Friday 7 September 2007

07.09.2007 A couple of weeks later

Continued from 18.08.2007 Final touches - job done

Friday 07 September 2007 - The main pedestrian street in central Istanbul, Istiklal Caddesi and some of the Istanbul Cow Parade exhibits on public display...
The fibre glass cows are intended for charity auction in November, yet they are being damaged through general public wear and tear. You can see below the outer paint surface of the dark blue cow has apparently been chipped away below...
Another the cow has been scribbled on leaving felt tip pen graffiti...
Here is another with most of the cartoon left one side...
...yet severely worn away on the side. Of course, when you have kids sitting on the cows damage is probably going to occur. There appears to be a lack of awareness by many who touch the artworks - that they are art works at all; rather they are playground objects to be played with. One wonders if the same damage is occurring in other international cities? We hope the Tepe Nautilus cows maintain a better condition.
There is certainly seems to be a lack of understanding or appreciation for the aesthetic among some members of the Turkish public. However, I was later told cows in other cities in other countires were even more badly treated.

Monday 10 September 2007 - Met Ayse Zorlu and Sima Gandur from the Istanbul Cow Parade organisation at Tepe Nautilus. They looked at our 3 cows and we discussed future plans to promote the Tepe Nautilus contribution.

Go to 24.11.2007 Istanbul Cow Parade Auction at ICEC