A Dictionary of Sensitive Sounds/Hassas Sesler Sözlüğü
A Dictionary of Sensitive Sounds: A polyphonic, multiform, participatory art project that traces the subjective, social and cultural layers of sound, carried out collaboratively by Elif Öner and Evrim Kavcar since February 2019.
“Within our artistic practice, but outside of language, somewhere without any words. In an effort to designate with words that whi ch cannot be spoken, in pursuit of the layers of sound. Sensitive descriptions of sounds, in-between sounds, sounds that we en counter in our daily life, sounds that we point at with words yet the sounds that resist being worded. Not sounds that overpower, but the sounds that escape our attention. Sounds that belong to different bodies. Animals, plants, microcosms within and outside of us… Not the sounds that are imposed on us, but the sounds that we pay no attention to. A sound transports us to different experiences, different times and places. That is because we have a problem with linearity. We have trouble listening to one another. We don’t want to call it pitter patter and brush it off. We don’t want to generalize. We are on the side of the sensitive. As sounds accumulate, a fraction of the collective memory becomes apparent. Both similarities and differences are revealed. Does a dictionary present opportunities to listen to them? Can it invigorate both the memory and the relationship with the present? Description as a form of art, description as an expression of witnessing. Sound is both a supply and an emotional state. Sound is both itself and its own metaphor. It is the trace of the untamed within a tame practice of life. The sound heard inside the mind, that sound… Is the sound I hear the same as the one they do?”
The entries that constitute A Dictionary of Sensitive Sounds are compiled from the 20 in-person and online interviews held with guest speakers from varying fields of expertise, as part of the “Dear Reader” series
Elif Öner, Evrim Kavcar, November 28, 2020, Daire Sanat / Çevrimiçi. Nevzat Kaya/German and Comparative Literature Scholar, November 28, 2020, Daire Sanat / Çevrimiçi. Dr. Özkan Kaan Karadağ /Public&Occupational Health and Public Administration Specialist , April 25, 2019, Pasaj Istanbul. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayşe Devrim Başterzi/Psychiatrist-Psychotherapist, December 5, 2019, Kasa Gallery. Kerem Dündar, M.D. Specialist/Neuroscientist, December 11, 2019, Kasa Gallery. Tolga Tüzün/Composer-Sound Designer, April 19, 2019, Pasaj Istanbul. Nermin Saybaşılı/Art Historian, December 25, 2019, Kasa Gallery. Erdoğan Özmen/Psychiatrist, December 25, 2019, Kasa Gallery. Vahit Tuna/Artist, December 13, 2019, Kasa Gallery. Alper Maral/Composer-Musicologist, December 13, 2019, Kasa Gallery. Eda Sezgin/Editor-Author, April 26, 2019, Pasaj Istanbul. Murat Uyurkulak/Author, December 11, 2019, Kasa Gallery. Gayem Köprücü/Speech-Language Pathologist, April 20, 2019, Pasaj Istanbul. Selçuk Artut/Artist, December 5, 2019, Kasa Gallery. Cevdet Erek/Sound Maker-Artist-Academician, December 5, 2019, Kasa Gallery. Süleyman Polat/Noise Control and Occupational Safety Specialist, May 2, 2019, Pasaj Istanbul/Çevrimiçi. Dr. Gülin Güneri, M.D./Clinical Psychologist, April 19, 2019, Pasaj Istanbul. Sinan Bökesoy/Composer, May 3, 2019, Prinkipo Island (the Princes’ Islands) Zeynep Sayın /Image Theorist, December 13, 2019, Kasa Gallery. İlker Küçükparlak /Psychiatrist, November 21, 2020, “The Moods of Sounds”, Daire Sanat / Çevrimiçi. Oğuz Öner/Sound Researcher-Sound Designer, December 13, 2019, Kasa Gallery.
We must acknowledge the dedication and support of the people
who made possible.
Thank you:
For your contribution to “Dictionary of Sensitive Sounds” with your own descriptions.
Your participation has been invaluable: Abdulcelil İmir, A. Ali Salah, Alihan Ceyhan, Almıla A. Salah, Alp İşmen, Aslı Örnek, Aylin Seçkin, Aynur Ayas, Ayris Alptekin, Ayşe Gür, Ayşe Tümerkan, Banu Kovulmaz, Banu Taylan, Barışcan Avcı, Başak Kaptan Şiray, Baver Doğanay, Berivan T. Yıldırım, Burcu Kiriş, Buse Ezgi Er, Cemal Karakuş, Cihan Bilgiç, C. Can Yıldırım, Çağrı Saray, Çağrı Uslu, Deniz Memişoğlu, Derya Bayraktaroğlu, Derya Güngörmez, D. Furkan Kavcar, Didem Özbek, Dilan Akan, Dilde Mahalli, Dilek Kavcar, Ebru Ünal, E. Nur Akman, Eda Berkmen, Eda Emirdağ, Eda Sezgin, Eda Yıldız, Egemen Tuncer, Elçin Acun, Elif Taşçıoğlu, Emek Demirtaş, Emre Koyuncuoğlu, Ertan Alkan, Ezgi Özşahin, Ezgi Sönmez, Fehmi Öztürk, Gizem Aksu, G. Nurdan Özer, Gizem Ünlü, Gökçe Hiçyılmaz, Gözde Mualla, Gülan Kılıçgedik, Gülen Eren, Gülistan Gündoğan, Gülnihal Kalfa, Gülsün Metin, Hacer Kıroğlu, Hale Can, Halil Yalman, Hıdır Eligüzel, Hicret Ayaz İpek, H.Özlem Öner Tanaç, Işıl Şipal, İbrahim Alam, İlke Yılmaz, İpek Şenel, İpek Yeğinsu, İrfan Unutmaz, Kıymet Daştan, Kutlu Gürelli, Melda Şengün, Melike Bayık, Melike Koçak, Melike Özkarakahya, Meltem Sırtıkara, Merve Akar Akgün, Merve Basvari, Merve Karakaya, Merve Kılıçer, Murat Onur Öner, Müyesser Özçiftçi, Nalan Yırtmaç, Nazlı Yayla, Necdet Kavcar, Necla Unutmaz, Nejbir Erkol, Nergis Abıyeva, Nermin Saybaşılı, Neşe Baydar, Neşe Karasipahi, Nofe Ay, Oğulcan Yıldırım, Oğuz Öner, Ömer Tavşanoğlu, Özge Enginöz, Özgül Kahraman, Özgür Çimen, Ramazan Ertuğrul, Raziye Kubat, Rumeysa Kiger, Sedef Kermen, Selin Özçiftçi, Selin Söl, Senta Urgan, Serap Dakak, Sevda Köken, Sevda Pınar Yıldız, Sevgi Aka, Sevinç Alçiçek, Seyfettin Tokmak, Sibel Gökçen, Simay Baran, Sinem Ayata, Suna Yavaş, Sunay Başakçı, Süreyya Çakır, Taner Yücel, Tuğba T. Birincioğlu, Ulufer Çelik, Uras Kızıl, U. Kemal Durmaçalış, Ülfet Eker, Yavuz Gözeller, Zarife Bitim, Zeynep Adak, Zeynep Aktaş, Zeynep Ekşioğlu, Zeynep Karagöz, Zeynep P. Ekşioğlu, Zöhre Erdoğan, Zülal Güler, Züleyha Altıntaş and other contributors who want to stay anonymous.
For providing a platform that enabled “Dictionary of Sensitive Sounds” to develop physically and intellectually and for supporting us: Zeynep Okyay and Elif Bursalı at PASAJ Independent Art Space, Derya Yücel, Sabancı University KASA Gallery, Selin Söl and Selin Özçiftçi at Daire Sanat;
For providing technical support, cooperation and guidance they provided for the essential for our project’s physical and online presence: Atakan Aydın / Tırışka PropDesign Studio, Murat Onur Öner, Oruç Coşkun, Osman Bozkurt, Özgür Öner, Nadin Akıncı, Neslinur Akgün, Remzi Devecioğlu, Vincent Rozenberg, Yasemin Nur
For their participation in “Dictionary of Sensitive Sounds” and deepening the project with their knowledge and point of view, the guest speakers of the “Dear Reader” series: Alper Maral, Ayşe Devrim Başterzi, Cevdet Erek, Eda Sezgin, Erdoğan Özmen, Gayem Köprücü, Gülin Güneri, İlker Küçükparlak, Kerem Dündar, Murat Uyurkulak, Nermin Saybaşılı, Nevzat Kaya, Oğuz Öner, Özkan Kaan Karadağ, Selçuk Artut, Sinan Bökesoy, Süleyman Polat, Tolga Tüzün, Vahit Tuna, Zeynep Sayın
For your invaluable support: Ali İbrahim Öcal, Alper Maral, Atalay Yeni, Coşkun Can Yıldırım, Elif Taşçıoğlu, Evren Barın, Evren Erlevent, Eylem Can, Gülnihal Kalfa, Hıdır Eligüzel, Nergis Abıyeva, Özcan Alper, Sibel Gökçen, Süreyya Çakır, Zeynep Karagöz
Particularly for their contributions to this book, which is both a demonstration and a documentation of the participatory facet of “Dictionary of Sensitive Sounds”, we thank: Eda Sezgin for editorship, Savaş Çekiç for being all ears to our concerns, his polyphonic design, and his support, Merve Tokmakçıoğlu, Evren Erlevent and Oğul Girgin for giving our book a voice in English, and our publisher Espas Art Theory Publications, Alparslan Baloğlu for his meticulous approach throughout our book’s printing and production, and for supporting our publisher, Finally, to SAHA for the financial support they have provided under the Sustainability Fund for the publication of the book.
Elif Öner, Evrim Kavcar
