Who Am I?

Today we went to Istanbul Modern and took a boat tour on the Bosphorus, which don't sound like related activities, but actually facilitate the same sort of discussion. The art displayed in the museum expresses all sorts of things, but common to much of it was the question of identity- Turkish artists are asking "Who am I? What is Turkey? Where do we fit?" And being on the Bosphorus puts you quite literally in between two massive forces, Europe and Asia, causing you to ask yet again where Turkey fits.
The country seems to be at a crossroads in so many ways- geographically, culturally, linguistically, politically, artistically. The progression of modern art alone shows this. The earlier paintings were very European; obviously the artists had studied in France or somewhere similar and strived to copy the same sort of style. As you move through the museum the pieces change. The artists begin questioning the classical styles they had learned from the Europeans and started deconstructing. Some of the pieces were an outright, straighforward question of "what is Turkey?" Others were a little more subtle, but had the same feeling of inquiry or uncertainty.



It all leaves me wondering how any group of people ever get together and manage to form a working, cohesive state. People are so varied, so changeable, so prone to identity crises, that I no longer have any idea how state-building happens. Ataturk, the self-proclaimed Father of the Turks and architect of the Turkish state, must have had one hell of a time bringing millions of very different people together to form a country out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire. No wonder he died of cirrhosis at such a young age- I would be a heavy drinker too if I had taken on his responsibility.



Perceived identity crisis aside, I do believe in the viability of Turkey as a state. Some have stated their doubts in the past, but being here only proves that Turkey isn't going anywhere and is absolutely a cultural force to contend with. It's just happening in a way that no one else has experienced before.