“Traveling Turkey” features images captured by Christine Bentley during a recent trip to Istanbul.
Christine Bentley felt somewhat hesitant before taking her recent trip to Turkey.
“The day I arrived, England had just put out a travel warning advisory,” said Bentley, the head of the art department. “Probably every night there I heard demonstrations and tear gas canisters being let off.”
Despite the political unrest, she said that it was a rewarding journey.
“I had such a pleasant experience. It’s a very colorful place,” said Bentley. “Their architecture and art was lovely to experience.”
An opening reception was held Thursday for an exhibit featuring her photography as images captured by Eric Rasheed, who accompanied her on the trip. “Traveling Turkey – An Artist’s Journey: Istanbul and Beyond” will be on display through Sept. 5 in Spiva Art Gallery.
The exhibit features a socio-cultural, research photo journal of architecture, sculpture, paintings, murals and various cultural highlights. It serves to introduce the culture of Istanbul as well as Islamic art and architecture to the campus and community.
Faculty and student artwork is featured alongside the framed and matted digital photographs from the trip to Istanbul, along with textiles, ceramics and books brought back from Turkey.
An art show tied to each fall’s themed semester will become an annual event, said Bentley. Next spring, a member of the art department faculty will take a group of students to Spain, and they will create an exhibit based on their experiences.