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by Marja-Leena

Marimekko

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Marimekko Pattern: Karhunkukka (1964/2004) (translation: Bearflower)
Designer: Maija Isola and Kristina Isola

Soon after my last post, which mentions Marimekko, I found an article in the Guardian about how Marimekko may have won John F. Kennedy the 1960 presidential election! Jacqueline Kennedy wore these Finnish cotton dresses, and seemingly the voters liked that these were less stuffy than her Parisian wardrobe. Certainly it helped increase the fame of this company. It’s an interesting story of the company and the women in it.

If you’re in Glasgow go see: Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion and Architecture which runs from September 10 to November 8 at The Lighthouse, Glasgow, Scotland.

And here’s the Marimekko website. I remember long ago I made a couple of garments out of bold and colourful Marimekko fabric for myself and later for my first child. Back in 2002 when visiting Helsinki we noticed two large and elegant Marimekko stores on fashionable and touristy shopping streets.

(Thanks to Pekka Nykänen for the Guardian link!)

September 6, 2005 in Art Exhibitions, Finland, Estonia & Finno-Ugric by Marja-Leena 2 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

blogs and shows

1. Thanks to blog friend Anna of Self-Winding for pointing out that The Padacia has posted a couple of my Nexus prints. Thanks also to this mystery blogger from Oslo – it’s nice to find another beautiful blog. Curiosity sent me to the first entry of October 27th, 2002 which explains the meanings of Padacia, and a browse through some of the older entries (some lovely writing) suggests a feminine voice of someone originally from Singapore.

2. Carolyn Zick, a Seattle artist-blogger Dangerous Chunky** writes about a visit to the Nordic Heritage Museum near Seattle to see Garth Amundsens’s work and to admire the Scandinavian exhibits, including Finland’s famed Marimekko. This brought to mind Robert Kaiser’s post about Marimekko, and Lucian Perkins great photos, in Finland Diary earlier this year.

By the way, and I’m late mentioning this, Carolyn has an exhibition** on this month at the Shift Gallery in Seattle, and she has a great website for it: Distill Bill**. Bre Pettis has posted a photo of Carolyn** in front of her work. Congratulations on some really great looking work and the show, Carolyn!

That’s two reasons I should be going to Seattle.

3. Oh, that reminds me, there’s another interesting exhibition coming up in the Seattle area: The Sami Exhibit, The Reindeer People of Alaska is a travelling exhibit to honor the Sami herders who came from Norway in 1894 and 1898 to teach reindeer herding skills to the Yup’ik and Inupiaq Peoples of Alaska. It’s at the Nordic Heritage Museum from October 7th to November 13th. Read all about it at Baiki, the International Sami Journal (and which I wrote about last December).

4. Finally, go see Anna L. Conti’s post Life echos Art. Wish I’d posted that!

UPDATED March 21st, 2013: **links have expired and have been removed.

September 6, 2005 in Art Exhibitions, Finland, Estonia & Finno-Ugric, History, Other artists by Marja-Leena 2 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

Jutai Toonoo’s silent stones

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New and Improved, 2000
serpentinite 12.5″ high x 8″ wide x 6″ deep
Inscription: New and Improved Fertility God

Jutai Toonoo of Cape Dorset currently has a solo exhibition “Life Forms” at the Marion Scott Gallery at 308 Water Street, Vancouver, until September 25.

The gallery website states: Toonoo is best known for his unconventional images of human heads and figures, many of which are portrayed in restless sleep- or dream-like states. Carved mostly from locally quarried green and black serpentinite, Toonoo’s sculptures range in stature from a few inches to several feet and are rendered in a style that is both minimal and eerily expressionistic.

The gallery has posted 32 images of Tootoo’s work on their site – have a look. I think it is this expressionism together with the human figure and face that makes his work so compelling.

Then read this review by Robin Laurence, called Inuit artist makes silent stones speak :

His work is quite distinct from our cultural preconceptions of what Inuit art should look like. The sculptures are executed in serpentinite, local to the Cape Dorset area, yet there are no images of Arctic animals here… Instead, the gallery is filled with bare human faces and figures.

Many of the faces are carved in multiple configurations, conjoined in surreal ways, curved around, above, and beside each other, or facing in opposite directions, Janus-like. Instead of depicting the traditional Inuit way of life, or even that life in transition, Toonoo has taken on a universal theme: the human condition. At the same time, his art is extremely personal. “I try to give power to my work,” he says. “Lots of times, my tongue gets tied and I can’t really say what I’m thinking.” The silent stone gives him eloquence.

August 25, 2005 in Art Exhibitions, Modern Rock Art, Other artists by Marja-Leena 4 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

Maori Art in America

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Kaitaka 1999 (detail)
Artist: Te Aue Davis; assisted by Bill Solomon
Photo credit: Norman Heke
Image copyright: Toi Maori Aotearoa

I came across this headline in Google News: “Millions in US tune in to Maori art”  
(25.08.05 in New Zealand Herald)
 
More than 9 million people have been exposed to New Zealand Maori culture and tourism at the recent Maori Art Meets America event in San Francisco. Tourism New Zealand spent $1.5 million preparing the exhibition, which ran for 10 days in the Yerba Buena Centre in central San Francisco this month and will now move on to other sites in the United States. The exhibition, organised in association with Toi Maori Aotearoa, was one of the largest New Zealand-focused events to take place in the United States.

I hadn’t heard anything about this in my blog roams and do wish I’d been there to see it. This exhibition appears fascinating, beginning with a dramatic dawn ceremony of Maori canoes coming in to meet the Ohlone in San Francisco (view slideshow).

I believe the Maori are presently the most organized, recognized and culturally revitalized of all the world’s indigenous people. Art is a tremendously important part of their culture. The site dedicated to this exhibition, Toi Maori, has a lot of interesting articles, photos and additional links. I enjoyed reading about their contemporary art and its evolution:

At the same time as ideas are moving forward, they are also returning. The interest in Maori contemporary art is helping to rekindle the creative energy of past traditions. Fuelled by new technology, the mind-broadening effects of world travel and the freedom to express their opinions, contemporary Maori artists are looking at their tribal histories for inspiration.

Have any readers seen this show? I wonder to which other locations in the USA and perhaps Canada it will be traveling?

August 24, 2005 in Art Exhibitions, Culture by Marja-Leena 1 Comment »

by Marja-Leena

Marlene Dumas in Helsinki

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Marlene Dumas
Female, 1992-93
from the series Female
211 tusche and charcoal drawings
Sammlung Garnatz, Städtische Galerie Karlsruhe

“Kunsthalle Helsinki will offer a unique opportunity to see works by one of the hottest names in contemporary art, Marlene Dumas. The show presents an exceptionally broad retrospective of the artist’s production from the 1970s up to the present. Born in South Africa in 1953, Dumas lives and works in the Netherlands. She is known for her masterful watercolours and subtle portraits. Her work enjoys an established status in major art museums and galleries and fetch unprecedented prices at auctions. Dumas’ work is currently on exhibit at the main venue of the Venice Biennial. Exhibitions of her work have been relatively rare in the Nordic countries, and the present show is the largest of its kind here.

Marlene Dumas’ paintings are a profound exploration of the human condition, of sexuality, birth and death, as well as psychological and philosophical themes. The show in Helsinki will include Female, a series of 211 female portraits that examines the representations of femininity, the gaze and the process of depiction and interpretation.”

“In addition to Female, the exhibition includes about thirty large oil paintings, gouaches and watercolours, as well as rare early drawings and sketches from the 1970s.” Read more…

View some of Dumas’ works at Art Daily’s Photo Gallery and Google Images.
images and words is Marlene Dumas’ own beautiful site.

I like her irreverent words, balancing her rather somber work, like these two excerpts from Marlene Dumas’ statement on women and painting:

“I paint because I am a woman.
(It’s a logical necessity.)”
“I paint because I am a religious woman.
(I believe in eternity.)”

ADDENDUM Sept.26.05: The Saatchi Gallery in London, UK has a fine page on Marlene Dumas.

August 23, 2005 in Art Exhibitions, Other artists by Marja-Leena 2 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

Evolution: 80 Years of Emily Carr Institute

An unexpectedly nostalgic event is occurring at Emily Carr Institute. Formerly Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design. Formerly Emily Carr College of Art and Design. Formerly the Vancouver School of Art. Originally the Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts, founded in 1925. The nostalgic event is Evolution: 80 Years of Emily Carr Institute Alumni, an exhibition of some 195 works spanning multiple generations, cultures, and media.

“This is the first-ever comprehensive show of alumni work,” says Wynne Palmer, alumni- society board member and Evolution curator. (In 1994, Sam Carter curated 64-94: Contemporary Decades, which surveyed 30 of the school’s then 69 years.) And, she adds, there’s never been a formal reunion of former VSA/ECI students. “It’s not only the 80th anniversary of the school but it’s also a homecoming of sorts for the alumni.

Read the whole article by art critic Robin Laurence in the Georgia Straight.

The opening is happening as I write this, and I’m sad that I’m not there as planned to see many artist friends and note the many big-name artists and admire their work. I had a medical appointment and errands in town this morning, and this afternoon I began to feel unwell and very tired, partly from the heat. Even a nap did not restore my enthusiasm to drive back and join the large crowds that I’m sure will be there. I have to comfort myself with the thought that I will later see all the work better without the bodies! I may even blog on the show after I’ve seen it.

If you are in Vancouver, this is a must-see exhibition, it continues to Aug 27, 2005 at Emily Carr Institute on Granville Island, Vancouver. Hours: 10:00am – 6:00pm

Update Aug.5.05: Howard Pennings, an ECI alumnus, attended the opening and took several photos – have a look.
 

August 4, 2005 in Art Exhibitions, Other artists by Marja-Leena Comments Off on Evolution: 80 Years of Emily Carr Institute

by Marja-Leena

Duckomenta

You must have a look at Die Duckomenta, an exhibition of works based on famous art works through the centuries, but with some very humorous adaptations! Perhaps you’ve already seen it, I’ve just rediscovered it in my bookmarks and felt like sharing the laughs! Just click on each “raum” (room) to see the works.

I had someone roughly translate the German for some information about the creators. They are a group of five artists who formed InterDuck in 1982, and share interests, in addition to their regular artistic pursuits, in ancient culture and in humour. InterDuck asks the question, which works the most important artists of the past have left for us, would they also have known and loved the comic characters. The art and the cultural history should probably be rewritten. We take our models seriously, we try to immerse ourselves in their work and thought process.  In our work, we not only approach close to the exterior facade, but also the soul and aura of these models. Since 1984 InterDuck has exhibited its continually growing collection of artworks in art associations and museums both at home and outside the country.  To date, over one million visitors have seen it. It is on exhibit presently at Museum Schloss Hohentübingen, Tubingen, Germany.

July 14, 2005 in Art Exhibitions by Marja-Leena 3 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

Graphica Creativa

Graphica Creativa is the second oldest international printmaking exhibition in the Nordic countries. It is arranged in Jyväskylä, Finland every third year. Thanks to Graphica Creativa, Jyväskylä has become a centre of printmaking. A few days ago its 30 Years Anniversary Exhibition opened and will continue ’til October 2nd. It consists of four different shows in four locations in Jyväskylä:

1. Finnish Open: an open print competition for Finnish printmakers in which 39 artists were selected from 192 entries, with three prizewinners, view their works. I notice that Vappu Johansson was on the jury – we met several years ago in Vancouver, then Helsinki.

2. After All These Years – International Invitational Exhibition: “The exhibition brings together nine international artists whose participation in the past triennials were memorable. Thus sentiments of nostalgia and joy of reunion can be expected. Many of the featured artists are today quite elderly, but active in their artistic work.” View these works.

Ikeda Ryoji of Japan is the most famous of these, I think, and I’ve been fortunate to see his very admirable work. Also I’ve seen Jiri Anderle’s fantastic work in a monograph that a friend showed me. I almost bought a copy in Prague a few years ago, but it weighed a ton, was expensive and available only in Czech! A part of me still regrets that decision.

3. “A View from the North consists of the works by seven Nordic female printmakers. Johanna Boga and Valgerdur Hauksdottir from Iceland, Outi Heiskanen and Ulla Virta from Finland, Helmtrud Nyström and Ulla Fries from Sweden and Sonja Krohn from Norway are all internationally well-known and recognized artists”.

I’ve seen Outi Heiskanen’s work in an exhibition in Finland and absolutely love it. I dearly wish she had a web presence for she was awarded the top printmaker in Finland many years ago. (See an image of an older work below). Presently she has a retrospective exhibition (PDF) in Tampere Finland. And Valgerdur Hauksdottir’s work, which I found on the net some years ago has also been an inspiration to me.

4. The Young Ones: “Galleria Harmonia presents the works of Graphica Creativa´s young ones. These Finnish art students come from Imatra, Joensuu, Lahti, Turku and Uusikaarlepyy. During the exhibition the students will also take part in a week-long printmaking course with printmaker Sandra Ramos as their teacher.”

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Outi Heiskanen, The Hermit of the Monastery, Etching, 1988
from Europe of Tales

Update July 13th: If you can read Finnish, go read about the lively opening party, written by two Finnish artist-bloggers who were there, Kapasia and Carborondum.

July 12, 2005 in Art Exhibitions, Finland, Estonia & Finno-Ugric, Other artists, Print Triennials, Printmaking by Marja-Leena Comments Off on Graphica Creativa

by Marja-Leena

Spiral Jetty revisited

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Spiral Jetty began to submerge earlier this spring, as represented in this May 18, 2005, photo. Image: Mark Milligan at Geotimes.

Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty was a subject of a post I wrote in August of last year. Today Modern Art Note’s Tyler Green says his mind is full of earth art after revisiting the Smithson exhibit at the Whitney. This has inspired him to post what he wrote last fall about his visit to the Jetty and how awe-inspiring that was. It’s eloquent and it will make you want to see it as it much as it’s made me, again, so do go and read it.

But, Geotimes reports:

For the last 36 years, weather cycles have dictated when Smithson’s sculpture would make an appearance. “The jetty has a cyclical presence: being submerged under water, re-emerging encrusted in salt, weathering back to rock and then being submerged again,” says Michael Govan, director and president of the Dia Art Foundation. “Its recurring/disappearing act beneath the Salt Lake only adds to its allure.” And now, following a 1999 drought that allowed the jetty to reappear three years ago, the spiral may be going back into hiding.

Further Links:
Official Robert Smithson site
More photos, video, links

June 28, 2005 in Art Exhibitions, Modern Rock Art by Marja-Leena 5 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

art and social conscience

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Otto Dix. The War II/2: Shock Troop Advancing under Gas Attack. (1924).
Etching, aquatint and drypoint from MoMA Collection.
(May not be in Neue Gallery exhibition)

Artist-blogger Mark Vallen writes about “arts and culture, with an emphasis on socially conscious works” on his blog Art for a Change. I admire and appreciate his voice and empathize with the social issues he emphasizes. The last three posts have also been very meaningful to me as a printmaker.

Last week he wrote about the sudden closing of Self Help Graphics, an East Los Angeles’ institution dedicated to Chicano art, printmaking and grassroots community arts. This was followed by a post about the ensuing protests and his involvement in trying to encourage dialogue to keep it open. I hope a positive and happy ending will be found for the artists dependent on this institution.

Today’s post is about an exhibition of antiwar prints by two German Expressionist artists: “WAR/HELL: Master Prints by Otto Dix and Max Beckmann”, a collection of etchings and lithographs now showing through September, 2005, at the Neue Galerie in New York City. Vallen writes: If it all sounds terribly familiar, it should. Dix and Beckman not only succeeded in exposing the ugly realities of war in a way that hadn’t been done since Goya’s print series, The Disasters of War – they also effectively created artworks that stepped outside of their timeframe and place of national origin. Please read the entire post and visit the Gallery’s site to see the (unfortunately) few images. I found the gallery’s mission statement very interesting too.

I’ve been fortunate in seeing some of each artists’ work in Germany and elsewhere, and have always felt their work disturbing, with a very strong gut reaction of horror every time – definitely in the class of Goya’s Disasters of War and Picasso’s Guernica.

June 27, 2005 in Art Exhibitions, Other artists, Printmaking by Marja-Leena Comments Off on art and social conscience

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