, one is immediately confronted...

Posted in Photography

‘Dynasty and Camera: Portraits from the Ottoman Court’ at the Sadberk Hanım Museum

By Cornucopia TR | January 11, 2011

If you needed some extra encouragement to carry yourself up to Sarıyer, then the time is now. Until April 24, the Sadberk Hanım Museum is exhibiting a series of photographs of members of the later Ottoman court, alongside other related items such as medals, newspapers and lavishly embossed photograph albums....

Posted in Photography