A Question of Taste
February 23 - August 8, 2021
was a group exhibition that deals with, a concept whose meaning has shifted since the 19th century, and the intimate relationship this concept has established with today's visual culture as well as its critical role in shaping taste.
The word, which has been used to describe cheap and popular paintings or sketches in post-industrial Germany, gradually transformed into a complex concept that found its place in various languages, untranslated. In this era when diversity, ambiguity, and ineffability are sanctified, can be a tool to carry these values forward? Could thinking about avant-garde and side-by-side rather than in opposition — by looking closely at contemporary art's relations with the collective aspects of mass culture, rather than considering mass culture as unsubstantial, banal and inferior, and trying to explore the ties between them — agitate the existing structure of class society? Is it possible to define taste as something other than an indicator of class?
Taste may still be an indication of class today, but the structure of the mechanisms that feed and strengthen this signal has now become different.
A Question of Taste brought together works of thirteen artists and collectives and focused on the concept of taste as a class indicator; looks at the sense of aesthetics, and its values ascribed to the East and the West. Focusing on the rise of mass culture against high art, it aimed to explore the rich uses of the concept of in dialogue with the artists, and based on the relationship between art and visual culture that has been shaped in the process of transition from material culture to digital culture. It questions the concept of taste, which reinforces the separation of classes within the societal structure, through both objects, and the visual language that has dominated the Internet since the early 90s.
Curated by Ulya Soley, the exhibition featured the artists Alex Da Corte & Jayson Musson, Bruno Miguel, Cameron Askin, FAILE, Farah Al Qasimi, Gülsün Karamustafa, Hayırlı Evlat, Miao Ying, Nick Cave, Olia Lialina & Mike Tyka, Pierre et Gilles, Slavs and Tatars and Volkan Aslan.
| Nick Cave Drive-by, 2011 Video, 10’05’’ © The artist, Jack Shainman Gallery |
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| Farah Al Qasimi It’s Not Easy Being Seen 7, 2016 Archival inkjet print, 120 x 96 cm © The artist, The Third Line |
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| Alex Da Corte In collaboration with Jayson Musson Easternsports, 2014 Soundtrack: Devonté Hynes four-channel video, 146’ Tile, carpet, neon, metal chairs, artificial oranges, diffusers, orange essential oil © The artist, Sadie Coles and Salon94 |
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| Pierre et Gilles Flowers and Tears (Lolly Wish), 2016 Inkjet photograph printed on canvas and painted, 174 x 126 cm © The artist, Galerie Templon |
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| Olia Lialina In collaboration with Mike Tyka *Treasure Trove*, 2017 HTML, JS, GIFs © The artist |
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| Gülsün Karamustafa Watermelon, 1986 Textile, found object, 100 x 143 cm © The artist, Büro Sarıgedik |
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| Volkan Aslan Nice to See You, 2021 Installation with porcelain figures produced by the artist, and Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics Collection © The artist Commissioned for the exhibition A Question of Taste. |
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A Question of Taste The catalogue accompanying the exhibition features the curatorial text of Ulya Soley, which focuses on the concept of taste as a class indicator; looks at the sense of aesthetics, and its values ascribed to the East and the West; the rise of mass culture against high art, exploring the rich uses of the concept of kitsch in dialogue with the artists, and based on the relationship between art and visual culture that has been shaped in the process of transition from material culture to digital culture.
A Question of Taste exhibition brings together works of thirteen artists and collectives and deals with the concept of, and the intimate relationship this concept has established with today's visual culture as well as its critical role in shaping taste.
Pera Museum presents virtual event series “Stage of Plastic Dreams” in collaboration with HYPERCORTEX and with the support of the British Council. Organized in parallel to the A Question of Taste exhibition, the “Stage of Plastic Dreams” event series brings musicians and visual artists together in a virtual event space open to participants.
A Question of Taste deals with kitsch, a concept whose meaning has shifted since the 19th century, and the intimate relationship this concept has established with today's visual culture as well as its critical role in shaping taste.
Pera Museum Learning Programs organizes Different Tastes for Different Folks in parallel to the exhibition A Question of Taste. The program offers different age groups fun and various discoveries through online workshops and tours.
With inspiration from “A Question of Taste” and “Etel Adnan: Impossible Homecoming” exhibitions, Pera Museum Learning Programs hosts art and science workshops, inquiry-based philosophy workshops, and online exhibition tours with material kits to be posted to the addresses of 7-12 aged participants.
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