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“What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!”

Byzantium in Popular Culture

November 23, 2021 - March 13, 2022

Istanbul Research Institute’s exhibition at the Pera Museum, titled “What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!”: Byzantium in Popular Culture, navigated through the eclectic presence of Byzantium in popular culture. Curated by Emir Alışık and with contributions from its advisors—Brigitte Pitarakis, Elif Demirtiken, Felice Lifshitz, Haris Theodorelis-Rigas, Jeremy J. Swist, Marco Fasolio, Roland Betancourt, Sinan Ekim, Vedran Bileta, and Yağmur Karakaya—the exhibition explored multiple and conflicting meanings of Byzantinism and questioned popular culture’s interaction with the Byzantine legacy by scrutinizing a selection of motifs representing Byzantium in various media.

Accompanied by a comprehensive exhibition catalogue, “What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!” borrowed its title from Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu’s novel Panorama I-II (1953–1954), in which the protagonist exclaimed these words out of frustration with postwar Turkish society. Karaosmanoğlu knew precisely what he meant by Byzantinism, referring not only to the social unrest and hostility among the nation’s citizens but also to the superstitions that raged in society at the time as people struggled to explain the chaos around them. The exhibition stripped Karaosmanoğlu’s exclamation of its historical connotations and took it at face value—as a genuine question—while also aiming, among other things, to show that Constantinople/Istanbul was naturally—historically and geographically—Byzantinism’s home turf.

While the academic and archaeological “rediscovery” of Byzantium in the 19th and early 20th centuries had broad repercussions across various artistic expressions such as painting, architecture, drama, music, and literature, the fascination with Byzantium amplified over time and blossomed into new directions. This included unlikely music and literary genres, evolving film-making techniques, textile production, and new narrative forms like graphic novels.

As access to Byzantine heritage in Constantinople gradually intensified, the material sources of inspiration for Byzantinism shifted from Ravenna to Constantinople. The urban framework of Byzantium’s capital and its inhabitants lay at the core of a contemporary, renewed interest in the subject. These popular materials broke through the boundaries of historical re-enactment and fiction, forging new ways to appropriate Byzantine forms, history, and materiality as tools to tell unique and modern stories. Although Byzantine history was sometimes mobilized to incite hostilities through the manipulation of historical facts, the Byzantine legacy was also frequently utilized to reflect on complex sociopolitical issues—both of which were critically represented in “What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!”. By bringing together contemporary novels, metal music, comics and graphic novels, visual arts, video games, movies, and fashion, the exhibition revealed Byzantinism as a far-reaching phenomenon—present even in places where one might least expect to find it.

Click here to listen to the “What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!” podcast!

Image Credits

Max Bedulenko , Streets of Constantinople (2020).
Courtesy of Max Bedulenko.

Jonathan Godoy,The Byzantine Stones, 2007
Fountain pen, with real textures, added digital color and effects
Courtesy of the artist 

Scott EagleThe City of Saints and Madmen, 2001
Acrylic and collage on paper mounted to panel
Courtesy of the artist 

Ozgur Masur, Byzantium’20
Signature Collection

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3D Virtual Tour

Exhibition Catalogue

“What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!”

“What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!”

“What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!”: Byzantium in Popular Culture navigates through the eclectic presence of Byzantium in popular culture. Curated by Emir Alışık, the exhibition explores multiple and conflicting meanings of Byzantinism, and questions popular culture’s interaction with the Byzantine legacy. It scrutinizes a selection of motifs found in visual arts, literature, metal music, comics and graphic novels, video games, movies, and fashion representing Byzantium in popular culture.

“What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!”: Byzantium in Popular Culture Exhibition Tour <br> Emir Alışık

“What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!”: Byzantium in Popular Culture Exhibition Tour
Emir Alışık

Istanbul Research Institute’s exhibition at the Pera Museum called “What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!”: Byzantium in Popular Culture navigates through the eclectic presence of Byzantium in popular culture.

Sailing to Byzantium

Pera Film presents Sailing to Byzantium, an online film program parallel to the exhibitions, From Istanbul to Byzantium and “What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!” at Pera Museum.


Pera Learning

Once Upon a Time in Byzantium

In parallel with the exhibition titled “What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!”: Byzantium in Popular Culture, Pera Museum Learning Programs present “Once Upon a Time in Byzantium”, a series of engaging and informative online workshops and tours suitable for various age groups.

Half-Term Holiday Workshops

Pera Learning is organizing various online workshops for children between the ages of 7 to 12 as part of its Half-Term Holiday Learning Programs. The event will be held using the Zoom Meeting application, following a guided 3D virtual tour of the exhibitions.

Midnight Horror Stories:  The Moon Pool <br> Işın Beril Tetik

Midnight Horror Stories: The Moon Pool
Işın Beril Tetik

About a year ago, Ela was dead for seven minutes. Death had come to her as she was watching her younger brother play gleefully in the sandpit at the park. A sudden flash that washed her world with a burning white light, a merciless roar resembling that of a monster… 

Have you noticed the gigantic photo on the facade of our building?

Have you noticed the gigantic photo on the facade of our building?

Have you noticed the gigantic photo on our façade? Our Cold Front from the Balkans exhibition focuses on different generations of artists and art groups from the Balkan region.

At The Well

At The Well

Tadeusz Ajdukiewicz discovered the Orient in 1877, touring Syria, Egypt, Turkey, and the Crimea with Władysław Branicki. This experience made a profound impression on him, and he was to continuously revisit Eastern themes in his works for the rest of his life.