Bir etkileşim ve tüketim mekanı olarak sanat galerisi algısının ve sosyal işlevlerinin dönüşümü: İstanbul'daki sanat galerileri olgusu

This thesis intends to demonstrate the functions of art galleries, its perceptions among the visitors and finally its interactions with residents of the city. It concentrates on art galleries in Istanbul. The fact that there is a huge increase in the number of art galleries made us curious about its reasons. This excess of the number of galleries dragged us to diverse economic, social and individual conjunctures. Within the privatization of culture especially after 1980, the institutions of art like museums, art galleries, foundations of culture, started resembling to exploitations. In general, the aim is: create an art market showing a maximum effort for articulating it to the international art markets. To achieve this, biennials, museums, private galleries, foundations engaged with art, festivals of art, fairs, and auctions are opening snappily. Istanbul having upon 200 art galleries has become a principal agent in this international art market. Moreover, international corporations have been trying to constitute financial and cultural connections between the metropolis cities and Istanbul will be accepted nevertheless like the new metropolis and a new market having started to articulate to this web. Art gallery constitutes an important place in this new order of world and its market. The functions of gallery in this system, its perceptions through the visitors and residents of city, finally its interactions in the quotidian life will be organized according to this order and its values. Especially the bourgeoisie will be the principal agent determining and organizing these values. The new bourgeoisie of Turkey or new investors have interested to art for economical and symbolic reasons. The first aim that we have observed is the profit. A bourgeois enterprise being a protector of art, is aiming to increase its brand value in the market. As we hear their name, so we have confidence and nevertheless we purchase their products instead the other firm. The second aim of using art by the bourgeoisie and its enterprises is to have a prestige to whom will bring the assurance and the recognition in diverse markets. So, all of these two efforts will be integrated within only one objective which is more profit. We have observed in this market that the art gallery is a principal agent because it is a reflection of the era. It is adapted to values, point of views, judgments and necessities of the period. The characteristics and the functions of the gallery have been changing through the new conjuncture. The adaptation of art gallery transforms also the perception and the attitude of individuals. One of the principal reasons creating this change is the economical xii factor. Art, day by day seems like one of the important markets for the global economy. Briefly, to able to understand this change, its new values and points of views, we must clearly determine the diverse periods. According to academicals, we descript two essential periods to understand the situation and the function of art gallery better. The first is modernism and the second is postmodernism – or late modernism according to different theories. Consequently, we have compared two different perceptions of art galleries according to era. Firstly, the perception of modern and classical art gallery, and then the one of postmodern art gallery. Then, it appears two models of gallery. According to the classical and modern appearance of art gallery, these art spaces have the function of reproduction of the feeling of belonging for superior classes and of redounding the feeling of exclusion for the others. We must mention the classical and ancient perception to able to understand the new perception of gallery which is being formed and its social functions that is transforming. The notions like "white cube" or modern art gallery that we use to descript the classical perception is determined by these strict rules. These rules include the spirit and the view of visitor but externalizing the body and all of its other properties as talking, eating, drinking, and sitting down during the visit… The visitor who enters to a more sterile world that has the rules and an order has a sentiment of rupture with the world which is stayed out. This rupture provides control and opportunity of discipline to the institution. These institutions of art reproduce also the social distinction between different social classes. They procure steadily a stable hierarchy in the society because the visit of an art gallery needs already cultural capital which determines the attitudes, the sentiments, the ideas, the pleasures and the knowledge of a visitor. This cultural capital is gained because of the education and the family. As a result, the ones who have this chance and opportunity will feel the emotion of belonging in these spaces of art and the others nevertheless will feel the sentiment of exclusion. On the other hand, it's remarkable that the administrations of galleries try to attract visitors from all of the social classes. So, this classical appearance of the gallery which creates a distinction for people and the effort of the administrations of some grand galleries in Istanbul were contradictious. We have observed that there is no contradiction but a transformation and an adaptation of art gallery according to new period. We could create a definition of art gallery as "postmodern" which procures for its visitors an experience which does not product a stable social structure and so does not exclude the other classes. A space which does not only exist for elites but accessible to all. A heterogenic space includes amusement, education and consumption with all of its cafes, lessons, courses, plays for kids, workshops, restaurants, opening ceremonies, symposiums, concerts… Today, we can't mention of a stable hierarchy and an order. Day by day, the system of categories in order has been dissolving, the pluralism and heterogeneity replaces it. One truth is being transformed to multiple personal meanings. We analyzed the probable reasons of this transformation in the functions of galleries. The result turned out to be like this: A new model of gallery that we will conceptualize as"postmodern" appeared. In these days, the institutions of art like art galleries have started to review their institutional organizations and their functions according to new necessities of era which appears. The new economical, cultural and political system obliges all the institutions to transform. We see this change of establishments as in art gallery. On the other hand, the transition of modern art galleries which we call "postmodern" is not so rapid and does not realize quickly. It is a long process to realize. Nevertheless, there are certain galleries which do not have this aim resisting against, but there are lots of art galleries which are having a revision. Nevertheless, this new type of art gallery called postmodern have begun to change the perception of modern, serious, homogeneous art gallery through the visitors. These galleries will show efforts to change this image. The economical, cultural and political conjuncture will force it to having a revision. As a result, all of these transformations influence the residents' attitude and the interaction between the residents of the city and the art gallery even if they are not visitors of the gallery. This would also change the space of the city and the galleries may cause some conflicts on the space. In this context, we examined the subject in tree main sections: In the first section, we tried to analyze the functions of art galleries by comparing them with the functions of the old art galleries. In today's world, we did heed to the collaboration between art galleries and museums. In the analysis, we considered both of these spaces as art institutions which have certain functions in the new order of capitalism. Generally, they are the reflections of certain powers. Since the Turkish bourgeoisie doesn't even have a history of 100 years, they need to profit from the art. They will be the art partisans and fanatics so that they could differentiate from the other elites but they will do it by democratizing these spaces, by transforming them to a consummation place to attract more people. The prime reason of this democratization is generally the idea of gaining more profits for their investments in various markets. Art becomes a strategy and a new form of consummation in the aim of increasing the values of their own brand. In the second section, we intended to demonstrate the new perception of art and especially the factors which influenced this perception among the visitors. We investigated the motivations of the visitors and their way of perceiving. We classified the factors as "the independent factors" and "the dependent factors" of the individual. The exterior factors which are independent from the person are like the spaciousness of the edifice of an art gallery or the news about this art gallery. Other interior factors are directly related to the individual like opinions and feelings. Both of these factors construct the perception of the individual. In the last chapter of this study, we attempted to find different ways of interaction like interaction between individual and space of gallery or interaction between gallery and daily life of residents of the neighborhood. Different interactions form a total experience of gallery for Istanbul. The critical point of this effort of transformation of art gallery is the visitor factor. Art gallery so must have an attention to the relation with its visitor. We observe that administrations of galleries give a lot of importance to this interaction between its visitors. Consequently, art galleries which provide different interactions for the individuals are becoming an indispensable part of the city, also for the other people who do not come to these spaces. They have an interaction with these spaces while passing by its doors in the street. The art galleries are a part of the city and they are cultural agents in daily life of the society so of the city. For the furtherance of the study, we selected the Europe Continent of Istanbul where a big party of galleries could be found. We had conversations with 32 visitors of art galleries to apperceive clearly their perceptions and interactions. The objective of this thesis is to question the functions, the perceptions and the interaction between the society and the new art galleries in Istanbul. The following are the outcomes obtained from the study: a) This new perception about gallery that we will conceptualize as "postmodern" is constructed according to "the logic of new capitalism" which requires the visitors who became consumers. b) Visitors experience these spaces as visual spectacles, as a consummation place of free time. c) This logic of the system of consummation is formed by marketing, public relations and publicities. d) To realize this, they have to transform the image of the gallery of the old, serious, modern model, change people's perception about it and transform this space to a consummation place. e) So, the postmodern art galleries aim to attract more people to their institutions and the gallery's administration does a big effort to offer pleasure, education and amusement at the same time. f) These efforts and this multiplicity of galleries would cause some changes which influence the interaction between the gallery and the daily life of residents of the city. g) As a result, the postmodern art galleries started to change the old gallery model which creates a distinction between individuals. Briefly, postmodern art galleries want to pull over lots of people to theirs spaces trying to destroy the image and serious perception of ancient modern model. xv Administrations of gallery show a maximum effort to add pleasure and amusement to visits. These institutions of art try to having a transformation to institutions of joy, amusement and the consumption. We observe that visitors have started to experiment these spaces like visual spectacles, as a space of consumption of leisure time. The politics of art galleries have become day by day for changing this space of art to a space of consumption which facilitates visit of lots of people. This logic of the consumption system is formed by dominant ideologies of bourgeoisie and they use these spaces of art as opportunity of marketing. They use in general, art as an intermediary of theirs advertisements and prestige. To achieve this, they have to transform the ancient model of gallery modern and serious. They must change the perception throughout the individuals. Then, to collect more visitors, they try to change these spaces to a space of consumption. Because of this thesis, we reached to the conclusion that the new gallery comprehension also called "postmodern", is constructed according to "the logic of new capitalism" which requires visitors who became consumers who considerate these spaces as visual spectacles. This system logic organizes them according to their dominant ideologies and uses these art spaces as marketing, public relations and publicity opportunities. To realize this, they have to transform the image of the gallery from the old, serious, modern model, change people's perception about it and transform this space to a consummation place