In Conversation with Artist Doug Russell (Part 2)

For the second half of our interview, I asked Doug about his “Summer in Turkey” class.  Not only did this course have a tremendous influence on my personal life and work as an artist, but it also continues to have a profound affect on each group that joins him in Turkey.

Why did you begin taking students to Turkey?

The main reason I wanted to take students to Turkey was to provide them with the opportunity to travel in another country as I had, and Turkey was the obvious choice since I understood the language and a little bit of the culture, and had familiarity with the country as a whole.  It’s not that the students who go on the trips need to have my experience of Turkey – because that’s impossible, even more so now. But, by taking students for a month and giving them time and space to experience another culture, to travel as a creative person in a foreign space, I hope to also open them up to themselves in a new and exciting way.  And by doing it comfortably underneath the umbrella of a class, so they don’t have to figure it out the hotels, meals, and itinerary themselves, they have space to draw, think, explore, listen, record, write and digest what it is that they are seeing in their own ways — everyone finds something different.  Men and women see things differently in Turkey — as would be obvious.  Everyone has very different experiences and makes different connections.

What do you think surprises them the most about Istanbul as the journey’s final destination?

Every class I take to Istanbul is different.  Some people prefer the rural part of Turkey, the quiet, natural Turkey, and when they get to Istanbul, they freak out.  It’s too big, it’s too complicated, it’s too touristy; its it’s really pressing and difficult for them.

Other students, while enjoying everything else, get to Istanbul, and it makes sense to them.  These are students who enjoy New York and Barcelona and Paris.  They like that energy, the international quality of Istanbul and its connection to Europe.  It is more familiar, whereas rural Turkey or the small villages — Bursa, even — is far more foreign and strange.

What are the places in Istanbul that are most important for your students to see, and why?

I can’t imagine being in Turkey or Istanbul without going to Hagia Sofia.  The students have been consistently overwhelmed by that space, even if it has 100 foot high scaffolding.  A contrast with and complement to that would be the Sultan Ahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque) because they are so close to each other, and they’re also so distant in terms of time that they are almost a call and response architecturally.  So those two things next to each other are pretty incredible.

Another thing would be the Yerebatan Sarayı, because it’s so unexpected. It’s kind of magical, and makes the students understand that there are so many layers to the physical city — that underneath everything they’ve been seeing there’s a whole other world.

Clearly Beyoğlu, Istiklal, Taksim – that whole section is something they need to see, and all the art-related spaces in those neighborhoods, like the SALT galleries, the Pera Museum, and the Istanbul Modern.  I like taking them through that area and showing them the wonderfully European, Parisian influence so that they could see something different from the old city.

What do you find most rewarding about introducing students to Turkey?

The class gives them the opportunity to have a creative experience, but is also something that might open up their minds, hearts and creative souls to something new and different.  I really enjoy taking them into a situation like that; seeing them grow, change and open up as people and as artists – in Turkey and after – has profound meaning in the end.

Everyone does it differently. For some people it becomes immensely transformative, and watching that transformation take place is, overall, the most rewarding thing.  Because we live in Wyoming and are landlocked, that kind of internationalization and travel is immensely important, and I’m truly grateful that my university believes in and supports that idea.

What do you find powerful or significant about drawing on location?

It’s the visceral quality of it.  If you are drawing from a photograph or memory, you have all day…or week…or year.  That infinite time can be good or bad, though it can sometimes lead to procrastination or boredom or overworking.  If you are looking at something in real time, the light is changing, the weather is changing, you’re changing.  There are bugs and people, there’s wind or rain.  It makes every choice more powerful, individual, unique, exciting, frustrating, challenging and scary because it is either going to succeed or fail in that moment.  As opposed to other studio work that can take months, and move through several failures and successes, the drawing done on location is either going to work or not work.

Why should aspiring artists visit Istanbul, or any other foreign destination?

Artists need to be aware of more places and cultures; it makes them and their art better. Istanbul specifically is a fascinating place visually and culturally, and for young artists there is a lot to plug into because of spaces like SALT, Arter, and the Istanbul Modern.

In terms of a complicated and international city, it provides a lot of opportunities for artists to see something that has existed in other places and other times, Paris in the early 20th century probably had some of that craziness, also New York in the 1950s.  This whole scene of youth and culture and pushing the boundaries, it is a fascinating thing to witness and be a part of.

You can read Part 1 of this conversation here. 

To see more of Doug’s work, you can visit his website, russellfineart.com, and follow his blog, russellfineart.wordpress.com