Thursday, January 31, 2008

Ohh Face

This one is also seen in the Cihangir District, mainly around Yeni Yuva Sokak. It seems to represent a man's face, with a mustache and nice hair. Its size is about 30x20 cm. I like the fact that there of different colors.

This one was next to the Irem Cagil you can see in the previous post.





















Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Irem Cagil

Ok, this one is interesting because we know the author. It's a girl ! Her name is Irem Cagil (pronounce e-ram Tcha ull, kinda). There are many of hers all around in Cihangir. The older ones had a bird on top. You can visit Irem's Web page here and you'll see more of her art work. She used to be an architect and apparently decided to drop out of it.

Anahtar Sokak :












Akarsu Yokusu :









Yadigar Sokak :












Defterdar Yokusu :












Yeni Yuva Sokak :









Yeni Yuva Sokak :




with another one next to it, soon in a new post.



Corner of Susam & Günesli Sokak :




with 3 others (soon in new posts) and the electrical sign on the sign.






Simcir Sokak :












Altin Bilezik Sokak :









Altin Bilezik Sokak :









Akarsu Yokusu :









Turnaci Basi Sokak :









Turnaci Basi Sokak :









Mebusan Yokusu :









Mebusan Yokusu :









Irem Cagil has been bukaked !






Bir Markadir :
is a brand.




























Aga Ciragi Sokak :









Tüfekçi Salih Sokak :




with two aum stencils.




Kazanci Yokusu :

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Frog

I found this small frog in Cihangir on this gas box in 'Tüfekçi Salik Sokak'. Those boxes are often a support to street arts, whether it is a stencil or a drawing or a writing. This frog's size is about 12x12 cm.









Monday, January 28, 2008

.357 Magnum

Here is a gun found in the lower Cihangir district, above the Tophane (by the stairs at the end of 'Tüfekçi Salih Sokak'). It looks like a .357 Magnum Colt with 4 mm barrels but it might be something else since I have no knowledge whatsoever with firearms. If anyone knows feel free to post a comment. Its size is approximately 15x10 cm.









Sunday, January 27, 2008

Public Smoking Area

This was found in the Alçakdam Yokusu, same street where the kittens are. Its size as about 40x50 cm. Smoke responsively.












Saturday, January 26, 2008

Ashtray

This one represent an ashtray in a napkin. When you go to a restaurant here, you might see this presentation. Found in Oba Sokak in the Cihangir district, its size is approximately 15x15 cm. Maybe made by an anonymous waiter. If you want to learn more about folding napkins you can go here.









Friday, January 25, 2008

The Kid

This one was found in Cihangir, right at the corner of 'Akyol Yokusu' and 'Baskurt sokagi'. It's not a big one, about 30x10 cm.
It looks like a kid in his PJ's with flowers on the ground, tulips actually.






















The white stain you see on the right is actually a stencil attempt. It's supposed to look like an angel or something like that. Bu this guy is very bad at it because whenever I see his 'angel' somewhere on a wall, it's like that. The paint pours down the wall. He has to find a better paint spray ;)

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Cry

'Ağla' means 'cry' coming from the verb 'ağlamak' (crying). So I'm guessing that the person who did this one was pretty sad. The electrical resistance schematic sign you see on it was added later by a person who draws this everywhere in the Cihangir Neighborhood. I'll probably post some of his (her) stuff later.
This little crying man's size is approximately 50x30 cm and was found in the stairs of the Cihangir district in Somuncu Sokak, at the level of Pürtelas Sokak.













Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Kunst Ineği

If I remember correctly, 'Kunst' means 'Art' in German; 'inek' meaning 'cow' in Turkish. So it would mean 'the cow art'. It was found in the stairs of the Findikli district in Hardal Sokak (mustard street).












Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Pink Wall

And here is that famous pink wall I've been telling you about those past ten days. It's at the corner of 'Turnaci Basi sokak' and 'Faik Pasa Caddesi'.
The last stencil (see previous post) was added right above the 'osman' one, at the top right of the wall.

Neva

Last and least, this one was added this week. Its meaning is unclear, its quality is very poor. So let's try to see what it could mean. 'Tek Yol' means 'the only way'. 'Neva means a lot of things.
It's a girl's name meaning harmony, melody, sound, tune, but not very common. It is the name of book. It is a river in St Petersburg, Russia. It is a Turkish Tourism Company. It used to be a bar in Taksim, Istanbul.
So I leave you the choice of what it really means : 'The only way is Neva'.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Çikita Muz

Çikita Muz (pronounce Chikita Moose, 'Çikita' being a brand, 'Muz' meaning 'banana'). Know elsewhere as Chiquita, this was the first banana brand imported to Turkey under the presidency of Turgut Özal. Before the 80's, banana was an expensive fruit only bought for the New Year (like oranges in France during the 50's I guess). So this new, bigger, cheaper banana was a big change for the people.
But here, it is another matter. Çikita Muz is the name of a song sang by the worst singer ever : Ajdar. The guy is not really a singer but he think he is and managed to record a song. This stencil is made from a still picture taken out from his music video clip. I wanted to send you the link to the youtube video (maybe here) but youtube is currently closed in Turkey (by a Turkish court) because of clips allegedly insulting the country's founding father : Atatürk. I found another link to this video clip right here. Everybody here thinks that the guy is a joke so that's probably why someone made a stencil out of it.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

6:45

This one is intriguing. I didn't really know what it was at first because of what's written on it. In small characters, it says : 'For those who like dangerous games'. In big characters it says 'SIXFORTYFIVE'. And I've already seen other stencils with the mention 645 in number but still, no clue of what it is. But after a short research over the Internet I found out that it was an independent books editing house. I still don't know why they used this sentence because it is not the name of a book. It is more likely that it is kind of a motto. I've read another one on their web page : 'It's a trip of the losers' club'. Intriguing, interesting and weird.
Its size is approximately 35x22 cm.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Alien History

I don't really know what it is. It looks like a reproduction of an historical painting (or else). but I'm not really sure. I could not find anyone who could help me about this one. Some of the guys look like aliens but I really doubt that it is the case. If anyone know feel free to comment on his one. It was made on top of the 'b to b' stencil. Its size is about 30x20 cm.

Friday, January 18, 2008

b to b

What is b to b ? It's a music DJ playing mostly at the Dogzstar, a bar/club in Taksim (here). His name is Burak and his nickname his Burax = B to B. He created a record company called Vinyl Culture Records with three other LP lovers and has become a respected DJ in the underground arena in Istanbul.









I belive this one is also related to the 'O Yeah' stencil. It might be the same guy doing both. Because they're often seen together, it is the same font.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

MecZup

Today we're still going on with our pink wall with an interesting word or should I say an interesting definition. Meczup would mean actually 'crazy' or deranged' but it is more used to described the state of mind that Sufi Dervishes reach when they get completely carried away by a mystical experience and try to reach religious ecstasy (one of the known method is the whirling dance).

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Kreş

Kreş (pronounce Créche) meaning kindergarten is a Turkish rock band who had their first album (Zaman Yok : No Time) released in 2007. You can visit their MySpace page right here (Turksih). The band is composed of three friends playing together for a while now but with another band name (Popcorn). They change their name to Kreş when they started to be successful in 2006 and chose this one because kindergarten is the only school where you can use your imagination without limits.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Malcolm X

This one is on the same pink wall but further from the other ones, it is a representation of the American Black Muslim minister Malcolm X. Its size is about 35x30 cm. You can spot this one all around in the neighborhood.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Osman Quarter

All I can say is that this Osman is a productive and working man, that's the fourth stencils of him on this wall as far as I know. This one is an inverted stencil of about 5x15 cm.