The last time I saw my aunt Connie, she gave me a couple mixing bowls I recognized from my grandma's kitchen. For a long time, these bowls have sat in the china cabinet, only be brought out occasionally as salad bowls. But recently I pulled them out and moved them to the kitchen cabinet with the rest of the mixing bowls and casserole dishes. I'm using them frequently now, and every time I do I feel a connection to my grandma and my aunts - the women in whose kitchens we have all gathered as a family time and time again to gossip, play cards, laugh, console, and always, always eat; the women whose ability to make huge, delicious meals appear seemingly out of nowhere created a space for family bonds to be strengthened, renewed, remembered. Through these bowls, the green one and the bigger yellow one, I imagine myself becoming like my father's sisters and mother, turning my kitchen into a place of laughter, love, life, and of course, food.
In order to combat the doldrums of winter, I've made a pact with some friends to get out on the weekends and partake of something, anything, Istanbul has to offer (which is an astonishing amount) - a museum, a mosque, a cay garden, a new restaurant. Today's outing was to the Rahmi M. Koc (pronounced "Koch") Industrial Museum which is basically a place for Mr. Koc to house all his collectibles - cars, boats, train engines and cars, planes, and even a submarine. Since Mr. Koc is the richest man in Turkey, the collection was impressive if not all that surprising. While it was not the things of industry that drew us there this morning, we found ourselves at the very least amused and glad we took the time to go through the museum. What did, however, draw us there was a distinctly non-industrial exhibit of miniature rooms by Henry Kupjack. For my part, I will admit my skepticism of "dollhouses" as art but I was pleasantly surprised. While I'm still not willing to call it art, I am willing to concede its appeal. "Intricate" and "detailed" do not begin to describe Mr. Kupjack's work. Whatever your feelings, there is no denying the time, skill, and dedication that went into each room (a 1950s diner, a 1970s SoHo artist's loft, to name a couple that I can remember the dates on). I found myself intrigued by the rooms (about 19 in all). These are not just dollhouses. They are complete in every detail - windows look out onto appropriate scenes, rooms flow through doors into other rooms just as complete in detail, doors have molded frames, windows have lace curtains, tables have bowls of "berries". The catch is you don't view these rooms as though you were viewing a dollhouse from every angle. Rather you view them as though through a window. You must bob from side to side to catch glimpses of portraits over fireplaces or the skylight at the top of a staircase. You become a voyeur peeping in on a scene you are not a part of.
Why, might you ask, was a miniaturist being showcased at an industrial museum. Simply put, commission. Mr. Koc is a fan and commissioned Mr. Kupjack to do a miniature of an Ottoman coffeehouse. So there the exhibit is - complete with the requested coffeehouse.
After viewing the miniatures and being quite surprised by them, we continued the search for the best museum cafe in Istanbul. This may be difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain. They have all been quite wonderful and the French cafe at the Koc museum was no exception. And, to top off a great outing, I now know where to get some really good French onion soup.
Rahmi M. Koc Museum - http://www.rmk-museum.org.tr/english/index.html
Henry Kupjack - http://www.rmk-museum.org.tr/sergi-2008/index-eng.html
