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The Lentos hosted a major solo exhibition by Turkish artist Kutlug Ataman.

Kutlug Ataman’s films, videos and photographs confront the chasm separating what we embrace as “our own” and what we consider “foreign,” conflicts that stem from tradition and convention, people’s religious faiths and convictions. He focuses on upheavals in Turkey, the political, cultural and economic changes that country is going through, and on the struggle there between religious and secular worldviews. Ataman also addresses East-West tensions, which he sees as an acute crisis. He takes up the history of Western Modernism and scrutinizes the justifications for its claim to universal validity, tying this in to a consideration of much-vaunted European “values.” In concrete terms, his theme is Europe’s geographical, cultural, institutional, mental and ideological borders. The dramaturgical arc of Kutlug Ataman’s work encompasses images of Anatolian everyday life adorned with Christian hagiographical quotations, calligraphy as an artform, and a “Trip to the Moon.”

The aim of this exhibition was to showcase a world-class artist whose work is characterized by a view of the world “from the edge of Europe.” Within the framework of this collaboration, Kutlug Ataman produced eight new works dealing with the upheavals in his homeland, Turkey. This self-contained series premiered at the Lentos.

MESOPOTAMISCHE DRAMATURGIES was accompanied by two public discussions that primarily addressed Muslim immigrants. An evening screening for cinéastes was held in conjunction with the Crossing Europe Film Festival, and another special event was held for school classes. These efforts to reach new audiences contributed to this show’s excellent attendance, which exceeded 24,500.


WHAT // Exhibition
WHEN // February 13-April 19, 2009
WHERE // Lentos Art Museum Linz