By Heidi Trautmann
Do you know Krakow? Throughout centuries
Krakow has been one of the most important cities in this part of Europe,
together with Vienna, Prague, or Budapest. The Krakow we know is a royal city,
for many years the capital of Poland, the venue of the oldest Polish
university, a city of scholars, artists and poets. Although considerably
extended, its inhabitants and visitors still view Krakow as an intimate old
town with traditions dating back to the Middle Ages.
Here our artist Inci Kansu participated in
the 19th Jubilee International Congress of Aesthetics - ‘Aesthetics in Action’.
IAA – International Association For
Aesthetics – was established in Berlin in 1913. The International Congress of
Aesthetics is held every three years under the auspices of the Association and
is the principal event in aesthetics worlwide. This was a Jubilee Congress,
celebrating the 100th year and was organised by the Polish Society of
Aesthetics and International Association for Aesthetics. The host was the Jagiellonian
University founded in 1364 and celebrating its 650th anniversary. It is the
oldest and currently the best Polish University. Honorary Patronages: The Mayor
of Krakow, the Minister of Science and Higher Education, The Ministry of
Culture and National Heritage and other sponsors supported this activity.
450 scholars and artists from universities
all over the world attended this Congress. A great chance to exchange ideas and
compare perspectives.
Inci Kansu shared her impressions with me: “We
were made very welcome and had a whole week of interesting lectures. I have
been a member of this association for a long time but have not participated in
their activities very often. My first paper for the association was ‘Aesthetics
of the Colour Red’ at the 17th Congress in
2007 which was held in Ankara at the Middle East Technical University. At this
Congress in Krakow, under the general title and topic of “Aesthetics and Human
Conflict” and “Aesthetics and Nature” I gave a paper entitled ‘Desiring Scarlet
Copper Mine in Cyprus’. It is the story of a ‘Landscape Stripped of its Beauty,
Naturality, Naturalness’. I started my
speech with the song by Kamuran Aziz “Is Cyprus just an island or a place in Heaven?” which put the audience in
good humour. To accompany my speech I presented slides taken by Ersin Taser
which showed the sad story of the region abandoned since CMC (Cyprus Mining
Company) and some by Atila Karaderi showing the beautiful Lefka area. Some of
my ‘Cuprum’ works were shown throughout the duration of the Congress.”
“Other events accompanying the congress were
very impressive: guided tours to the Museum of Contemporary Art MOCAK, National
Museum of Krakow, Gallery of Contemporary Art, Manggha Center of Japanese Art
and Technology and a fabulous reception by Mayor of the City of Krakow and so
many more interesting events. True Polish hospitality.”
Thank you, Inci, for bringing home such impressive
images of a beautiful place in that part of Europe; it wets my appetite for going there myself.