Murat Germen

Has a BS degree in city planning from Technical University of Istanbul and an MArch degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he went as a Fulbright scholar and received AIA Henry Adams Gold Medal for academic excellence. Works as a professor of photography and multimedia design at Sabanci University in Istanbul.

Previously worked for various state and private universities such as Bilkent, Yeditepe, Istanbul Technical, Yildiz and Bilgi University; teaching various topics. Has submitted work for distinguished publishers / organizations such as; Istanbul Modern Museum of Art, Young&Rubicam / Reklamevi, Link McCann Erickson, The Designory, Norman Foster&Partners, Medina&Turgul DDB Advertising Agency, Aga Khan Architectural Awards in Geneva, Siemens, Koc Holding, Yapi Kredi Culture and Art Publishers, Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, Economic & Social History Foundation of Turkey, etc.

Having many articles / photo series published on architecture / photography / art / digital design at various magazines and books; he has been invited to several seminars, symposia and conferences like SIGGRAPH, Mutamorphosis, CAC2, EVA-London’08, eCAADe, ASCAAD to lecture on pertinent topics. Has opened over thirty national / international (Turkey, USA, Italy, UK, Mexico, Uzbekistan, Greece, Japan) exhibitions. Has received national / international awards (like second place award in 2007 and honorable mentions in IPA years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, Px3 2007 and IVRPA 2007) for work on photography, design and architecture. Has been invited as jury member for eminent national photography competitions.

Statement

Photography is an opportunity for me to find things people ignore and bring them forward to make people reconsider their ideas. I am not interested in extraordinary things since they are always covered and receive more attention due to mankind's unending interest in celebrities, fame, sensation... This is why I try to concentrate more on ordinary things and catch possible latent extraordinariness in regularity. It is easy to take ordinary photos of extraordinary things but more challenging to take extraordinary photos of ordinary things. It is possible to say I tend to concentrate on extracting beauty out of ordinary. The key in doing this is reflecting the inner world with a genuine, idiosyncratic way: “Do not follow the suggested agenda, do your own thing...”

Solo Exhibitions

2007
“Iskenderun Steel Factory (ISDEMIR) 37th year commemoration photography exhibit” - Iskenderun, Turkey.

2006
“Iskenderun Steel Factory (ISDEMIR) 36th year commemoration photography exhibit” - Iskenderun, Turkey.

2006
“Trilogy: Kid, Staircase, Train” - Istanbul Photography Center, Istanbul, Turkey.

2006
“Beyoglu Quo Vadis: 1870s to 2050s” - Societa Operaia Italiana, Istanbul, Turkey.

2005
“Inside the Arsenal Shipyard” – Golden Horn Shipyard walls, Istanbul, Turkey.

2005
“In Search of the Genius Loci of Galata” - Istanbul Design Week, Istanbul, Turkey.

2005
“Industry as Icon: Industrial Aesthetics” - Garanti Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey.

2005
“The 'Real' Authentic: Yemen” - Galata Photography House, Istanbul, Turkey.

2004
“Iskenderun Steel Factory (ISDEMIR) 34th year commemoration photography exhibit” - Iskenderun, Turkey.

2003
“Istanbul: Crossroads of Religious Architecture” - O.Malley Library, Manhattan College, New York, USA.

2000
“Beyoglu: Beyond the Walls: Insights from the Grand Avenue” - Sermet Cifter Gallery, Yapi Kredi Culture & Arts, Istanbul, Turkey.

2000
“41 Photos from 101 Buildings” - Sermet Cifter Gallery, Yapi Kredi Culture & Arts, Istanbul, Turkey.

2000
“Istanbul: Crossroads of Religious Architecture” - Rhode Island School of Design, USA.

1999
“Istanbul: Crossroads of Religious Architecture” - Wolk Gallery, Cambridge, Boston, USA.

Group Exhibitions

2008
“Selected Works: Untitled, Brid6e / Vicious Circle, Reconstruct #02, Kanyon #03” – Group exhibition, Museum of Modern Art, Toluca City, Mexico City, Mexico. Computer Art Congress 2008 (CAC2) “Emerging Forms of Computer Art: Making the Digital Sense”

2008
“Industry as Icon series #02” – Art of Photography Show 2008, works selected by Carol McCusker, show curated by Steven Churchill and exhibited at the Lyceum Theatre Gallery, San Diego, USA

2007
“Brid6e / Photographers in Galata” – Concept Exhibit, curator: Engin Ozendes, invited photographers: Merih Akogul, Cemal Emden, Ahmet Elhan, Orhan Cem Cetin, Murat Germen, Omer Orhun. Istanbul Modern, Istanbul, Turkey.

2007
“Construct” – Joint photography project with Nazli Sanberk, French Cultural Institute, Istanbul, Turkey.

2007
“Virtual Architecture; Reconstructing Architecture through Photography” - Siggraph 2007 Art Gallery, San Diego, USA.

2007
“This planet” web-art project (http://www.this-planet.net).

2007
“IVRPA Panoramic Photography Contest 2007” - Berkeley, USA.

2007
“My Land, My Body” - Orient Express Season, Arcola Theatre London, UK.

2007
“Caravansarai Project / A Space Within Space” - Istanbul (Karsi Sanat), Tashkent Festival (House of Photography, Academy of Arts), Tbilisi (State Museum of Arts), Thessaloniki (Biennale of Contemporary Art).

2006
Caroun Photo Club (CPC) First Annual Photography Exhibition, Tehran, Iran.

2006
“Notre Dame de Sion Performance Hall” Concept Exhibit - Invited photographers: Bennu Gerede, Murat Germen, Izzet Keribar, Yalcin Savuran; Istanbul, Turkey.

2006
“Reading the Space as an Entity, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele” - Siggraph 2006 Art Gallery, Boston, USA.

2006
“Cellular Paranoia” - Canakkale 4th Photography Festival, Canakkale, Turkey.

2006
“Kanyon / Under Construction” Concept Exhibit - Invited photographers: Bennu Gerede, Koray Erkaya, Lal Dedeoglu, Merih Akogul, Murat Germen, Oliviero Olivieri, Sitki Kosemen, Tamer Yilmaz; Istanbul, Turkey.

2005
“Let Me Honestly Tell You... / Industrial Architecture” (screened video work) - Beyond Media, International New Media and Architecture Festival, Florence, Italy.

2005
Fotom.net Collection exhibit – Photography Foundation & Galata Photography House, Istanbul, Turkey.

2005
“Reading the City as an Entity” – “Istanbul Fragmented” conference, Istanbul, Turkey.

2005
“Through the Masters’ Eyes" – ‘Fotograf’ magazine 10. year activities, Istiklal Avenue shopwindows, Istanbul, Turkey.

2005
“Orsey Tinger: Rejected” - Joint photography project with Orhan Cem Cetin; Photography Foundation, Istanbul, Turkey and Near East University’s 4th International Photography Days, Lefkose, Cyprus.

2005
“Making of Istanbul Modern” Concept Exhibit - Invited photographers: Manuel Citak, Ahmet Elhan, Murat Germen, Ara Guler. Istanbul Modern, Istanbul, Turkey.

2004
“We are selling our photographs” Donation campaign exhibit - Photography Foundation, Istanbul, Turkey.

2004
“Istanbul Semahi” - Joint photography project with Ekmel Ertan; Vakifbank Atakule Gallery, Ankara, Turkey and Diyarbakir Art Center, Diyarbakir, Turkey.

2004
“Second I” - 1000a Architecture Center, Istanbul, Turkey.

2003
“The City Called Istanbul: 50 Outstanding Names of Contemporary Turkish Photography” - Decatur House Gallery, Washington, USA.

2003
“Alice in Whirlingland (Istanbul 360 degrees)” - Joint photography project with Ekmel Ertan, Marmara-Manhattan Gallery, New York, USA.

2003
“Architecture and Art” – World Architecture day commemoration exhibit, Istanbul Technical University Taskisla Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey.

1996
“Istanbul – The city where faiths meet; All together and side by side” - Invited photographers: Ani Celik Arevyan, Orhan Cem Cetin, Manuel Citak, Kamil Firat, Murat Germen, Ara Guler; Milli Reasurans Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey.