Just got home from Ankara, and it’s bloody hot there and here. I visited my gallery (did you hear that, I am now represented by a gallery) to give them more paintings, and as usual they hosted me in Turkish fashion (meaning I can’t pay for anything or be alone). My friend, the gallerist’s wife, works at TRT, Turkish (Public) Radio and Television, and showed me their campus. Somewhere around 8000 people work there. Eat your heart out NPR.
Did I mention it was hot?
My friend just won an award for a documentary she produced on the corruption of the Turkish language. Besides being shy of speaking English (because they learn English only to pass tests), Turks also don’t speak their own language well. I asked several intellectuals at the art opening last night who then speaks Turkish well, and they couldn’t tell me. But I hear it often, for example, that leading authors Orhan Pumuk and Elif Safak, don’t know how to speak correct Turkish. Also that at ODTU–Middle East Technical University, one of the best in Turkey, the faculty and students speak their own language, a mixture of Turkish and English.
OK, it was about 95F in Ankara today. In JUNE.
So I’m getting really excited about seeing Documenta 12 in about a week. Here’s a video about choreographer Trisha Brown, who was very influential for me in the 1980s. A former professor, performance artist Eleanor Antin, is also an artist at Documenta.
It’s 9pm now and still about 80F. It was reportedly 50C on the South Coast where my friends are vacationing. That’s 120F. Unheard of.
Got a comment from Turkophile that you should all read, concerning the bias of the New York Times. Plus, he (I assume he’s a he) called me Darling and Honey, which I LOVE…
kisses,
Kloe in Heat
3 comments:
Aw, thanks for mentioning me, darling! That's actually very sweet of you! I'll consider mentioning you on my blog.
Oh yes, don't worry, I am a he.
My father's in Turkey right now, doing business, and on the phone he told me how hot it was there, that he felt like he was actually boiling. Meanwhile, back in London, I'm just facing typical English weather, and I have a cold - in July. I would actually love to be in Turkey right now, preferably on the beach, without having to blow into a tissue every five minutes because of an irritating cold. You're so lucky! I miss that warm feel of the sun touching my skin, something I haven't experienced for a very long time...
You should come visit! And just think of all the great food you are missing. Get on a plane, man!
kisses,
Kloe
Hey Kloe!
I've replied to your last comment here.
xxx
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