Arthur Golyakov in conversation with Bora Akinciturk

Interview
February 24, 2024

‘THE ARTIST’
Bora Akinciturk and Arthur Golyakov:

An instagram chat about being an artist and some other things…

Artists talk about some of the struggles of being an artist, making money and work,the weather, religion, tiktok, etc

Arthur: How should we organise the conversation?

Bora: We can just do it now here
And use screenshots of the dialogue

A: Let’s give it a try

B: So what was this conversation supposed to be about

A: I think we can talk about painting and image
An image in the broadest sense

B: Its been weirdly pretty consistent for me lately with my painting production
I’ve been treating it like a twitter feed or something.. i enjoy some kind Of anonymity it brings but it’s also chaotic

A: I think I know what you mean. I can’t really call myself a painter 😅 I envy your approach in that regard.
Style is something I always want to get rid of

B: I kinda wanna do this tomorrow when I’m more energetic

A: Let’s try it tomorrow
I think we have time left
Even though it was a planned conversation, it still caught me off guard

………………………….

A: Shall we continue the conversation?

B: Yeah I will be at the studio in like 1-2 hours

A: Hey

B: Should we start from the beginning or just keep going
It’s hard to talk about the show you made with your collaborator

A: I think we can just continue

B: Cool
Maybe we should just ask each other questions

A: I’m just used to this kind of work. Sometimes I don’t understand where the boundaries of this approach are

B: Thats good

A: You can start)

B: I think i meant in the sense that someone has to own the artwork
And the other side is purely the viewer
Seeing it for the first time
Myb not the first time but you know what i mean
Like one side always has a different position compared to the other side who creates the piece

A: Yes, I know what you mean. The view and questions from the outside

B: Ok so my question is: is it snowing there right now?

A: There’s a lot of snow here and it’s damn cold

B: How much does living in russia affect your work, i know it’s a boring question but i think t’s somewhat important

A: The view from my window

B: Thats a lot of snow

A: It’s not always and everywhere winter in Russia. I’ve lived most of my life in Krasnodar, where the climate is more like the Turkish climate

B: Being an artist in Istanbul is difficult because there is no money no government funding etc.
Like most places..

A: All the money is concentrated in Moscow. In my opinion, the art market in Russia is not formed. It started to develop actively in the 90s.
You can get some money here too. It can be sales in galleries, grants or support from foundations. Some of my artist friends support themselves entirely with their art.
I’m more interested in things that are difficult or even impossible to make money from. A cereal box with my name on it is hardly something that many people here want.

B: Yeah thats interesting
I think it’s important to make money with art but it also still only solves a small part of the problem

A: I agree with you. Of course it’s good to get paid for something you enjoy doing. Unfortunately it’s not always possible

B: I guess being an artist is one of the most inconsistent forms of job a human can have
Like to keep making money with art is so difficult
Unless you’re really famous

A: Yes. I also think that today an artist can get paid not for their art, but for some side work

B: Or you have to be extremely driven and ambitious that you somehow get all the grants and make studio sales and have gallery shows 6 times a year..
I also think it kills some of the motivation and enthusiasmI mean, you might not like it if someone says that food is not an art. Then you can just start cooking at the show. All artists push the boundaries of art to some degree or another

A: We know the names of those who won the lottery, but we don’t know those who were left out. I think it’s much more complicated today. It’s important to develop a comfortable approach for yourself where you can continue to make art and pay your rent
I like dealing with art. Not only as an artist, but also as a curator

B: Yeah
I think I like to just be an artist

A: Sure

B: I don’t like that it comes back to money all the time but i feel like the older i got that part became more visible
Anyway lets skip this bit.. we know being an artist is hard and making money is difficult

A: To me, the main point is that, unlike the exact sciences, we all have the ability to ignore the rules or not know something.

B: How do you ignore the rules?

B: Maybe it’s ok to think that sometimes.. its good to have your ideas challenged and changed

A: Sure
I have always been interested in what principle do you use to collect images in one work? Perhaps this is too boring a question

B: No its good
I think of what i want to make as a general idea.. for example for our show i had the general idea to make text paintings
I think that general idea somehow cooks itself throughout the deadline
And takes a more of a finalised form once you have no time left
Image collection on the other hand is kind of continuous
Sometimes i’m watching something on my laptop and pause and take a screenshot
Or take a shitty photo of the tv screen
Or random photos with my phone

A: I think that’s the lot of modern man. Collecting images and storing them for years

B: Yeah i hate it also
I have this growing urge to just make paintings, no references nothing

A: I have 5053 screenshots in my phone right now. Most of them will never be needed
Maybe it’s worth going back to painting landscapes or still lifes?

B: I always wanted to make abstract paintings
But it’s so difficult to make a good one

A: Do you mean abstraction without any objects and recognizable images? It’s just that today, when people see something incomprehensible, they often call it «abstraction»

B: Hmm not sure what level of abstraction i meant but at least no figures

A: I got it

B: People love the inverted easel btw

A: Don’t you feel like images have taken over us and our daily lives?

B: Images have always been the focus of my life i think

A: I’m told it looks like the apostle Peter’s cross turned upside down. Peter asked to be crucified upside down because he thought it was unworthy of repeating Christ’s death. The upside down easel is like an artist’s doubt.

B: I don’t know much about religion in general. I think I should read more
Did you read the bible?
I read the quran a little bit when i was in middle school

A: Yes.
I’ve heard this story before, but I forgot about it. At the opening of the show, I was reminded of this

B: But I thought it was boring..
i was too young maybe
Did you like it?

A: I’d say yes.. Some chapters are very boring, but overall it’s interesting

B: Yeah I should definitely read them properly
What did you find most interesting

A: I like the first chapters of Genesis and their interpretations.

Back to the image. I would recommend Godard’s recent films to you

B: Which film in particular

A: Film-Socialisme
Le livre d’image
Adieu au Langage

B: I think i only watched Alphaville
And like in the early 2000s
When i was pretty high so dont even remember that much

A: His later films are attractive in their own way. He didn’t like the Internet, but sometimes it seems like he anticipated tiktok

B: Do you have a tiktok?

A: No. It was on my device for less than 24 hours

B: I had it for a while but haven’t posted anything on it for more than a year
Couple months ago i made a stupid little loop video
The interface is intimidating
there are so many options and ways to make stuff
I can’t get into it tho

A: I used to scroll through my entire Instagram feed. Now I just don’t have the energy to do that. I think a lot of people are tired of the current social media format. How do you feel about that?

B: Im waiting for the new social media

A: Here tiktok is often used by my parents’ generation

B: Take a little pill one day and you wake up in some sort of simulation or something

A: Is there a difference in preferences in Istanbul and London?
I’m talking about social media

B: Twitter had it
Like changing countries and the trends would change but not sure about the feed

A: Another screenshot in my collection

B: This is one from mine
But I realised most of my screenshots are texts
I wish this was my bed
Should we keep talking or do you think this will be enough
Im down to keep at it but also can stop

A: I could probably try some more tomorrow. Are you thinking of using the whole conversation? Or maybe individual parts of it?

B: I dont like the part where i whine about money and the poor unfortunate artist

A: I think it has to do with our show. But I don’t mind if we take it out.

(Bellow)

Exhibition title: the Artist
Dates: December 23, 2023 — January 18, 2024
Artists: Bora Akinciturk & Arthur Golyakov
Venue: másla lissé, Moscow
Photography: Slava Nesterov