On Art Book
Publishing
his issue of Estonian Art focuses on the phenomena
of art book publishing in Estonia. he rise of independent book
publishers run by and for the artistic community has become a
notable trend in how contemporary Estonian art and design is
conceptualized and distributed both locally and internationally.
From the Lugemik Bookshop in the yard of the Contemporary
Art Museum of Estonia in Tallinn to ;paranoia publishing group
ltd’s bookshop in Tartu Art Museum—art publishers in Estonia
has reconigured the current cultural climate. We trace the lifeline
of art publication from concept and design to the publishing
house loor. he story of art book publications and independent
publishing in Estonia is told by eight authors. Marika Agu talks
to Kiwa about ;paranoia publishing and considers the efects of
;paranoia publishing group ltd. Ott Kagovere writes about Lugemik
and graphic design in Estonia. Martin Rünk talks to the editors
of the multi-media publication project New Material and New
Number. Andreas Trossek, editor of Estonia’s oldest art magazine,
talks about KUNST.EE and the digital turn and Laura Kuusk
and Pascale Riou speak about the Side Efects book
and projects. here is a photo essay by Liina
Siib on Tallinn Book Printers
and artwork by Triin
Tamm.
ART PUBLISHING
3
Marika Agu
ARCHITECTURE
46
The Story of Memory Field
;paranoia—See Where it Takes You
7
Ott Kagovere
Lugemik: Books That Speak
Volumes About Themselves
10
55
58
Martin Rünk
18
Andreas Trossek
The Pleasurable Aspects of
Breakdown
61
Laura Kuusk
BOOKS
68
Liina Siib
EXHIBITIONS
69
ART
Maria Jäärats
A National Landscape
33
Kati D. Kivinen
Overseas Shopping—A Tale of a
Museum Collection
37
Pau Waelder
A Place Called Home
DESIGN
40
Triin Jerlei
Nostalgia in Estonian Design
42
Carl-Dag Lige
The Baltic Exchange
Tallinn Book Printers
30
Angela Wheeler
Art Journals and Magazines after
the Digital Turn. The KUNST.EE
Example
From, To, By, For and With
22
Francisco Martinez
Aesthetics of Amalgamation
Notes on New Number
14
Tüüne-Kristin Vaikla
Ott Kagovere
In Search of Meaning
Marika Agu (b. 1989) is a curator and art critic; in 2015 she curated Kiwa’s
retrospective “Autoportait with the Unknown” at Tartu Art Museum.
Marika Agu
;paranoia—
See Where It
Takes You
he heyday of institutionally promoting creative industries has passed in Estonia, and among its efects
we can ind interesting outcomes at the intersection
of visual arts and publishing. Contemporary artists
have been compelled to acquire market vocabulary,
tools and reasoning, and ;paranoia publishing group
is an example, although an ironic one.
;paranoia publishing group was founded by the multimedia artist Kiwa in 2014. Its brand reproduces the
aesthetic of a global corporation, creating the impression of an elitist cultural product. Indeed, its logo
seems to have spread all over the world—Hong Kong,
London, Los Angeles, Kolõvan (an ancient name for
Tallinn), Paris and Tokyo—with its head-oice apparently in Tallinn. ;paranoia insists on providing the
literary market with the most abnormal texts, intending “to achieve consumer satisfaction and destruction
of reality”.
;paranoia focuses on experimental literature. One of
its goals is to produce a sense of estrangement in language and to deliberately challenge what is familiar.
Starting with their name: instead of referring to the
psychological condition “paranoia”, it derives from
the Fenno-Ugric words para (absolute) and noid (shaman/stalker). Aside from producing intriguing works
of literature, the publishing house positions itself as
part of the performance art scene, creating impressive
shows for each book launch.
;paranoia is seemingly run by a number of high-ranking directors (managing, general, creative, art and a
director of the board of directors), as well as several
heads of departments (n0rmc0re, columnists, translation, AV solutions, personnel, photo and manuscripts). At the top sits the president of the corporation: Dr. M. Valdemar. To the general public, he’s
known as Paavo Matsin, a member of the experimental literature group 14 NÜ, which was active in the
mid-1990s in Estonia.
In the same vein as 14 NÜ, ;paranoia publishing
group’s product presentations are spectacular events,
with emphasis on attractive performances instead of
just reading texts to audiences. At the inauguration
of ;paranoia and the presentation of their “Anthology
of Non-Existent Books”, Dr. M. Valdemar conducted
an alchemical ritual. On many occasions, ;paranoia
hijacks some bigger event, for example the opening
of the 16th Tallinn Print Triennial at KUMU. his
strategy guaranteed a large audience, including the
Minister of Culture, which would otherwise require
huge communication and advertising eforts.
5
;paranoia mascot. Photo:
;paranoia mascot. Photo: ;paranoia publishing
he launch of Neon Black (Neoonmust), a magazine
of ictional tabloid articles, represents the other end of
their agenda. he event was promoted through yellow
journalism and was attended by local socialites, which
is an exceptional achievement for a publishing house
of experimental literature. In its press release, Neon
Black was described as a new international trend magazine, which “is now accessible also to the Estonian
reader”. Actually, the magazine had never been published abroad though ;paranoia’s website refers to the
non-existent product through ictional cover designs.
But, who cares? What’s important here seems to be
the desire to play with the norms of capitalist consumer society and induce desire through appearance.
Creating a glitzy image for oneself is common nowadays; people are famous for being famous, for no apparent reason.
It is not possible to ind the edition number or the
year of publishing on Neon Black’s cover, so its sustainability is not guaranteed. he idea of a tabloid rag
is created, producing everything around it, except for
the magazine itself. he texts inside are ictional, although inspired by real-life events. For example the
article “Mel Kaldalu osutus SNOWDENIKS” [Mel
Kaldalu turned out to be SNOWDEN] refers to the
media-trickster and political activist Meelis Kaldalu,
who stole a computer from the parliament building
in 2013.
ested in authors who are not attractive to mainstream
publishers and whose manuscripts have been rejected
(e.g. Valegiid by T. Novek), or who don’t intend to
publish their texts in the irst place (e.g. “Psaiko” by
Psaiko). he latest issue of the so-called Beloved Classics series is by R. Velbaum, a notorious situationist,
whose aphorisms wouldn’t have come to the surface
from the underground club scene of Tallinn without
the initiative of ;paranoia publishing.
In this regard, Kiwa works as the PR manager for
experimental art and literature, bringing readers to
unknown phenomena. he large network of people
whom he has gathered in the functioning of ;paranoia publishing guarantees its unpredictability. Even
though the publishing house has a seat for a president,
this is rather symbolic. In reality ;paranoia publishing is lead by incidentalism: every member of the
so-called corporation may shape market relations.
Indeed, ;paranoia’s slogan, “see where it takes you”,
delivers on its promise: all that one has to have is curiosity and a sense of irony.
Marika Agu
Interview with Kiwa
MARIKA AGU
What is ;paranoia that other publishing houses
One shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but it is evident that the majority of ;paranoia products (27
works released so far) are distinctive because of their
clinically clean layout and occasionally toxic neon colours. he laconic style attracts with its lack of pretentiousness. he products are designed by the noted
graphic designer Tuuli Aule, with whom Kiwa started co-operation back in 2004, when he published his
irst book Roboti tee on nihe / Salatühik. (he way of
the Robot is the Shit / Secret Void).
are not?
;paranoia
;paranoia publishing is a metamedium. besides
producing printed matter, we deterritorialize
every single phenomenon in the broad field that
connects text production and consumption,
usage of language, words, letters and punctuation marks, the imperative notion of literature and ego-centred narrative techniques, the
post-market situation, the current indie-pub-
Aule has managed to create a signature style for a
large variety of products. To illustrate the scope, there
is a colouring book (TKUN ORHA PNUL by M.
Kleis and R. Jakapi), post-cards (by H. Hütt and E.
Müürsepp), a music album (“Memorial”, by Cubus
Larvik), a magazine (Neoonmust), a reference book
(the 1st volume of A List of Every Band Ever, by Celer Tambre), a book of verse with accompanying CD
(“Sulgunud ruum”, by Joanna Ellmann and Kiwa),
along with rather normal textbooks, although there’s
nothing normal about their content. ;paranoia is inter-
lishing wave and books as tactile multiple artefacts (we do exclusive small editions, usually
from 50 to 500). we value the self-filling of the
text, and question the established hierarchies
of meaning within the semiosphere.
instead of a homogenetic perspective, we model a space of dynamic interpretations on the
polysemic horizon at a certain level of different
and distinguishable structural, material and political apparatuses.
7
we function as a black square, as a gateway to
the isolator is a personal white cube for productive
untitled experiences and as a network of cogni-
alienation. cutting off outside stimuli is a perfect
tonauts.
condition where the mind experiences the void and
startshallucinating.theisolatorismodelledafterhugo
MA
gernsbeck’s prototype from 1925.
Your co-operation with the designer Tuuli Aule
began back in 2004 when she designed your
book Roboti tee on nihe / Salatühik (The Way of
MA
What’stheimport-exportstrategyof;paranoia?Which
the Robot is The Shift / A Secret Void), which
writers and artists do you generally choose to pub-
is very unconventional in form and content: the
lish and what is the target group for them?
text is ordered in a way that it can be read in an
infinite number of ways. Could you describe the
;p
;p
;paranoiapublishinggroupltd.isamajorinternation-
design strategy you have applied for ;paranoia
alpublisher,providingstatisticallythemostabnormal
products?
texts in the contemporary literary market.
possibly the most insane content in the most
as an agency, we offer platforms, contexts and pro-
clinical, minimal, rigid, normative, conventional
fessionalservicesforauthors:production,distribu-
book-like form possible.
tion and promotion.
to give power back to the text, create imagery
we provide our clients with carefully selected
without visuals.
textual operations:
— the most psychotic transborder dataflows
the shapes of the books are inspired by geo-
—irreversiblyimmanence-crossingdeterritorializa-
metric figures to underline the contrast be-
tion
tween the streamlined shape of the body and
—abreakbeatofmeta-meaningsandhallucinatingpsy-
the geometric shape of the book. reading com-
cho-geographies
fort is guaranteed by the unique design, with
— experimental and non-creative literature, printed
an emphasis on comfort and ergonomics. as the
matter and text art.
books adapt so smoothly to the body’s shape,
they feel like part of one’s body.
ouraimsareresponsibleaction,consumersatisfaction
and the destruction of reality.
MA
Besides the distinctive design, what other elements have you applied in the branding of the
publishing house? What’s the role of the “para-twins” and the writer’s “isolator”?
the isolator and twins play central roles as the mascotsof;paranoiapublishingnotbecauseitwasmeant
to be so, but because our clients love them, which
confirmsthehumanoidpattern.likepavlov’sbitchgazingintotarkovsky’smirrorontheplanetsolaris.epic
contact with the mysterious stranger.
thetwinssymbolizethecognitiveshiftinpatternrecognition.identificationas“becomingsomething”and
the transpersonal dimension.
thetwinsarelikedynamicprocessesinagivenspacetime.tohaveacognitiveexperience,rhythmpatterns
are necessary. all life, which can be observed as a
certainmedium,isdeterminedbythetimingofenergy.
rhythmic patterns are the division of energy. brainwave synchronization occurs for the same reason.
Cover of Neoonmust (Neonblack) magazine
;p
8
Ott Kagovere is a freelance graphic designer and design critic. Has studied philosophy
at Tallinn University and graphic design at the Estonian Academy of Arts.
Ott Kagovere
Lugemik:
Books That
Speak Volumes
About Themselves
What does it mean to publish a book? his question is
both the most childish and the most serious of questions. he childish part is asking questions about the
obvious. Publishing a book means designing it, binding it, printing and selling it. What more is there to
ask!? But one can see this question as childish only
when one’s relation to publishing is trivial. he seriousness comes in when one actually meditates on the
question. In this case, the question is as perplexing as
the meaning of life itself.
I now ofer you a small challenge. Step into a nearest
bookshop, grab the irst book and try to igure out if
the relationship of the publisher towards the act of
publishing is trivial or serious. he nearest bookshop
for me is the Lugemik Bookshop in Tallinn, which is
open during the summer on the premises of the Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia (EKKM). I step
in and the irst book that I reach for, Anu Vahtra’s
Untitled, published by the Lugemik publishing initiative, is perplexing. he dust jacket of the book is
a huge folded black and white photograph. Some of
the pages are not cut open and they make the reader
struggle or play (depending on the person) with the
pages a little to see the pictures and information fully.
he book is 95% percent photos. Many of them are
shown only partially and lack explanations. Nevertheless, the book is fascinating. It speaks in code and
it invites the reader to decipher. Most importantly, it
was made with care, precision and the utmost attention to detail.
We might think that such an approach is common
among publishing houses, but Lugemik is in the minority internationally and a rarity in Estonia. It was
founded by two friends: Indrek Sirkel, a graphic designer and Anu Vahtra, an artist and a photographer,
who had studied together in the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in the Netherlands. Ater graduating in 2007,
they set out to work as freelancers, while teaching in
the Estonian Academy of Arts graphic design department. hey had worked together on various projects
and publications, but the initiative to start publishing
grew out of frustration. hey had collaborated with
various museums and galleries and were surprised by
how little most of these institutions paid attention
to the process of publishing an exhibition catalogue.
Most saw it as a tradition, something that had always
accompanied an exhibition, and thus never asked the
question “why publish?” or “what should/could the
9
hus in 2010 the Lugemik publishing initiative was
established and ever since they have published an outstanding collection of books and other printed matter.
In the autumn of 2015 a third member, Laura Toots,
joined the gang and through her initiative Lugemik
has moved beyond publishing only printed matter.
For instance in the spring of 2016 they represented
Marge Monko in the alternative art fair Popposition
in Brussels and produced her new performance.
In six years, close to 50 items have been published.
hese are publications that do not function as mere
documentations of artists’ work, but stand out as
art objects themselves. Some might consider this approach pretentious, because it puts too much emphasize on the form of the book: “A good book should be
neutral in form, so that the content of the book stands
out!” But this is too narrow a philosophy for Lugemik. For them the form of a book can never be truly
neutral and so, instead of trying to make the form
of the book invisible, they use it to emphasize their
motives. he book by Anu Vahtra (mentioned above)
looks like a puzzle to a bystander, but this approach is
most suitable for her art. Another good example is the
book “Shimmer on the Surface”, published in 2012
and made in collaboration with the artist Neeme
Külm. he book is a thick, hardcover book with
pitch-black pages and nothing else. his book can be
seen as a “traditional” artist’s book, but also as a work
of art, as it was exhibited as such in Neeme Külm’s
exhibition.
hese are only two examples of the whole corpus of
Lugemik, which is driven by a conceptual agenda: to
publish books with all participants in close collaboration his statement is simple enough, but it has
far-reaching consequences. he process of publishing
becomes egalitarian and the inal product, the actual
book, is egalitarian as well. It shows us that the form
and the content of the book are equally important
and that the form of the book can be and quite often is as communicative as the content itself. Quite
oten these books are not just anonymous bystanders.
hey constantly talk about themselves through small
but utterly important design decisions. hey speak
through carefully chosen papers, binding and printing techniques, fonts and presentation of imagery.
he books remind us of what they are—printed matter—and through this tender, but constant reminder,
we come to appreciate the format of the book.
While actively publishing books by Estonian artists,
they also promote them abroad through various book
fairs: the New York Art Book Fair, Friends With
Books (Berlin), Ofprint (Paris and London), the
Bergen Art Book Fair (Norway) and One housand
Books (Kopenhagen). But promotion is a two-way
street, at least for Lugemik, and while promoting Estonian art abroad, they also introduce foreign art and
various printed matter from other small publishing
houses to Estonian audiences through the Lugemik
Bookshop.
he bookshop was opened in 2013 and has since functioned as an important venue in the Estonian graphic
design scene, hosting various events and book launches. Nobody knows how Sirkel, Toots and Vahtra manage to keep this initiative going, while at the same
time pursuing individual careers as a designer (Sirkel)
and artists (Toots and Vahtra), but the important
thing is that Lugemik exists and keeps on producing
exciting work.
Graphic designer Will Holder hosting Marcel Duchamp’s 128th birthday
at Lugemik Bookshop for the participants of Asterisk Summer School 2015
role of a publication be in the context of an art exhibition?” he process of publishing a catalogue was
mostly isolating, many people working on it, but doing their work separately. he initiative to start Lugemik was exactly the opposite: to bring all the people
involved in publishing a book (writer, designer, artist,
photograph etc.) into close collaboration and instead
of just doing it, thinking through why to do it in the
irst place and what would be the perfect means of execution. For them the question “why publish a book?”
was of utmost importance.
10
Marge Monko’s book “Don’t Wind It Up, Turn It On”, which is part of the
performance with the same name. Photo: Anu Vahtra
Neeme Külm “Shimmer of the Surface”. Photo: Anu Vahtra
11
Martin Rünk (b. 1982) is an art critic and PhD
student at the Estonian Academy of Arts.
Martin Rünk
Notes
on
New
Number
changes in art writing. So in that sense we could say
that we are interested in authors’ texts, compared to
say cultural journalists texts’ or critics’ texts or just
texts.” And they have done exactly that by expementing with ways of writing and presenting texts.1
he people behind the project are young art writers and graphic designers with a common Estonian
Academy of Arts background. For this year’s issue,
the co-editors of the magazine are, in alphabetical
order: Madli Ehasalu, Marten Esko, Viktor Gurov,
Eva-Erle Lilleaed, Evelyn Raudsepp, Brigita Reinert
and Eda Tuulberg. “We try to maintain a non-hierarchical work environment. Everyone brings new ideas
to the table and weighs in on making decisions.” the
team explained, in a group interview.
he irst Estonian language only issue called Uus
Materjal (New Material), was an impressive custom-made six-kilo concrete box containing texts and
art objects tackling the topic of new materialism and
the return of materiality, with contributions from art
writers, philosophers, engineers, designers and artists.
It was a phenomenon when it came out in 2014. Not
only was it a collector’s item, but it also managed to
conceptually link its form and content into a seamless
whole. “Both of our issues fall between being a magazine and an art object. Instead of being a publishing
house or an art collective (or alternating between the
two), we could describe ourselves as a project-based
creative editorial team”
said the editors.
he goal of the project is to address the question of
experimental art writing, as not much is to be found
in Estonia. “We try to encourage writers to be more
experimental and playful with the format and visual
appearance of texts. If one takes one’s own writing as
an art form in itself, that might act as a catalyst for
Ater the very successful irst issue, they have come
out with a new English–Estonian bilingual instalment, appropriately entitled Uus Number! / New
Number!, continuing the project with the topic of
communication, hype and populism in contemporary
art and culture. Again, more than just an art maga-
New Number. Photo: Anu Vahtra
Flickering outdoor candles guide people inside the
freshly renovated Kultuurikatel, the creative hub
situated in the historical Tallinn Power Plant building. he door at the foot of the 90 meter red-brick
chimney leads through a labyrinth of corridors to a
windowless concrete hall, where everyone is given a
relective mask and the occasional nibble of cotton
candy. his is the presentation of the second issue of
an art-project/magazine with a shiting name, identity and editorial board.
12
zine it’s also a carefully conceptuaized object with a
design that is in dialogue with the previous issue. In
stark contrast to the heavy concrete box issue of New
Material, the new issue New Number looks like a half
metal foil half translucent bubble of air—a publication heat-sealed in a plastic bag illed with air.
he topic of materialism is brought home and works
of of the Marxist perspective of creating added value
by communication and hype, and focusing—in a igurative manner—on the air surrounding the product.
he air is just a symbol and should not be read in a
judgemental way. It’s there; it’s the core of the thing.
Commerce is everywhere and the ield of art and culture is no exception. he measures taken to succeed,
to achieve goals, to reach an audience, can all be described in terms of branding, marketing, communication and pubic relations work. Art is made to be
communicated.
In an interview with Tallinn Television, Evelyn
Raudsepp, one of the editors of the magazine, wearing a mask, talked about a short story written by the
Dutch art critic and gallerist Kitty van Leeuwen that
is included in the current issue. he story is about an
important exhibition opening, with the entire international art scene present. Ater wine, gossip and
professional networking, the audience is given masks
with relecting surfaces and inally shown into the exhibition space. To their amazement, all of the rooms
are empty except for the last one, where they ind a
sculpture covered with the same kind of relective material as their masks. he fable-like story polemicizes
the tendency of the professional art world for constant navel-gazing. Repeated in real life at the New
Number! launch, it was a joke on everyone present,
with masked people from the local art community inadvertently fulilling the prophecy.
Aside from the overall concept, New Number! is an
interesting piece of critique and analysis of the local
art world, relecting on the rapid professionalization
of art and culture management in Estonia. Interviews with some of the key players in the Estonian art
scene reveal questions they are dealing with in order
to build up a support network for developing artists’
careers in the international art world.
In our pragmatic world, only art that has visibility is
appreciated. Art management and communication
have become central parts of the contemporary art
world, as most of the writers have emphasized in their
writings. In helping artists gain international recognition, it takes a group efort to spread the word and create leverage. With a country the size of Estonia, it has
always been a question of how to become part of the
larger art scene and art market, how to gain visibility and credibility. his can be achieved only through
professional contacts and a long-term strategy. A few
cases emerge from interviews and articles that embody the recent success stories of “breaking through”.
One of the most notable cases is the Temnikova &
Kasela Gallery, which has had an unparalleled impact
on the presence of Estonian artists in the international art market. For the gallerist Olga Temnikova, last
year was particularly successful, with the unprecedented amount of international media coverage Kris
Lemsalu and her installation/performance Whole
Alone 2 received following the Frieze Art Fair 2015
in New York.
Another PR success story involves the giant megaphones installed in a forest in southern Estonia, also
in 2015. It was a school project carried out by the
students of the Interior Architecture Department of
the Estonian Academy of Arts under the supervision
of Hannes Praks. In New Number!, Triin Männik
shares her experience of doing PR for the project,
which went viral and ended up receiving unprecedented publicity, from specialised blogs to big international media outlets.
“We have started the research process for the theme of
the next issue,” said the editors of the magazine when
I inquired about the next issue. With just two issues
under its belt, the project is still taking baby steps, but
by generating fresh ideas and presenting them in unconventional ways, New Material and New Number!
have proved to be a promising start in pushing the
limits of art writing in Estonia.
he full interview with the editorial team of New
Number! is available on the Estonian Art website
estonianart.ee
1
This approach to art publication is inspired by the
legendary US multimedia magazine Aspen published by
Phyllis Johnson between 1965–1971, with a total of eight
issues. Aspen was a conceptual publication delivered
in a box containing booklets, sound recordings, posters
and postcards. Each issue had a new designer and editor
– among them Andy Warhol, Dan Graham and George
Maciunas. The digitalized content is available on UbuWeb at
www.ubu.com/aspen.
13
New Number. Photo: Anu Vahtra
Art Journals and
Magazines ater the
Digital Turn.
he KUNST.EE
Example.
his story goes a long way back, some twenty ive
years at least. I remember it was some time in the early
1990s, when I was a preteen and taking my irst bold
steps at becoming a music lover and a record collector,
when I went to the then biggest electronics store in
Tallinn. I inquired whether I could buy a record player and how much it would cost me. he store clerk
began to laugh. I remember him laughing so much
that he almost had tears in his eyes. He even called his
colleagues from the back of the store to see this nerdish freak, this four-eyed chubby boy that I used to be
when I was eleven or twelve years old, in order to spit
out the simple and cruel truth: “He wants, ha-ha-hah,
to buy a record player! hey stopped producing those
years ago; haven’t you heard? Ha-ha-hah!”
I gave up, but the hunt was not over. A week later I
had purchased an old record player, via a newspaper
ad, at a rock-bottom price. Some years later, thanks to
Andreas Trossek (b. 1980) is an art historian and critic; since 2009 he has worked as the
Editor-in-Chief of KUNST.EE, a quarterly published magazine on contemporary art in Estonia.
Andreas Trossek
the escalation of the DJ culture that really took of in
Estonia during the 1990s, I sold that player, earning
more than triple what I’d originally paid for it. I’ve
never gone back to that big electronics store, mind
you. hose dudes clearly didn’t know which way the
wind was blowing. hey were all about the status quo,
i.e. they were lazy and they were supericial. And that
isn’t kosher, as any of the representatives of any sub or
nerd culture will tell you.
Still, this story needs some background. he beginning of the nineties was all about cassette tapes in Estonia. Music lovers recorded songs of the radio and
scribbled down information on songs and performers
onto cassette cases by hand. Also, pirate cassettes,
mainly of Polish origin, were sold at semi-legal markets (that have now become totally legal supermarkets) and even newsstands, alongside cigarettes and
bus tickets. Oicial import CDs were sold at music
16
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26.09.-08.10.
10.10.-22.10.
24.10.-05.11.
07.11.-19.11.
21.11.-03.12.
05.12.-17.12.
19.12.-07.01.
E. LUIK & M-L. TAMMI
ART ALLMÄGI
SVEN PARKER
FRED KOTKAS
DÉNES KALEV FARKAS
IVAR VEERMÄE
ELIS SAAREVÄLI
NEEME KÜLM
ALVER LINNAMÄGI
K. HANSEN & J. SÄRE
REIMO VÕSA-TANGSOO
SOHO FOND
AILI VAHTRAPUU
CARMEN LANSBERG
MALL PARIS
ANDRES KOORT
TALLINNA JOONISTUSTRIENNAAL
PAUL KUIMET
PAUL RODGERS
VEIKO KLEMMER
O. PILIPENKO & M. PREKUP
HELEN MELESK
MOEKUNSTNIKE ÜHENDUS
RÜHMITUS SIHT
KRISTI KONGI
MIKK MADISSON
03.01.-14.01.
18.01.-28.01.
30.01.-11.02.
14.02.-25.02.
27.02.-10.03.
12.03.-24.03.
26.03.-07.04.
09.04.-21.04.
23.04.-05.05.
07.05.-19.05.
21.05.-09.06.
11.06.-22.06.
25.06.-07.07.
09.07.-21.07.
23.07.-04.08.
06.08.-18.08.
21.08.-08.09.
10.09.-22.09.
24.09.-06.10.
08.10.-20.10.
22.10.-03.11.
05.11.-17.11.
19.11.-01.12.
03.12.-15.12.
17.12.-05.01.
MARTA STRATSKAS
KAI KUUSING
ANDRO KÖÖP
KIRKE KANGRO
LAURA TOOTS
MARJU AGO
VILEN KÜNNAPU
SASKIA JÄRVE
V. PLINK & S. SAAREPUU
HOLGER LOODUS
AUGUST KÜNNAPU
LÕPPMÄNG 2012
ANNE PARMASTO
PEETER ALLIK
VALERI VINOGRADOV
TALLINNA JOONISTUSTRIENNAAL
MIHKEL MARIPUU
VANO ALLSALU
SIRJA-LIISA EELMA
ANNA-STINA TREUMUND
AIMAR KRISTERSON
JÜRI KASS
MARI ROOSVALT
ANDRES TALI
KELLI VALK
4,50 EUR
17
stores, true, but kept under lock and key, as if they
were jewellery and, considering what these “luxury”
products cost in Estonia back then, it’s no wonder.
he digital MP3 format, which turned the global music industry upside down at the end of the decade, still
belonged to the realms of science-iction back then,
simply because you could only dream about a permanent internet connection and a home computer in the
early 1990s in Estonia. I tell you, I’m not an old man
yet, but it was a very diferent world and a very diferent Estonia back then (so excuse me if I sound like I’m
sixty-four when I’m only thirty-six).
he point is that no-one knows how the future is going to unravel. Every time I hear someone predict the
future is “going to be completely digital”, I feel that
these people—without question very smart people—
are more likely describing the present. he present is
digital. I can concur with that. However, as someone
who remembers a time without smartphones and Android tablets, Windows, Gmail, Facebook, Wikipedia
or various iGadgets, I can honestly say that human life
on planet Earth will not cease to exist if some global
businesses decide, for whatever unexpected or freakish reason, to turn to real-estate or banking instead of
information technology. Once you’ve earned your irst
million, your next business adventure simply needs to
be more proitable: that’s how capitalism works. he
gamers inside the anthroposphere are simply too good
at the adaption game; we all know that in our guts.
You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the
wind blows: that’s the truth. he weatherman can
only predict, or state the status quo: the status quo of
“the future”. Yet the truth is that we don’t know what
will really happen. Especially when it comes to those
tiny little things—books, records, art etc.—that really don’t seem to matter in the general adaption game
but that still mould us into who we really are.
As most of my readers have already guessed, I chose
vinyl – or the story of “the rise and fall and rise again”
of vinyl – to illustrate my point for a reason. As the
current Editor-in-Chief of the art quarterly KUNST.
EE, which is all about contemporary art in Estonia
in printed form, I believe that art journals and magazines all around the world are currently experiencing
a somewhat analogous, and indeed painful transmission phase, where all seems to be lost to digital platforms. Indeed digital platforms: web pages, blogs and
Facebook walls are free for the reader, and for the sake
of the argument, let’s ignore hidden advertisements
here, O.K? Whereas, you still have to “physically” buy
a professionally edited art magazine/journal from a
newsstand or get a subscription in order to read it.
Why should you?
Similarly, there’s no point in buying a record either:
nowadays you could simply download the music. Yet
people do buy them, for whatever freakish reason,
and records haven’t got lost in the dustbin of history,
as many have predicted. It could be that it all comes
down to the tangible presence of the body and the
physical world and also the basic need “to historicize”
ourselves. he clutter around us always reminds us of
the life we’ve lived and the time we’ve spent here on
Earth. Keep the important stuf; chuck the rest. hat’s
what they keep telling us. But we do love ourselves,
don’t we? We don’t like the idea of a life gone wrong,
especially if it’s ours. Eventually, everyone grows tired
of a completely empty room: there’s a diference between a cosy apartment and a vampire’s coin, right?
I’ve oten joked that printing and distributing an art
journal/magazine in the current digital age is a lot
like selling records. In fact, we actively sell each new
issue of KUNST.EE for a limited period, and eventually all the print iles become available on our web
archive for free downloading. So, yeah, it’s basically
free. You can easily Google us to make sure. You can
buy or pre-subscribe to “the vinyl version”, but you
can also wait for six months or so and get it for free.
Your call. However, getting your hands on a fresh
copy right ater it’s published is way cooler: it smells
like…”napalm in the morning, it smells like victory!”
All the bibliophiles and melomaniacs will understand
my black humour here, no doubt.
True, most of the record stores that ruled the world
in the 1970s and 1980s have gone bankrupt. Likewise,
most print runs of art journals and magazines have
faced catastrophic declines in recent years, and some
of them have closed down completely. Yet the biggest
brands are still out there, right? What does that tell
us? he rise and fall of the Gutenberg galactic and the
new digital age, blah-blah-blah...? Well, I think it says
that the basic rules of the game haven’t changed at all.
I might be wrong but as far as I can see it’s still a very
big thing to an artist to be reviewed in a renowned art
journal/magazine. If it’s also online, as a sharable link,
all the better, but that’s just a bonus. No doubt, subscribers and readers also trust the brand better if a considerable amount of money has been spent on printing
each new issue. We’re all smart here, and can all do
the math. And yes, you can actually read KUNST.EE
18
from cover to cover (as a curated entity, if you like); each
issue contains editorials, essays, reviews and news; and
it’s also professionally edited (i.e. before it’s out there,
people get paid to read it and point out the mistakes).
Professionally edited: does that ring any bells? I hope it
does. here’s a diference between a published opinion
and a professional opinion, mind you, even in the digital age. And, needless to add, there’s the context. No
Twitter “tweets” or blog entries can get the same job
done: I can tell you that.
I won’t fool you: you won’t get the ”full picture” on
Estonian art, but then again who does? You’ll get a
general collectively analysed overview of what has
been going on here delivered by critical minds keen
on establishing the truth, and nothing but the truth.
And if you don’t care about the Estonian art world
generally and you won’t acknowledge the presence of
KUNST.EE in the ield, well good luck with that because the predecessor of KUNST.EE was the almanac Kunst, established in the 1950s, and our current
quarterly format simply continues this tradition by
providing “the whole picture” as best we can. And as
life experience shows, our art experts’ opinions still
matter, at least in the long run.
However, the bitter truth of it is you can’t really make
good money out of publishing art criticism in Estonia, but at least you can get by, and that’s the most
important thing. It’s not that people don’t care generally about contemporary art in Estonia; it’s just that
there are so few of us. he numbers, it all comes down
to the numbers. he average number of subscribers
that KUNST.EE gets nowadays is about two or three
hundred (plus the few subscribers abroad, mostly interested nearby art institutions), plus what we manage to sell in local newsstands. However, in a country
of about one million plus, that’s not bad for a strictly
“targeted product”.
his is also way more than in the nineties and the
noughties, when the previous almanac Kunst made
its way to the quarterly format, clearly shown by the
“.ee” suix (i.e Estonia). Yes, our print run during the
Soviet years was slightly bigger (approximately 2,000
copies then compared to 1,000 copies now). Yet, back
then we didn’t have the freedom of the Internet: noone really knows how many people have actually read
the previous issues of the almanac and the quarterly
(or did they just download them for the sake of one
article?). Plus, nothing compensates for the feeling of
actually stacking all of them on your bookshelf, ready
to be browsed and browsed again, when you please:
similar to having a proper record collection, don’t you
think? If the art journal’s brand is strong enough in
the digital age, the general readership can only grow.
Nowadays, by pre-ordering KUNST.EE, you can
count on approximately an astonishing four hundred
pages of art criticism and illustrations per year both
in Estonian and in English. hat’s quite a lot of “art
talk”, both high-brow and low-brow, at least in a small
country like Estonia. Needless to say, this publishing
ideology goes a long way back: “Being reviewed in a
daily Estonian newspaper is nice, but once you get
reviewed in KUNST.EE, you get a ticket into Estonian art history”, as one famous Estonian artist once
told me. I am not sure whether this famous artist was
being serious (probably not), but as a trained art historian, I understand completely what was meant by
that (I’ve done my time sitting in libraries, mind you).
Needless to say, this places a burden on my shoulders,
of which I am fully aware, because it’s the truth; nevertheless, it’s also “a dream of Napoleon” that I am not
fully capable of accepting, no matter how much I get
paid (insert smiley face).
How to end this piece? Well, I still collect records.
And I still collect art magazines and journals and
art books, and pile them on my bookcase. And this
bookcase is huge, it’s long and wide, and it’s a moving
company’s nightmare. Hey, I guess I’m still the chubby four-eyed nerd that I used to be in my preteens and
this is my way to compensate. Nothing’s changed, really. And I know there are more people like me out
there, both in Estonia and elsewhere. Who like to
read art criticism, if it’s professionally edited, structured, and formed in speciic sentences. Who feel that
reading and subscribing to an art magazine/journal is
a cool thing to do. Who adore the sight of a bookcase
illed with printed matter. Feels a bit privileged in the
digital age, right? hat’s how it’s supposed to feel.
Art magazines and journals aren’t going anywhere
anytime soon. We’re simply too accustomed to
them. We want someone telling us how it is in the
art world, because someone has to. I think art critics
are still an integral part of the system, and without
them the system we call the art world would simply
collapse. And if you disagree, well, see you at some
art fair where rich people gather to talk about…anywhere the wind blows.
19
20
his page
“Side Efects” in Grenoble, 2014. Photo: Laura Kuusk
Pascale Riou (b. 1984) is a PhD student in History of Contemporary Art at
Grenoble Alpes University in Grenoble, France.
Laura Kuusk (b. 1982) is an artist. Since 2015 she lives in Tallinn and
works as an Assistant Professor at the Estonian Academy of Arts.
Laura Kuusk & Pascale Riou
Translations by Pille Ruus and Mari Volens
Based on extracts from the book Side Effects
From, To, By,
For
and With
Some impulses are stronger than we are. I don’t mean
the need to eat, sleep or—if danger looms—run, and
so on, but something that is not directly associated
with survival yet which still seems very vital, such as
slashing through seemingly impassable, pathless brush
armed with only the certainty that precisely this is the
right way; intuition is essential in (an artist’s) work,
and oten—in the best case—it’s where it all begins.
As Gaston Bachelard has noted “an intuition cannot
be proven, it has to be experienced,” in Intuition of
the Instant.1 Here intuition tells us that the secondary efects of an artistic activity, the by-products, the
externalities, can be crucial for a work process or the
work of art itself.
Another intuition concerns the fact that banality or
daily life are surely more than secondary but they
are part of writing the game rules, sometimes forced,
sometimes chosen. Yet another concerns the “adventive” (a French term for self-propagating), which, like
a weed growing, happens without having been designed, anticipated or intended. he purpose of yet
another one is exchange, ricochet as a method of work
that gives prominence to the accidental and surprise.
hese intuitions feed on assumptions that conditioned invitations to participants of both exhibitions
and the working time shared beforehand.
he Side Efects project started with an invitation
from the Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia
(Eesti Kaasaegse Kunsti Muuseum, EKKM) to donate a work of art to their collection in exchange for
a symbolic value. Laura Kuusk was invited to curate
an exhibition. From there, the irst exhibition in 2013
in EKKM in Tallinn, Estonia was built in collaboration between Pascale Riou, a French art historian
and Laura Kuusk, an Estonian artist. hey worked
together in the Association pour l’Agencement des
Activités (AAA, Grenoble). his collective of artists
and art historians is committed to the common explorations of artistic activity—an extra job, multiple
activities, make-do, choice, the accidental—and Side
Efects was born out of a willingness to share them
with diferent participants within a personal and informal network.
he irst exhibition in EKKM in Tallinn was followed
by a second in the former Museum-Library, Showcase
21
gallery and other venues in Grenoble, France in 2014.
In 2015 a book was published as the third part of our
project. he book is meant to be a hybrid between a
catalogue, a research notebook and an essay; an exhibition space in its own right, as well as a database
bringing together around forty participants in the
project.
What were the intentions of the project? Side Efects
was made up of more or less accidental meetings and
exchanges. Some of the artists and theorists who were
invited to cooperate also participated in the exhibitions, while others were invited especially for the
book. Various contributors—art historians, sociologists, critics and artists—were given the opportunity
to express themselves through texts, interviews and
images. hus the book includes texts and exhibition
outlooks, archives, photographs, plans and notes revealing what we wish to show of the activity. Marten
Esko and Anaëlle Taluy return, for example, both in
their own way, to the irst two parts of the project;
Céline Ahond shows some preparatory documents for
her performance held in Grenoble; Pierre Courtin’s
hitherto unpublished drawings that he made alongside his daily activities are shown; Grégory Jérome
speaks of artistic work and its economic aspects, etc.
As an artist and an art historian, the two initiators
of the project both had their own methods of working, especially as regards the artists and the making
of art. For the artist, the aim was to share some ideas
and ways of working alone or in cooperation with colleagues, and feel the points where we connected when
it came to work. It was also about trying out various
exhibition sites and formats. For the historian, the
aim was to experiment with the sensitive and spatial
development of hypotheses while working closely
with visiting artists and theorists. We wanted to bring
together, observe and show artists and ways of doing
things, whether modest or demanding, radical or discreet, where work ecology seemed relevant to us in
the context of contemporary art. We wanted to give
artists an opportunity to work or not work, in shared
or private living conditions, in a reduced space-time
that could be extended. We wanted to do something
together, make-do and let others do.
Even though the project developed within a limited circle, there was no attempt to form a group or
a school. he commitment was personal, the “corpus [is] deliberately chosen based on the methods of
work that we should value in today’s world”, as the
art historian Catherine Strasser claimed for her own
research.2 Indeed, it is important to show this side of
art, which in many ways seems vital to talk about in
the current context. Such issues as work, economics
and time are broad, universal themes that emerged
from these ways of doing things and the pieces of
work shown, through positions of dilettantism, curiosity and discretion, but also collaboration; they help
to map the ield of contemporary art.
At the beginning of the 21st century, economists are
rethinking capitalism and macro- and micro-economic exchanges by integrating the notions of cognitive capitalism and positive externalities. For Yann
Moulier Boutang in his Cognitive Capitalism: A New
Great Transformation, sharing knowledge and skills
through Internet networks and new communication
technologies helps cognitive capitalism to emerge.3
he exchange of knowledge and information is faster
and more globalized than ever before; moreover, it is
free and data sharing is punctual and discreet. In his
book, the author focuses on an under-examined component of this system: externalities.
his term refers to the non-premeditated and
non-quantiied efects of an economic exchange.
hese efects are either negative externalities or beneicial for both parties, in which case they are called
positive externalities. he author concludes with the
concept of a pollen society, where nobody is an idle
grasshopper or a hard-working ant, as in the fable by
La Fontaine, but everyone is a bee who knows how
to work and live together, share and act in a way that
afects the environment and does so consciously.
Side Efects its comfortably into the context
of cognitive capitalism, is an example of
positive externalities, tries to facilitate their emergence and examines the relationships between a pollen society
and diferent ways
of doing things.
1
Gaston Bachelard. Intuition of the Instant (L’intuition de
l’instant). Paris: Gonthier,
Bibliothèque Médiations, 1966, p.8.
2
Catherine Strasser. On Artwork, Observation of Works
of Art and Analysis of the Process that Leads Them (Du
travail de l’art, Observation des oeuvres et analyse de
processus qui les conduit). Paris: du Regard, 2006, p.10.
3
Yann Moulier-Boutang. Cognitive Capitalism: A New Great
Transformation (Le capitalisme cognitif, la nouvelle grande
transformation). Amsterdam: Multitudes/Idées, 2007.
22
his page
“Side Efects” in Grenoble, 2014. Photo: Laura Kuusk
23
Tallinn
Book
Printers
Liina Siib (1963) is a visual artist and Professor of Graphic Art at the
Estonian Academy of Arts. In 2011 she represented Estonia with “A
Woman Takes Little Space” at the 54th Venice Art Biennale.
Liina Siib
he building of Tallinn Book Printers (Tallinna Raamatutrükikoda) was inished in 1985 and according to their website it was ‘the
irst printing house to be built exclusively for printing and binding
books’. When I think about them, then the irst thing that comes
to mind is the people—the always friendly, helpful workers who
care about cooperating with publishers and designers. Secondly, the
building is always so pristine—not a hint of dust in sight. Also, they
have kept their 1980s interior design which has value on its own.
Ater 1985 when they started their presses there have been
several printing turns. In pre-press, printing and post-press. here’s
less and less manual labour now. Men stand behind the printing
machines, women are mostly in print binding and inishing. You
can’t see the long table any more with ladies sitting or standing
behind it doing chores that can’t be done with machines. he table
is much shorter now and it is used for adding ribbon bookmarks
and covers to books.
24
Petrified
Landscapes
and Stalinist
Impressionism
he exhibition “Romantic and Progressive. Stalinist
Impressionism in Painting of the Baltic States in the
1940s−1950s” at KUMU Art Museum was a rare
example of a local exhibition focusing fully on art
during the Stalinist period.
For a viewer expecting cookie-cutter socialist realist
thematic paintings and pompous formal portraits
of Soviet leaders and Stakhanovite heroes, the exhibition might have seemed puzzling. Although heavy
machinery, factories and red lags were clearly present, a considerable portion of the exhibited works
consisted of archetypical, seemingly timeless landscapes and genre paintings carried out in Impressionist techniques and colour schemes. Furthermore, the
selection of works and the method of display did not
directly imply categories of oicial vs. non-oicial art
or contradictions.
herefore, one reviewer seemed genuinely amazed that
“he exhibition is surprisingly cheerful /—/ all of those
[Stalinist themes] are nearly absent. What we see are
lowers blooming in vases, artists painting their loved
ones, and seemingly free ishermen on seemingly free
Maria Jäärats (b.1985) is a Doctoral student in
Art History at the Estonian Academy of Arts.
Maria Jäärats
shores.”1 When I visited the exhibition, I also overheard
some visitors sighing “how pretty!” at the paintings, in
sheer wonder.
Turning to the margins of a period that has been
subject to large generalisations and at times has been
ignored is very commendable but does not come
without risks. In a review that included the “Stalinist Impressionism” exhibition, Tanel Rander smartly
noted that “matter picked out of history’s trash can
/—/ can only return in a depoliticized and aestheticized form”.2 he return of ideologically complex art
as purely aestheticized visual material is an apt description of the public reception of “Stalinist Impressionism”.
I would like to change perspectives by turning to
the historical context and focusing on the genre of
landscape painting, which makes up a big part of the
artistic production of the Stalinist time in Estonia.
One might imagine that Stalinist Impressionism was
a local Baltic or Estonian particularity, indicating a
distinct continuation of pre-war traditions. But the
acceptable stylistic and thematic “repertoire” during
32
Kristjan Teder “Eesti maastik” (Estonian Landscape), 1947
Richard Uutmaa “Puise Neemel” (Cape Puise), 1955
33
the 1940s-1950s in Soviet Russia was not that narrow. Also, the common understanding that landscape painting was marginalised due to the oicially
imposed hierarchy of genres is too simplistic. In the
post-war years, Soviet Russian landscape painting was
praised as a means of evoking patriotic sentiments
and several artists whose works were driven by a kind
of rural nostalgia and impressionist colour scheme
were accepted and received high honours, such as the
Stalin Prize (for example Arkady Plastov in 1946).
Yet throughout the second half of the 1940s the discourse on landscape painting in the local media, the
debate over the “landscape issue”, turned extremely
vicious. he appropriateness of works of art and artists was decided in reviews published in the press, and
in public and closed discussions that accompanied the
exhibitions. Art criticism played a crucial role in arguing for or against the ideological and aesthetic appropriateness of works, but was also required to explain
the theoretical notions and provide direct guidance
to artists. For nearly every strategy used to secure a
safe position, a counterargument itting the same repertoire of Marxist critique could be easily found to
undermine or discredit the artist, and thus the critic.
An unsettling example is the exhibition of works by
Evald Okas, Richard Sagrits and Richard Uutmaa in
1947, and the accompanying discussions. While the
artists were accused of depicting agricultural work
methods incorrectly, the critics were blamed for subjecting the artworks to unscientiic critiques and not
giving clear guidelines. hat same year, the Estonian
artist and professor at the State Applied Art School
Boris Lukats, who was gaining inluence in the local
art-political scene and was soon to become chairman
of the Estonian Artists Union, wrote: “It is remarkable that landscape painting is the domain in which
the question of Sovietness and non-Sovietness has
been treated in the most questionable way up to this
very day. /—/ Just recently, during a public discussion
in Tartu, someone proclaimed that nowadays landscape is ‘forbidden’(!).”3
Local artists implemented a variety of strategies to
meet oicial demands, such as labelling works with
ideologically suitable narrative titles, and adding particular elements, such as pylons, machinery, lags and
the colour red. Similarly, art criticism employed discursive strategies mainly to ind links with the theoretical notions of socialist realism, connecting it with
such local pre-war notions as “closeness to nature” or
“national (folk) spirit”.
What created growing turmoil and an increasingly
paranoid atmosphere was not the narrow or ixed nature of socialist realism and its demands, but the ambiguity and lux inscribed into the system. According
to Jaan Undusk, this ambiguity stemmed from the
dialectic contradiction evident even in the core formula “truthful, historically concrete representation of
reality in its revolutionary development” and caused
socialist realism to function as a mechanism for the
reproduction of constant anxiety and fear in the cultural sphere.4 According to Boris Groys, the contradictory theoretical notions of socialist realism should
be linked with dialectic materialism, which means
constantly thinking in terms of the unity of contradiction and paradox.5
It is important to acknowledge the absence of a rational logic of suitability, especially in the irst part
of the 1950s and during the purging “campaigns” (a
campaign against formalism and impressionism, and
a campaign against anti-patriotic bourgeois nationalists in 1949). From time to time, questionable works
somehow “slipped through” and it was possible to
prop up positions by using oicial jargon; in other
cases, artists were condemned for no evident reason.
he debate over the “landscape issue” indicates regional diferences: the fact that genres, themes and strategies accepted in Moscow or Leningrad were problematic in the peripheral Baltics, where the awareness of
the recent territorial occupation was acute. Landscape
paintings depicting idyllic rural scenery generated
such an anxious response in contemporary criticism
because they accurately showed pre-war landscapes,
covertly and probably unintentionally pointing to the
frailty of the Soviet “presence” in the actual “landscape”.
1
Oll, Sulev. Eesti lill Stalini vaasis. maaleht.ee, 04.02.2016
http://maaleht.delfi.ee/news/lehelood/koik/naitusemuljeeesti-lill-stalini-vaasis?id=73561077
2
Rander, Tanel. Revisionistid ajaloo prügikasti ümber. Sirp,
18.03.2016 http://www.sirp.ee/s1-artiklid/c6-kunst/
revisionistid-ajaloo-prugikasti-umber/
3
Lukats, Boris. Nõukogude maastikumaalist. Sirp ja Vasar
16.08.1947
4
Undusk, Jaan. Sotsialistliku realismi lenduv reaalsus.
Esteetika kui reaalpoliitika riist. – Vikerkaar 2013, no 6, pp
50-53.
5
Groys, Boris. The Communist Postscript. Verso, 2009, p
36.
34
Kati Kivinen (PhD) Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki, Finland
Kati Kivinen
Overseas
Shopping—
A Tale
of a Museum
Collection
When Jaanus Samma’s (b. 1982) exhibition NSFW—A
Chairman’s Tale opened last April at the Museum of
Occupations in Tallinn, I had a lengthy discussion
about his work with a local journalist who was covering
the exhibition for Estonian television. She was curious
to know why a Finnish Museum of Contemporary Art
(Kiasma) had decided to purchase parts of Samma’s
large-scale installation, which had premiered at the
Estonian Pavilion of the 56th Venice Art Biennale,
and what were the main reasons for such a decision.
In replying to her question, I found myself stressing
the fact that despite the collection policy of my home
institution, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, emphasising the geographical and cultural
closeness of Estonia to that of Finland, in the case of
the pavilion of Estonia in Venice in 2015, as well as
the work of art created for the occasion by Samma,
the primary reasons for acquiring the work for Kiasma’s collections were related to the high artistic
value and the strength of the content of the work.
Despite Samma’s work drawing on the incredible
history of the relationship between the state and
homosexuality in Soviet Estonia, the true strength
of the work is still as valid today, as it stresses the
brittle position of sexual and gender minorities in
contemporary societies.
Although the journalist seemed pleased with my reply, she seemed anxious to ask something more. She
started her question by referring to an acquisition that
was made some six years earlier, when Kiasma bought
Kristina Norman’s (b. 1979) large-scale project Ater
War (2009) directly ater its irst presentation at the
53rd Venice Art Biennale. She wanted to know whether it was a custom or a requirement of the museum’s
acquisition policy to regularly purchase the Estonian
presentation at the Venice Biennale for the museum’s
collection. Feeling tempted to laugh, I told her that, al35
Ene-Liis Semper “Nameless”, 2004. Photo: Finnish
National Gallery/Petri Virtanen
Jaanus Samma “A Chairman’s Tale”, 2015. Photo: Reimo VõsaTangsoo
Kristina Norman “Ater-War”, 2009. Photo: Finnish National Gallery/Pirje Mykkänen
Tanja Muravskaja “hree Sisters”, 2015. Photo: Finnish National Gallery/
Pirje Mykkänen
36
Berit Talpsepp-Jaanisoo “Villu´s Portrait”, 2015. Photo: Finnish National Gallery/Pirje Mykkänen
though that might seem to be the case, such a rule does
not exist in Kiasma’s acquisition policy (not even in
the case of the Finnish pavilion in Venice), but rather
the successive purchases were the result of prominent
and successful presentations which managed to convince the museum’s acquisition board members and
director.
Expanding
Circles, or Sounding the
Neighborhood
hough the cases of the acquisitions of the recent
works by both Jaanus Samma and Kristina Norman
might be a product of serendipity, since the 1990s the
acquisition policy of the Museum of Contemporary
Art in Finland has focused on the arts of the neighboring areas, namely contemporary art of the Nordic
countries, the Baltics and Russia. his was written
into the acquisition policy of the museum early on,
and it was referred to as “the expanding circles”. he
new institution, the Museum of Contemporary Art
was established in 1990 and the new museum building Kiasma opened eight years later in 1998. It took
on the task of contextualizing Finnish contemporary
art in its geographical nexus fairly literally. In the 21st
century the acquisition policy has become more lexible and better able to meet the needs and transitions
of the global and supranational art world.
he collections of the museum are complemented by
nearly 100 new art works every year and the international part of the collection is around a fourth of the
total number of nearly 8000 works. hough the background institution of the Finnish National Gallery,
of which Kiasma is part, along with the Ateneum and
Sinebrychof Art Museums was reformed into a public foundation in 2014. he yearly acquisition budget
for the three museums still comes directly from the
Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. Kiasma’s
share of this sum is annually around 440 000 euros,
which clearly does not allow for many purchases of international contemporary art. Most new acquisitions
are examples of Finnish contemporary art, but each
year a few works by foreign artists are also added to
the collections. Acquisitions of foreign art are oten
made from the museum’s temporary exhibitions and
its own collection exhibitions or through commissions for new works of art. Decisions are made by the
museum’s acquisition board, which includes members
of the museum’s curatorial team and two external experts. Currently there are two artist members selected
by the Finnish Artists’ Unions. he board is led by
the Museum Director Leevi Haapala, who makes the
inal decision on all acquisitions.
Estonian
Contemporary Art in
Kiasma
Besides Jaanus Samma’s and Kristina Norman’s recent works, Estonian contemporary art is represented
in the collections of Kiasma by examples of 1970s, 80s
and 90s works by such artists as Siim-Tanel Annus (b.
1960), Kai Kaljo (b. 1959), Leonhard Lapin (b. 1947),
Peeter M. Laurits (b. 1962), Raul Meel (b. 1941),
Peeter Mudist (b. 1942), Evald Okas (b. 1915), Jüri
Okas (b. 1950) and Tea Tammelaan (b. 1964), and
by more recent acquisitions by such artists as Marko
Raat (b. 1973), Jaan Toomik (b. 1961), Ene-Liis Semper (b. 1969) and Berit Talpsepp-Jaanisoo (b. 1984).
he last time an elaborate search of Estonian and Baltic contemporary art was made was in 2004, when
the exhibition project Faster than History: Contemporary Perspectives on the Future of Art in the Baltic
Countries, Finland and Russia was presented at Kiasma. he project, which was curated by Jari-Pekka
Vanhala, was realized in close collaboration with the
centres for contemporary art of the target countries
(CCA, Tallinn; CAIC, Vilnius; LCCA, Riga; and
FRAME, Helsinki), but it never toured through all of
them. Invited Estonian artists in the Faster than History exhibition were Mari Laanemets & Killu Sukmit
(both b. 1975), Herkki-Eric Merila (b. 1964) & Arbo
Tammiksaar (b. 1971), Ene-Liis Semper and Mart
Viljus (b. 1965). In 2006 Mark Raidpere (b. 1975)
took part in the ARS06—Sense of the Real exhibition with his memorable video work 10 Men (2003).
his past winter Tanja Muravskaja’s (b. 1978) latest
video installation hree Sisters (2015) was shown at
Kiasma in the Demonstrating Minds: Disagreements
in Contemporary Art exhibition. In an interview
with the Estonian art magazine Kunst.ee last year,
Kiasma’s new Director Leevi Haapala alluded to a
coming exhibition project involving all of the Baltic
countries. he project is currently in process and the
due date is in 2018, so stay tuned!
38
Pau Waelder (PhD) is an art critic, curator and researcher. He is the
Editor of Media Art in art-es contemporary art magazine in Spain
Pau Waelder
A Place
Called
Home
WiFipedia of Tallinn (2015)* is a publication that collects, in the manner of a phone book, the names of
23,893 wireless networks located in the capital of Estonia. Using a tool they developed themselves, the artists Varvara Guljajeva (Tartu, 1984) and Mar Canet
(Barcelona, 1981) scanned the networks by walking
or biking across the city in order to capture, in their
own words, “the digital landscape of the city and invisible communication and creativity layer of its inhabitants.” his creativity is expressed in the names
of the diferent Wi-Fi networks, which can be customized by their users, sometimes in order to identify
them more easily or simply to make a statement.
In the book, there are names that refer to popular
iction (such as “Skywalker” or “Umbrella_Corporation”), music (“Pretty_ly_for_WIFI”), brief statements (“Rehab is for quitters” or “Cats are evil… and
cute”) and, of course, messages to uninvited users
(“NoWiiForYou” or “dontstealmyinternet”). hese
short but sometimes telling labels provide information about the owners of the networks and also about
the neighborhoods where they are located, particularly through the language they use or the presence of
Wi-Fi provided by shops, hotels or other businesses.
he artists stress that “just by looking at the networks
one could say whether it is a business or residential
area, a highly populated neighbourhood and/or if
there are minority members living there.” By collecting invisible but easily available information from the
streets of Tallinn, Guljajeva and Canet have created an
alternative portrait of the city, one that is collectively
written by its inhabitants through an unintended use
of technology. WiFipedia builds on their previous
project Revealing Digital Landscape (2013), in which
the artists collected the names and locations of Wi-Fi
networks in Seoul (South Korea), producing a similar
publication. However, what was then an exploration
of a foreign city, motivated by the need to ind Wi-Fi
spots while away from home, is here an observation of
their current place of residence and therefore adopts a
diferent meaning.
Guljajeva and Canet met in Barcelona (Spain), then
moved to Linz (Austria) and have traveled around
the world by hopping from one artist-in-residence
programme to the next, in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Brazil, South Korea, Poland,
Spain and Austria. With such a nomadic lifestyle, it is
not surprising that their artistic research has focused
on the ubiquity of data networks, the urban space
and the constantly shiting sense of place of the individual. he exploration of life in the city is the main
subject of artworks such as he Rhythm of the City
(2011), a set of metronomes that move according to
the pace at which content is published on social networks in diferent cities around the globe; Binoculars
to… Binoculars from… (2013), an installation produced in the context of the Connecting Cities project that lets users watch the streets of a remote city
39
feelings is also applied in the molecular physics experiment Data Drops (2015). Inducing positive emotions, is the goal of Smile (2016), one of the artists’
latest projects speciically conceived for Tallinn.
his interactive piece consists of a large smiley face
icon that lights up when people smile in front of
a device that detects the user’s facial expression.
It was installed in the street during the Tallinn
Winter Festival in order to invite passers-by to
express happiness on the coldest days of the year.
Besides Smile and WiFipedia, other artworks
explore the city life of Tallinn and its architecture, seeking ways of playfully communicating
with the citizens. Katusepoisid (2016), an upcoming installation created for the NUKU
theater, will allow visitors to interact with the
building’s façade, while Inside Out (2016)
intends to “open” the Pronski 12 building to
citizens by reversing its structure in order to
make its inner forms visible.
through a visor that simultaneously projects the image of their eye on a large screen in the city being observed; and Data Tower (2016), a project submitted to
the Green Square Library and Plaza of Sydney’s public
art commission, consisting of a sculpture that displays
the current time and the movements of people in the
surrounding area. Data lows are used in most of their
artworks but are distinctly present and visible in the
projects that deal with Wi-Fi networks and those that
use data collected from diferent sources to generate
endless rhythmic compositions, as in Speed of Markets (2014), a series of seven metronomes that react to
the deals taking place in real time on the main stock
markets; as well as he Flux of Sea (2011) and Baltic Sea Radio (2012), two installations that produce a
sound score based on the marine traic in the bays of
Palma and Gdansk, respectively. hese artworks generate continuous processes that can be understood as
visual or auditory renderings of the digital landscape
in a certain place. he locative aspect of the artworks
is particularly important, since most of them can be
considered site-speciic or, in a sense, network-specific. While addressing lows of information, locations,
people and objects, these projects are also deeply rooted in a sense of place or the concreteness of a solid,
static object. his apparent contradiction is actually
what deines our being-in-the-world (as Heidegger
would put it), in the sense that while we participate
in these lows we also need to keep a ixed reference
point, whether our current geographical location, the
feeling of belonging to a speciic place or community, or the identity we have built for ourselves in social
networks.
Varvara & Mar “WiFipedia”, 2015
Since they set up their studio in Tallinn, Varvara Guljajeva and Mar Canet have progressively introduced
new subjects in their work that focus more speciically
on the individual, further exploring direct interaction
and self-representation, as well as delving more deeply into the self by addressing emotions. hese topics
are connected to the main themes that drive their
work, as can be seen in Binoculars, where a certain
interaction between the person and the city is facilitated. Neuroknitting (2013), a project that transforms brainwave activity into a knitted pattern, introduced their interest in creatively exploring the mind
and emotions of the user. his can also be found in
Wishing Wall (2014), an interactive installation commissioned by the Google DevArt Project in which
visitors can see their wishes transform into butterlies
colored by their emotions. Inspired by Dr. Robert
Plutchik’s wheel of emotions, this form of visualizing
As made evident by WiFipedia, through
the exploration of our own environment
in novel ways, we can understand it better and learn to relate to it. For Guljajeva
and Canet, establishing a home ater being restless nomads has brought to their
work a renewed interest in the individual and his/her uncertain location in a
world in constant lux. An upcoming
project will address these issues from
the perspective of nationality, and
the lag as a visual symbol of a nation. Certainly, this work will lead
to questioning what, or where, this
place is we call home.
1
WiFipedia was exhibited at the TL;DR a group exhibition at
Tallinna Kunstihoone Gallery, curated by Stacey Koosel, in
2015. http://www.varvarag.info/wifipedia/
40
Varvara & Mar “Smile”, 2016
Varvara & Mar “Data Tower”, 2016
Varvara & Mar “Wishing Wall”, 2014
Varvara & Mar “Inside Out”, 2016
41
Nostalgia
in
Design
Since 2010, one of the most popular series on Estonian
television has been ENSV (Estonian Soviet Socialist
Republic), a comedy set in the late 1980s. Featuring
several famous local actors, the series is popular because of a mixture of dark humor and apt retrospective criticism of Soviet society and politics. However,
its popularity demonstrates another tendency in 21st
century Estonia: a nostalgia for Soviet heritage. Here,
Estonia is not alone. In Germany, there is a speciic
term for fascination with the heritage of the German
Democratic Republic: Ostalgie. In highly popular
Trabant tours to various museums, remnants of socialist material culture are cherished and marketed to
home and foreign audiences.
A certain degree of nostalgia has oten been present
in Estonian design. During the Soviet period, this
nostalgia was oten directed towards the pre-Soviet
period, through references to either traditional rural
culture, such as the popular souvenir dolls by Salvo, or
to local architectural heritage, for example the iconic
“Old homas” lamp. he appeal of symbols pertaining to traditional culture has not disappeared: quite
the contrary. Colour combinations adopted from local traditional costumes appear everywhere, from tennis shoes to public transport. In their recognizability,
these patterns have acquired a function of national visual identity similar to the plaid patterns of Scotland,
going beyond the aspects of nostalgia. While the
Triin Jerlei PhD (b. 1986) is a design researcher and critic. Currently
she is lecturing at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Previously she has
worked at the Estonian Museum of Applied Arts and Design.
Triin Jerlei
popularity of traditional references is easily explained
by feelings of national identity and wishes to demonstrate belonging, in recent years there have been new
tendencies in nostalgia directed towards more recent
history.
Once again, recognizability and ubiquity are the key
factors for choosing source materials. Oten, nostalgic
references are hidden in the use of graphics: characters
from Estonian or Soviet pop culture or other easily
identiiable elements. A particularly popular motif is
a red background with white dots. Originating from
pop art, this pattern became famous locally through
a design for a tin set for storing food items, manufactured in the Norma factory. Nowadays, its uses range
from costume jewelry to examples of product design.
Norma dots are the retro equivalent of national costume patterns: easily applicable to any product and
immediately recognizable.
A common practice is incorporating found retro elements into new products. In recycling old materials, a fascinating example is Urmas Lüüs’s distinctive
brooch made of aluminium. Other designers incorporate entire found objects dating from the Soviet era
into new items. A particularly popular retro object for
upcycling is the book: old books are used in numerous
new products, for example in notebooks by Tartuensis Classic. Once again, they ofer an opportunity to
42
Scene from series ENSV, 2014. Photo: courtesy of ERR archives
show an ideologically charged item in a new context
and to make use of an unwanted product in a sustainable way.
lective belonging and to re-establish cultural connections with the past that would be neither horrifying
nor humiliating.”
In some cases, the references are not centred only on
appearances of objects, but include production methods. For example, in the early 2010s the Estonian
product designer Maarja Mõtus restarted the manufacturing of Soviet-era Estonian sports shoes, called
Võru ’82 ater their town of production and the year
they were irst launched. While designs had previously been altered to suit contemporary trends, Võru
’82 employed the original production equipment and
methods. Sadly, this business venture has ended; however, its popularity demonstrates the appeal of products inspired by objects produced years ago.
A few months ago, Verso published a fascinating book
by the British writer Owen Hatherley, he Ministry
of Nostalgia. Hatherley focuses on the growing nostalgia present in the UK, directed towards post-war
austerity. In his view, nostalgia is a conscious and systematically organized practice for distracting citizens
from political reality. Hatherley observes that the
reference period for British nostalgia is usually the
1950s, as the spirit of austerity is politically suitable
for instilling in the public the correct morale. In the
Estonian context, however, the nostalgia is directed
towards inding new meanings and contexts. Its initiative has not come from above, but rather stems
from a general will to reposition the collective past.
Scholars have occasionally interpreted post-Soviet
nostalgia as a sign of disappointment in capitalism.
For example, Debbora Battaglia claimed in 1997 that
nostalgia was a way of detaching oneself from the
harsh present and asserting positive feelings towards
one’s own history. However, this theory is far too simplistic. heories of nostalgia as an escapist practice are
oten applied too hastily in the post-Soviet context.
Serguei Oushakine has written the aptly titled article “We’re nostalgic, but we’re not crazy,” where he
suggests that these tendencies should rather be seen
as “conscious eforts to restore the lost feeling of col-
While the tendency to politicize certain historical
phenomena may be alluring, there is a risk of exaggeration. Although Soviet design carries certain political
connotations, post-socialist nostalgia in product design is a peaceful and voluntary phenomenon. It is not
orchestrated from above, but rather stems from reactions to the general desire to recontextualize the past.
43
In
Search
of Meaning
Ott Kagovere is a freelance graphic designer and design critic. Has studied philosophy
at Tallinn University and graphic design at the Estonian Academy of Arts.
Ott Kagovere
Contemporary graphic design moves in mysterious
ways. he paradoxical holy trinity of graphic design
consists of design, art and business. How they it together is a mystery, but somehow they form the entity
known as graphic design. Some designers lean towards
business and some towards art, but one of the biggest
existential questions for a conscious designer is how to
it these two notions together. What is the right balance between making money and expressing oneself?
he group functioned as a platform for digesting various ideas and clarifying the general aims of the whole
project. he focus of the project became clear through
the realization that the perfect platform for discussion
was the most mundane situation. Interestingly, the hot
debates took place not in speciality magazines, but in
school among fellow students, in a studio among colleagues, or in a bar with friends. Hence the aim of the
project was to initiate those daily discussions.
Such existential matters formed the starting point of
a design project initiated at the Estonian Academy of
Arts (EKA) Department of Graphic Design by two
students Maria Muuk and myself. he whole project
was process oriented, a journey of two designers trying
to ind meaning in graphic design, but the general aim
of the project was simple enough: to establish a platform where such ‘philosophical’ design problems could
be discussed.
Six of these discussions were recorded and published
in the form of a newspaper, a temporary format emphasizing the perishable nature of a conversation. he
size of the newspaper was deliberately large (A1), and
the paper was text-heavy and thus a bit uncomfortable
to read and handle. he idea was to make the reader
browse through the discussions and jump in at random moments. Just like in a real discussion! Later
on the newspaper was exhibited as part of a reading
corner, together with a selection of books, articles and
magazines discussed in the newspaper. he number
of copies of the newspaper are limited, but one can
he irst step in this process was starting a graphic design reading group at the Estonian Academy of Arts.
44
45
Identity for Baltic Circle 2015, which won GRMMXI the Best of the Year Award in Branding and
Visual Identity in Graia’s Vuoden Huiput competition
Identity for Kunstverein Toronto by Laura Pappa
Cover design for the graphic design section 2002,
no 3, by Kristjan Mändmaa. he article “Shit...” was
also published in this number
he newspaper was set in a custom made font by Andree Paat, Maria Muuk and Aimur
Takk
46
obtain it from the Department of Graphic Design at
the Estonian Academy of Arts, or directly from the
authors. he following is a brief overview of the six
recorded discussions.
he irst two of these discussions took place among
fellow students. One of the main concerns of these
debates was trying to igure out the value of graphic design education in Estonia. he ideology of the
Graphic Design department leans strongly towards
art, seeing graphic design as an independent practice which borrows methods from contemporary art.
While this approach provides a necessary alternative
to the general notion of business-oriented graphic design, students educated in this manner oten feel when
trying to start their own practices that the two worlds
are somewhat incompatible. While these debates
did not provide any inal solutions to the clash
of business and art in graphic design, they did
reine the view of the problem(s) and thus
opened the way for future discussions.
One of the conversations, the third discussion in the newspaper, was conducted with two inluential igures in Estonian
graphic design education: Kristjan Mändmaa
and Ivar Sakk. In 2001–2008, Ivar Sakk
published a graphic design section in the
Estonian art magazine KUNST.EE. It
is still the only publication close to a
graphic design speciality magazine in
Estonia. In 2002 Kristjan Mändmaa
published an article in it entitled “Shit,
or something interesting in Estonian
graphic design”. his article caused a revolution
in the Graphic Design Department and is responsible for the educational approach now
prevailing there.
he main question of interest was the poor state of
discussions in speciality magazines. Why is this so at
the moment, when only 10 years ago magazines were
important contributors to design discussions? Why
are magazines and the design scene in general modest in declaring their opinions nowadays? Why do we
lack a radical voice? Again, no simple answers were
provided, but two hours of hot debate was valuable
and lacking in most design magazines today.
conversed with Elisabeth Klement and Laura Pappa,
two Estonian graphic designers who have studied in
various design schools in the Netherlands (Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Sandberg Institute and Werkplaats
Typograie) and who live and work in Amsterdam,
and with GRMMXI, a Finnish design collective,
who are design students with various national and educational backgrounds.
he outcomes of these debates were somewhat surprising. hey showed that most of our educational and professional concerns seemed to be of a local
nature. For instance, Klement and Pappa stated that
in the Netherlands the division between art, culture
oriented design and commercial design is not
that evident. And for GRMMXI, the doubts
concerning educational matters were of a
completely diferent nature. For them, their
education was too technical, supericial and a
bit out-dated and thus the approach of our department seemed like a good alternative.
While we, on the other hand, were concerned with the problematic aspects of
this particular approach.
his led to the sixth discussion, which
was with Indrek Sirkel, the head of the
Graphic Design Department at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Among other topics,
we briely touched upon the problem of taking a
stance as designers in the current neoliberal world:
for example, how being ecologically conscious
and supportive of “green” values has become a
necessary, but relatively empty brand element
for global companies. Should graphic design address these issues directly or veil them in cool and
slick covers?
Taking all this into consideration, one has to keep in
mind that publishing a newspaper was not the aim of
the project, but a means for generating discussions.
Further initiatives of the project include starting a
new graphic design reading group at the Arts Academy and exhibiting the project in Helsinki, at the
Myymälä Gallery, in October. hus the goal of the
project is not a particular event or a publication, but
keeping the process of initiating discussions alive.
he following discussions summed up all the previous
questions and asked them on an international scale.
For that reason two discussions were organized. We
47
48
Estonian National Museum. Photo: Takuji Shimmura
Tüüne-Kristin Vaikla is an interior architect who explores the social
and artistic dimensions of space.. She is editor in chief of SISU—
LINE interior architecture research journal and currently PhD
candidate at the Estonian Academy of Arts.
Tüüne-Kristin Vaikla
of
he Estonian National Museum is a site-speciic project, which uses an existing military runway from the
Soviet past. What makes this location meaningful is
its physical and mental landscape. It is an emotional
project for the Estonian people, that has developed
during the last ten years. Starting with the architectural competition in 2005, through the whole
building process, up to the public opening ceremony
in September 2016 in Tartu. he museum building
was designed by the DGT architects, which is a Paris-based international partnership founded in 2006
and led by the architects Dan Dorell, Lina Ghotmeh
(LG) and Tsuyoshi Tane.
The Story
Memory
Field
Jean Nouvel, Fosters & Partners and Adjaye
Associates. At this same time, the Estonian
National Museum competition project was published. The brief for the competition suggested an architecture that would cross disciplines,
one that was able to intersect with the history,
the ethnography and the sociology of the place.
It included the aspirations of a nation, the desire
to create a “public” place, a landscape of memories, a place that would not only bring Estonian
voices together but would be open to the continuous making of identity.
Passionate about Architecture and aspiring to
Spatial intelligence includes the ability to solve problems or create products that are valued in a particular
culture. It is deined as a human computational capacity that involves the ability or mental skill to solve
spatial problems of human navigation, visualization
of objects from diferent angles and space, face or
scene recognition, and noticing ine details.
challenge ourselves, working on such a motivating competition was inevitable. We worked
through the nights, after office hours, during
vacation time. Researching, questioning and
discovering Estonia’s history and the stories
that the site of Raadi held within it. The aerial movies published on the competition site
reflected on the dramatic history of the site,
TÜÜNE-KRISTIN VAIKLA
where there was a wide scar, an element that
What were your emotions when you, three
seemed to have caused the alienation of this
young architects with different backgrounds,
site from the city centre. We felt the responsi-
started the architectural competition process?
bility to question the site, its traces, and it became more and more obvious that this museum
LINA GHOTMEH
should play an urban and mental role. It could
In 2005, we had met in London while work-
not simply be an iconic object set in Raadi; it
ing at important architectural offices—Ateliers
had to have the potential to regenerate the sur49
rounding area, to transform the past into a new
During the process, we also discovered that the
vision of a constructive and productive future.
ground-water level of the area was quite high;
this made us raise the building a few meters so
As for myself, born and raised in Beirut, I lived
that it would not sink. To meet the airfield, we
through the war and occupations in my child-
had to augment the slope, starting at 14 m at
hood. I know what it means to live with the
the entrance side and dropping into the land-
memories of painful times, the contradictions
scape at a height of 3 m.
that these traces leave on our landscape. I
have also learned that it is through contradic-
I think these developments reinforced the proj-
tions that we can instil change, that new unique
ect and the only thing that I think changed from
spaces can emerge. There is an amazing poetic
the initial concept was the fact that the roof of
realm that can emerge while dealing with the
the building was not walkable any more. Our ini-
genius loci of a place. The idea of making this
tial idea was to make it accessible, a place for
new museum rise from the existing runway be-
the public to stroll, but it was technically impos-
came evident. The new building had to trans-
sible. The building would have become structur-
form the site and to do so it had to deal with the
ally more complex and hence more expensive.
large traces of military occupation, to appropri-
So we had to abandon this idea... But we avoid-
ate it into its own space. Through linking to this
ed creating all kinds of handrails and technical
platform-airfield, the building became urban, it
elements on the roof, and the project became
opened up the past to the future, and the na-
even purer. What also developed during the
tional boundary expanded into an infinite space,
process was mainly the programme, the articu-
that of the runway, a space in which the naked
lation of the interior spaces, which was normal
eye could not distinguish the limits.
as we got to know the museum team, and had to
integrate their demands.
TK-V The Estonian National Museum building won
the AFEX (French Architects abroad) Grand
The Afex Award’s jury voted unanimously to
Prix, which was awarded at the opening cere-
give the award to the museum. They saw in it a
mony of the Venice Biennale in May 2016. The
project that could not be placed elsewhere, that
award seems to be proof that the best deci-
belonged to its place, that revealed the original
sions have been made during the long process
beauty of the land. It is a great honor to receive
from the starting point of the project up to the
this award.
final realization. What is the main concept of
your project and how has the building changed
TK-V What about the dynamics between the archi-
during the long preparation and building pro-
tectural language of the building and the mu-
cess?
seum exhibition at the Tartu Raadi runway?
Somehow I remember the feeling of some vari-
LG
The museum gained a whole public meaning,
ance—as in visiting the Jewish Museum in Berlin
creating different qualities of public spaces. It
(by Daniel Libeskind) or the Museum of the His-
intersected and reacted to the landscape, to
tory of Polish Jews in Warsaw (by Lahdelma
the existing site. I was keen on this dialogue
and Mahlamäki)—between the strong language
between the outside and the inside, keen on
of the architecture of the building and the his-
questioning the limits. So, in encountering the
tory, which is retold through the exposition?
lake, it became a bridge, filled with views of the
lake. Reaching Roosi street, or the city side, it
There is a tension between the building and
welcomed its visitors through a large cano-
the exhibition design. Both dialogue in different
py space, inviting one to experience the inner
ways, and at times this tension is positive. I like
spaces as orchestrated by the slanted roof.
the “parallel worlds” of exhibition parts, where
the structures force us into narrow passages.
The initial concept of the project remained un-
3+1 Architects designed the exhibition spaces
changed: the emergence from the site traces,
with lots of objects to exhibit, and voices to rep-
the opening to the runway, the relationship
resent and narrate: the synthesis of all those
to the landscape, and the entrance canopy.
was not easy. The building was also challenging
52
his page and previous spread
Estonian National Museum. Photos: Takuji Shimmura
53
Estonian National Museum. Photos: Takuji Shimmura
because it has two entrances, inviting visitors
presence of the landscape and the future that
to read the exhibitions from two directions. The
the museum gesture symbolizes. I think the fact
design had to accommodate that as well… After
that we wouldn’t expect such a large museum
ten years of work, of travels, and of visits to
in Tartu or in this location indicates the whole
Tartu, it is such an amazing feeling to see our
strength of the project, as well as its poetics.
project built! We ourselves have grown with
this building, learned through it, and I am very
TK-V And finally, something more personal: what in-
thankful to all the people that believed in this
spires and surprises you in art, in architecture
vision.
and in life?
TK-V How do you see the interaction between the
LG
I feel that last century drew us far from the es-
building and visitors? Is there perhaps some
sence of time, from relating to instinct, intuition,
kind of contradiction between the location and
irrationalities and traditions, and all these are
the wider context?
essential in balanced living. I am always inspired
LG
The museum could not have been placed in a
port us into a strong emotional experience,
different context or in a different location; it is
especially when they call on us to get in touch
tightly linked to the site, and to the city of Tar-
with our humanity and its relationship with na-
tu’s meanings and cultural role in Estonia. Its
ture. Being inspired by nature and thinking that
poetics and strength are drawn from this sit-
architecture should tightly link us to earth has
uation. The museum and its site constitute an
the capacity to draw the outside inside and di-
escape, a place where one can feel disconnect-
alogue with its context to create special and
ed from dense city life, and a place that invites
sustainable experiences. I am also passionate
visitors into another temporality. One trav-
about history, about archeology as a way of
els through history, through the present and
connecting history and architecture. I consider
through the future: the history of Estonia, the
architecture to be an archeological process.
Estonian National Museum. Photo: Takuji Shimmura
and touched by artworks that are able to trans-
56
Francisco Martínez (PhD) is an anthropologist
based in Estonia. He has edited different
books and curated several exhibitions.
Francisco Martínez
Aesthetics of
Amalgamation
he trigger of this article is Ingrid Ruudi’s exhibition
on the architectural projects unrealised in Estonia
because they were planned during the liminal period
1986–1994. he sense of radical openness and incompletion in the late 80s and early 90s in Estonia was
relected by Juri Okas’ letter explaining his (unbuilt)
project for the 1992 Universal Exposition of Seville,
in which he compared the Estonian society at the
time to a building “at a stage when it is hard to deine
whether it is being constructed or demolished”. he
exhibition Unbuilt. Visions for a New Society 1986–
1994 (Museum of Estonian Architecture, 2015) invited the visitor to think beyond dichotomies (of rupture
and continuity, urban growth and decline), exploring
how the materiality of built forms is directly tied to
socio-economic conditions. Ruudi showed the limits
of the life-cycle analysis of materiality and reminded
us that the urban fabric is also the outcome of socially
constituted relations (therefore contingent). Consequently, we can say that architecture not only shapes
social lives and provides means of organisation,1 but it
is also the product of the very social relations it shapes
(subject not only to destruction and maintenance, but
to construction too!).
Relections on unbuilt projects help us to acknowledge that any clear-cut separation of eras is rather
arbitrary as well as to think that it could have been
otherwise. In post-socialist countries, the nineties
was the decade when the seeds of business and entertainment centres, banks and religious buildings,
enclosures and suburbanisation were planted. Yet,
as Ruudi illustrates, there were also continuities and
alternative attempts to transform the city, to make it
both more idealistic and postmodern. Tallinn could
have been very diferent indeed; in a
few years many things were decided
in an irreversible way. Otherwise, the
exhibition also illustrates how the urban space shited from production to
consumption, and from manufacturing to services.
he unbuilt projects were turned by
Ruudi into storytelling devices, since
the objects chosen for the exhibition
acquired an autobiographical patina,
with lingering stories around them.
his suggests a particular understanding of traces and an aesthetic
concern with the relationship between material change and social
change, and how it afects our experience in return.2 We discover, for
instance, a condensation of power
relations and temporalities.3 he
presence of a series of past durations—recognisable in material
elements and amalgamations—
makes up the present multi-temporal;4 further on, its study tells
about the negotiation of actual
orders through the manipulation
of materials, their surfaces, and
the addition of new elements to
the assemblage, indexing the past
through preservation and living
eforts.
Here I propose several exercises
57
examining how pastness is perceived in the present
through unintended compositions (conglomerates,
amalgamations, coral striations, intervals etc.). Materials are not entirely reducible to the contexts in which
human activity sets them. hey have a mounting quality, revealing transmission and reception, what survives
and what is forgotten, turning the cityscape into a sort
of stage. he study of amalgamations says something
about what has been accumulating and piling up, producing a new perceptual signiicance and an open-ended assemblage. It reveals a decayed composition and
second or third uses of materials, which show successive stages of development, renewal and decadence. he
aesthetics of amalgamation portray processes of change
and review the meaning of what is residual, of what is
let behind by attempts at modernisation: as a remainder, but also as an aesthetic assemblage. In it, diferent
kinds of elements create a particular texture, an unforeseen composition and whole beyond the separated
parts that form it. In museums, however, objects are
not commonly thrown together but systematically displayed and removed from their original time and space.
Short term adaptations and long term patterns become apparent in the external aestheticised forms of
material culture, creating a fragmented, as well as aesthetically and historically diverse, urban landscape.
Gaps and interruptions can also be understood as material expressions of the past that remain in the cityscape. From previously existing practices and forms,
new ones are generated in a way similar to the process
of rewriting: adding and deleting. his process can be
partly described as hybrid, since transformations are
mediated through local conigurations of legacy, institution and power. But, in some cases, the degree of
contradiction between the elements forming the cityscape is high enough or the process of reception-translation is parallel enough (instead of mixing) that we
have to talk about a Frankenstein formation rather
than a hybrid one.
Amalgamations recall what is absent, as a tension
between history, memory and decay. hey are dense
and intense, bringing dissimilar elements into coexistence. hey indicate a lack of contextual it and
symbolic saturation, which reveals social inequalities,
radical ruptures and systemic failures. he historian
Karl Schlögel5 has tried to explain the hybridity of
processes of change by distinguishing between “hot”
and “cold” locations in urban spaces. Hot places are
those in the making, while cold ones appear already
consolidated. Hot locations act as a suture; they con-
nect, alleviate and bridge, providing terrain for inclusiveness and communication. he study of sutures,
amalgamation and repair has to therefore be sensitive to the eventfulness and in-betweenness of social
transformations. hese phenomena remind us that
change is rather contingent and multidirectional; it
always faces obduracy and alters our relation to the
things and ideas of the past as it unfolds. Likewise,
the accumulation of changeless elements and uninished projects in the cityscape conditions any process
of adaptation and testiies to failures.
For example, in examining material traces and gaps
in Tallinn we recognise a redundant melange of elements and processes that conirm that the Estonian
capital is not simply a post-socialist city, but an urban
archipelago produced by the cumulative efects of uninished projects of modernisation. his is manifested
in a peculiar abundance of threshold experiences and
in a sense of jumping from one island to another when
traversing neighbourhoods in the city. he study of
amalgamations brings to light diverse temporalities,
as well as a lack of contextual it and saturation, outlined in how materials were entropically brought and
held together.6 Social transformations produce conglomerates, which eventually generate a particular
apprehension and a certain type of aesthetic and spatial regime. In post-socialist cities, this is perceived as
a lack of contextual it, a symbolic saturation, and a
need for (material and social) sutures.
My last example is from the project “Aesthetics of
Repair in Contemporary Georgia”,7 in which the curator Marika Agu and I proposed to relect on those
arrangements that constituted inality without being
inished in Tbilisi (in a constant oscillation between
aspiration and the possible). Drawing on this assumption, we put the emphasis on the radical processes of
construction and deconstruction in which Georgia
has been immersed, expressed in a state of unstable
equilibria and low-key engagements. his compelled
us to ethnographically explore micro-works of adaptation and a sense of distributed creativity: the way
that people make use of what is around them in order to cope with abrupt social changes. Existentially,
and relying on material culture studies, our project
called attention to the arts of combining and ixing
up. We discovered in Georgia a paradoxical interplay
between innovation and tradition, which generates a
particular indigenous curation and vernacular solutions. here, every person seems to be a master, capable of actively making a world of his own, and at
58
Aesthetics of Amalgamation in Tbilisi. Photo: Francisco Martínez
Tõnis Vint “Naissaar project“ (Woman-island), 1995
1
Victor Buchli. An Anthropology of Architecture. London:
Bloomsbury, 2013.
2
Anca Pusca. “The Aesthetics of Change. Exploring PostCommunist Spaces”. Global Society 22, 3: 369-386,
2008.
3
Victor Buchli. “Astana: materiality and the city”. In C.
Alexander, V. Buchli & C. Humphrey (eds.) Urban Life in
Post-Soviet Asia. London: UCL Press, 2007. pp 40-69.
4
Laurent Olivier. ‘Duration, memory and the nature of the
archaeological record’. In H. Karlsson (ed.) It’s About Time:
The Concept of Time in Archaeology. Gothenburg: Bricoleur,
2001.
5
Karl Schlögel. Im Raume lesen wir die Zeit.München:
Hanser, 2003.
6
Francisco Martínez. ‘Tallinn as a city of thresholds’. Journal
of Baltic Studies, 2015 46 (2), 127−155. And A. Kurg and
M. Laanemets. A User’s Guide to Tallinn. Tallinn: Estonian
Academy of Arts, 2002.
7
F. Martínez and M. Agu, (eds.). Aesthetics of Repair in
Contemporary Georgia. Tartu: Tartu Art Museum, 2016.
8
Jacques Rancière. Politics and Aesthetics. London:
Continuum, 2006.
59
he
Pleasurable Aspects
of Breakdown
Angela Wheeler holds an MSc from Columbia University’s historic
preservation programme. She has worked in the Republic of
Georgia’s heritage sector in various capacities since 2010.
Angela Wheeler
A review of Remont: Aesthetics of Repair in Contemporary Georgia, edited by
Francisco Martínez and Marika Agu. Tartu Art Museum hosted the accompanying
exhibition between 24 March and 29 May 2016.
“You’re better of getting a new bike,” the mechanic
said, spinning the front wheel to produce an emphatic
rattle. My bicycle, its front end slightly bent in a recent
accident, did look somewhat pathetic surrounded by
the shop’s sleek new models. Concealing his disdain
for both my rust-lecked bicycle and my attachment
to it, the bike shop mechanic continued: “You could
try to ind a replacement part, but honestly it’s not
worth ixing.”
Not worth ixing? he implication that a bicycle was
as disposable as a bruised apple baled me. My ofense
was perhaps intensiied by the fact that I had recently returned from the Republic of Georgia, a country
where the thought of throwing away a perfectly serviceable bicycle would have been absurd. In Georgia,
everything is worth ixing.
he contributors to Aesthetics of Repair in Contemporary Georgia seek to explore this country’s culture
of “remont,” or repair, not only as a practice but also
as a broader cultural and aesthetic phenomenon. his
book, which accompanied an exhibition held at the
Tartu Art Museum in Spring 2016, recruits scholars
from across a range of disciplines, as well as Georgian
contemporary artists who employ ideas and imagery
of repair in their work. he editor and exhibition organizer, Francisco Martínez, situates remont at the
intersection of three factors: “the human desire to improve one’s situation, the sufering resulting from not
being able to do so, and the oscillation between anxiety and the possibility of trying to bridge that gap.”1
he exhibition sought to balance an analysis of remont’s aesthetic possibilities with an awareness of
the underlying social conditions that foster it. his
careful balance gets somewhat lost in the book as
contributors misjudge the timing, cause and nature
of remont. Signiicant political and economic factors
get overlooked by the authors in favor of celebrating
60
urban informality as an aesthetic construct. his lack
of both historical and contemporary comparative
context prevents Aesthetics of Repair from fully engaging with the broad concept of remont in the way
it intends.
Describing them as a “slum,” an American press photo from 1966
shows several dilapidated houses in Tbilisi covered in homebuilt
extensions as a new hotel looms in the background.
Photo: Associated Press
with Casablanca’s impoverished bidonvilles (“tin-can
towns”) due to their informal ingenuity. he situation
divided the International Congress of Modern Architecture between those espousing rational, top-down
planning and those eager to explore more “organic”
ways of urban living.4
Aesthetics of Repair treats Georgia’s culture of remont
primarily as a reaction to post-independence contact
with Western capitalism, but this interpretation neglects a longer and more complicated legacy. he doit-yourself remont culture prevalent in the “lawless
‘90s” was hardly new. he practice of “individual construction,” in fact, has a long tradition in Georgia; it
was legally permitted in the postwar Georgian SSR
up through the mid-1960s, and—to party leaders’
consternation—continued to lourish illegally well
into the 1970s.2 Even formally trained Georgian architects engaged in their own form of remont, complaining that Moscow’s standardized housing plans
ill-suited balmy Tbilisi and modifying original plans
to include loggias and balconies.3 Such improvisation
lies in the face of received notions about Soviet-era
planning and suggests that remont is less a response
to the particulars of capitalism than to the failings of
any socio-economic system.
Remont as a practice has been widespread both historically and geographically, and so too has its fetishization by outsiders. Western scholars have long seen
in improvisational urbanism—from DIY architecture to spontaneous marketplaces—a reservoir of liberating primitivism that can provide an alternative to
sterile, hyper-regulated Western cities. In 1953, a team
of Western architects, for example, became enamored
Outsiders’ celebration of urban improvisation eventually came in for repeated criticism amid concerns that
it romanticized poverty in distant lands. Recall, for
example, the Harvard Project on the City research led
by Rem Koolhaas in Lagos, Nigeria between 1998–
2001. Just as Aesthetics of Repair frames remont as
a response to the lawlessness of post-Soviet transition
and delights in the emancipatory potential of individual actors, Koolhaas lauded the “unbelievable proliferation of individual agency” that occurs “when the
state is absent.”5 he project was widely faulted for
orientalizing Lagos as an aestheticized urban fantasy
disconnected from its history and politics.6
Far from a unique phenomenon, the free-loating
DIY sensibility the contributors perceive in Georgia
is just one of many examples of urban informality,
from Dharavi to Detroit, repeatedly discovered and
hese building extensions in Old Tbilisi are an architectural
record of local ingenuity and DIY aesthetics, but they also speak
to less romantic realities of poverty, overcrowding and dangerously
neglected infrastructure. Credit: Lumley & Koller Architects
61
rediscovered by “urban explorers.” Knowledge of other studies and comparative cases might have greatly
enriched Aesthetics of Repair, enabling the contributors to sidestep longstanding critiques and more clearly identify what is distinctive in Georgian remont.
In the book’s introduction, the authors propose to escape Western orientalism, but then undermine their
own initial critical impulse by recasting urban decay
as creative emancipation, or simply as a consumable
aesthetic. he contributors Rene Mäe and Juuli Nava
deploy the concept of “post-tourism” to describe their
stint in Tbilisi, presenting themselves as latter-day
lâneurs better equipped to appreciate remont than
Georgians (who are busy getting by) and traditional
tourists (who want only to see headline attractions).
he capital is, for them, “a wonderland in which to
experience the material dimensions of repair and the
pleasurable aspects of breakdown in the process of
urban mobility.” 7 his depiction of Tbilisi as “a city
whereby the everyday is not to be lived but rather performed,”8 reduces daily realities to a kind of theater
for outsider consumption. hat the observer admires
the performance makes the observation no less objectifying.
Despite such lapses, Aesthetics of Repair ills an important gap in recent scholarship by attempting to
provide a cultural context for Georgia’s contemporary
art scene, ultimately proposing that context as Georgia’s unique culture of remont. Mäe and Nava usefully deploy the distinction between static and dynamic
repair to explain remont’s creative potential: whereas
static repair seeks to return an object or site exactly to
its previous state, dynamic repair takes the previous
state as mere inspiration, altering form or even function in the process of repair to crat something new.
A standardized Tbilisi apartment block is now home to endless nonstandard variations. Photo: Corneliu Cazacu
1
Kaljula, L. (2016). “Aesthetics of Repair in Contemporary
Georgia: Tartu Art Museum, Estonia, March 24-May 29
2016.” ArtMargins. <http://ˇ.artmargins.com/index.php/
exhibitions-sp-132736512/780-aesthetics-of-repair-incontemporary-georgia-tartu-art-museum-estonia-march24-may-29-2017> Accessed 20 August 2016.
2
Smith, M. (2008). “Individual Forms of Ownership in the
Urban Housing Fund of the USSR, 1944-64,” The Slavonic
and East European Review. 86 (2): 283–305.
3
Asabashvili, L. (2012). “Post War Housing in Georgia.”
Urban Reactor. <http://urbanreactor.blogspot.
com/2012/04/post-war-housing-in-georgia.html>
Accessed 15 August 2016.
4
Avermaete, T. (2005). Another Modern: the Post-War
Architecture and Urbanism of Candilis-Josic-Woods.
Rotterdam: Nai Publishers.
5
Koolhaas, R. (2002). “Fragments of a Lecture on Lagos,”
in O. Enwezor et al., Under Siege: Four African Cities Freetown, Johannesburg, Kinshasa, Lagos: Documenta 11,
Platform 4 (Ostifildern-Ruit: Hate Cantz).
6
Godlewski, J. (2010). “Alien and Distant: Rem Koolhaas
on Film in Lagos, Nigeria.” Traditional Dwellings and
Settlements Review. 21(2): 7–19.
7
Mäe, R. and J. Nava (2016). “Exploring Tbilisi as a PostTourist,” in F. Martínez et. al., Aesthetics of Repair in
Contemporary Georgia (Tartu: Tartu Art Museum).
8
Martínez, F. (2016). “Doing Nothing in Tbilisi,” in F. Martínez
et. al., Aesthetics of Repair in Contemporary Georgia (Tartu:
Tartu Art Museum).
62
he central piece of the pediment represents Goddess Britannia, a mythical
female personiication of the British Isles. Photo: Anu Vahtra
Carl-Dag Lige (b.1982) is an architecture critic and historian. He currently
works as a Curator at the Museum of Estonian Architecture.
Carl-Dag Lige
The Baltic
Exchange
65
Installation view. Photo: Anu Vahtra
FACE-TO-FACE: he Story of the Baltic Exchange (exhibition)
6 May – 5 June 2016, Museum of Estonian Architecture (Tallinn)
Exhibition concept: Maarja Kask, Ralf Lõoke (Salto Architects) & Neeme Külm
Project team: Carl-Dag Lige, Triin Ojari, Indrek Sirkel, Anu Vahtra & Kadri Kütt
Organiser: Museum of Estonian Architecture
Book cover. Photo: Anu Vahtra
FACE-TO-FACE: he Story of the Baltic Exchange (book)
Editors: Triin Ojari, Carl-Dag Lige & Indrek Sirkel
Contributors: Sam Jacob, Stuart Burch, Jake MacSiacais, Michael Corr, Heiti Hääl, Triin Ojari et. al.
Graphic design: Indrek Sirkel
Photography: Anu Vahtra
Publishers: Museum of Estonian Architecture & Lugemik
he Museum of Estonian Architecture in Tallinn
recently hosted a monumental kinetic installation by
Maarja Kask and Ralf Lõoke of Salto Architects and
the artist Neeme Külm, telling the story of a building
that has lost its place. he installation “FACE-TOFACE: he Story of the Baltic Exchange” explored
the bizarre and unusual migration of a historical
building since it was deprived of its location in London following a terrorist attack by the Irish Republican Army in 1992.
Ater the bomb attack, valuable fragments of the neoclassical Baltic Exchange were stored with the intention of restoring the building to its historical form.
However, an assessment by English Heritage in 1996
determined that the damage to the Exchange building was far more severe than had previously been
thought, and they dropped their insistence on restoration. One of London’s current landmark buildings,
also known as the Gherkin and designed by Foster +
Partners, was opened at the site in 2004.
he salvaged remnants of the Baltic Exchange changed
owners many times until the building became the
most sizeable object to be sold at SalvoWeb, the Internet platform of the largest architectural antiques
and salvage fair in the UK. here was an unlikely intervention by Estonian businessmen, who bought the
fragments in 2007 with the hope of integrating them
into a real estate development in Tallinn. he integration failed ater several attempts and debates, leaving
the pieces stacked in shipping containers for nearly 10
years until the authors of the installation began a new
chapter this spring.
66
“For diferent reasons, the remnants of the Baltic
Exchange have stirred controversy and diferences
of opinion in both the British and Estonian public.
Having addressed the issues of site speciicity before, for example with their “Gas Pipe” exposition
at the Venice Architecture Biennale, the creators of
the installation continue to ask challenging questions about the meaning, value and relocation of architectural objects,” explained Triin Ojari, Director
of the Museum of Estonian Architecture.
“We were intrigued with the strange story of this
historic building deprived of its context, an important part of its spatial identity. In addition to physical
relocation, a number of visions and proposals have
been produced regarding where and how to place
the building. he more we learned about the chain
of events, the more interesting questions came up”
explained Ralf Lõoke of Salto Architects, one of the
authors of the installation. How to integrate existing
buildings in a new setting, who should pass judgement
on the value of a piece of architecture, what value there
is in salvaging a building, how we develop emotional
ties with architectural symbols and what role such ties
play as a means of exerting inluence in society and politics were the questions the authors wanted to address
with their installation.
natural contexts, all of which have a direct inluence
on Salto’s working methods. Buildings with public
functions make up a signiicant part of the architectural work of Salto: the Viljandi State High School,
the Baltic Film and Media School, the Estonian
Road Museum, the Pärnu Environmental Education
Centre, the Sõmeru Community Centre, the Sports
Hall at the Estonian University of Life Sciences and
others. During its 12 years Salto has gained international attention and received awards for their installations; for example, the Estonian exposition “Gas
Pipe” (with Ingrid Ruudi and Neeme Külm, 2008)
at the 11th Venice Architecture Biennale; the Straw
heatre (2011), a temporary, site-speciic building
for the NO99 theatre built on the occasion of Tallinn acting as European Capital of Culture; and the
project “Fast Track” (2012) for the Archstoyanie
festival in Russia.
In the exhibition at the Museum of Estonian Architecture, fragments of the Baltic Exchange building made
their irst appearance in Estonia. Visitors were able to
stand face-to-face with the historic building’s pediment,
which had been displaced by terrorists, businessmen, architects and artists. At the exhibition, this fragment of
the building was at the disposal of anyone who wished to
subject it to their will: a simple red button allowed visitors
to move the central piece of the pediment.
he exhibition was accompanied by a catalogue exploring
the temperamental fate and context of the Exchange building in depth. he catalogue features photography by the
artist Anu Vahtra and design by the graphic designer Indrek Sirkel. he catalogue was published by the Museum of
Estonian Architecture in cooperation with the publishing
house Lugemik.
***
he artist Neeme Külm is one of the founders and
board members of the Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia. His works typically consist of large
and time-consuming but visually minimalist installations. He has created monumental installations for group shows in Estonia and abroad. His
solo exhibitions include “if” (Hobusepea Gallery,
Tallinn, 2004), “Fountain” (Draakon Gallery,
Tallinn, 2006), “ideal.total” with Dénes Farkas
(Tallinn City Gallery, 2007), “Tomorrow comes
today” (Draakon Gallery, 2010), “3 Seas” with
Dénes Farkas (Labor Gallery, Budapest, 2011)
and “Shimmer on the Surface” (Hobusepea
Gallery, 2012). Külm has participated in several
group exhibitions and has also designed several
exhibitions.
he Museum of Estonian Architecture is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Housed
in the historic Rotermann Salt Storage, this national museum is the only memory institution
in Estonia that collects, conserves and exhibits
architectural heritage. he Museum’s primary
focus is studying and popularising 20th-century and contemporary Estonian architecture.
he Museum aims to increase awareness of the
historical and cultural signiicance of the built
environment and to introduce the public to
contemporary architectural thought.
Established in 2004, Salto Architects (Maarja Kask and Ralf
Lõoke) takes a particular interest in the intersections of architecture, landscape design and art. A contextual approach
to architecture implies an awareness of social, cultural and
67
Baltic Exchange:
Chronology*
granted. The company hints that unless it is allowed
to realise Foster and Partners’ new design, it will
take its jobs and its investment back to mainland
Europe.
1744
The Virginia and Maryland coffee house in Thread-
2001
Construction of the 30 St Mary Axe, a distinctive
needle Street changes its name to Virginia and
circular tower also known as The Gherkin, by Foster
Baltick, reflecting the business of the merchants and
and Partners begins. The last remnants of the Baltic
ship-owners who regularly gather there.
Exchange are demolished.
1900 The Baltic Mercantile and Shipping Exchange Limit-
2006 The majority of salvaged material from the Baltic
Exchange is sold via SalvoWEB, an online platform
ed is created.
for salvaged building materials, to the Estonian
entrepreneurs Heiti Hääl and Eerik-Niiles Kross
1903 The Baltic Exchange moves to a new purpose-built
exchange in St Mary Axe. The lavishly decorated Ed-
for £800,000 (then worth € 1,183,000), who had
wardian building is designed by the architects Smith
established a company called OÜ Baltic Exchange.
and Wimble.
2007 Shipping containers full of salvaged building materi1955
Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill visits the Bal-
als are shipped from the UK to the port of Paldiski in
tic Exchange in order to lay the foundation stone for
north-western Estonia. OÜ Baltic Exchange submits
the extension of the building.
a proposal to the Tallinn city government and the
National Heritage Board to re-erect the Baltic Ex-
1956
HRH Queen Elizabeth II visits the Baltic Exchange
change building as part of a new office block, to be
and opens its extension.
designed by Toomas Rank, near Vabaduse (Freedom) Square, Tallinn. The Tallinn Board of Cultural
1972
The Baltic Exchange’s building gets a Grade II listing,
Property and the National Heritage Board find the
becoming a heritage site.
location unsuitable and recommend erecting the
structure in the harbour area.
1992
An IRA bomb destroys the Baltic Exchange. Three
people die and many more are injured. During the
1994
2008 OÜ Baltic Exchange and the Port of Tallinn sign
next four years most of the remaining structure
a protocol of intent outlining their cooperation in
and finishing materials of the damaged building are
erecting the Baltic Exchange building in the harbour
catalogued, carefully dismantled and stored.
area. The project is not realised.
The Baltic celebrates its 250th anniversary; a deci-
2011
OÜ Baltic Exchange commissions Meelis Press
sion is made to sell the site with the remnants of the
Architects to draw up a plan to erect the Exchange
exchange hall.
building as part of a new business complex at 4
Ahtri Street, Tallinn. The site turns out to be too
1995
The city grants planning permission to GMW ar-
small and the search for a new location begins.
chitects, who design an office building around the
remnants of the hall and main façade. The project is
2012
not realised.
OÜ Baltic Exchange commissions Meelis Press
Architects to draw up another plan to erect the Exchange building as part of a new business, hotel and
1996 An assessment by English Heritage determines that
residential complex at 3 Ahtri Street, Tallinn. The
the damage to the Exchange building is far more
project is also not realised.
severe than had previously been thought, and they
drop their insistence on restoration. After that deci-
2015
Salto Architects proposes to the Museum of
sion, Sir Norman Foster’s office starts working on a
Estonian Architecture and Heiti Hääl the idea of
new high-rise, the Millennium Tower.
organising an exhibition related to the historic Baltic
Exchange building at the Museum of Estonian Archi-
1997
Swiss Re buys the site on condition that planning
tecture.
permission to knock down the Baltic Exchange is
68
he main building of the Baltic Exchange ater its completion in
1903
he Gherkin designed by architects Foster and Partners opened in
2004. Photo: Wikipedia Commons
View of the Exchange Hall before the 1992 bombing
Pediment of the Baltic Exchange at the Salvo Fair in Knebworth in
2006. Photo: Salvo News
Facade of the Baltic Exchange around 1990
First proposal for re-erecting the building in Tallinn. Schematic
design by architect Toomas Rank, 2007
*
Dismantling the Baltic Exchange ater the 1992 bombing
For a detailed history and chronology of the Baltic
Exchange, see the book FACE-TO-FACE: The Story of the
Baltic Exchange, published by the Museum of Estonian
Architecture and Lugemik (2016). The book can be ordered
from the museum or from the Lugemik online store
www.lugemik.ee/en.
69
New
Books
Kadri Mälk.
Testament
Mälk’s artistic realm. The quality of
Estonian-born photographer Vello
the visuals, the photos of jewellery
Muikma’s (1920–2008) story of
and the close-up images are spell-
emigration to Canada, his finding a
binding and haunting, the content
place and an occupation in the new
is intriguing and brimming with life
society and his subsequent success-
with full consideration of death and
ful career as a commercial photog-
afterlife. Testament is Mälk’s way
rapher and university teacher. The
of thanking all the people who she
book is richly illustrated with photos
met along this path, an expression of
from his family albums and his pro-
gratitude.
fessional portfolio, giving a visual
overview of his life and times. The
As curator Tamara Luuk aptly de-
seductive imagery he shot for the
scribes Mälk’s work: Graceful and
booming advertising industry of the
subtle, yet wild and independent, is
Sixties makes it evident how much
what encapsulates the work of Kadri
life in the West differed from that in
Mälk, the founder of an internation-
Soviet Estonia.
ally-renowned Estonian school of
jewellery. For Mälk, an item of jew-
The book is a follow-up to the
ellery is perfectly sufficient in itself,
Estonian Museum of Art exhibition
she does not strive to be outside its
Photography from the Estonian
intimacy, its value or its closeness.
Diaspora, which Ellu Maar organized
Everything which could be called a
together with Eha Komissarov in
tradition allows her to skilfully ma-
2010, and which was motivated by
nipulate uncontrollable power, des-
interest in the photographic legacy
perate passions and the will to live
of Estonian émigrés in Canada, Swe-
Texts by Kadri Mälk, Tamara Luuk and
with all its acceptances and refusals,
den and elsewhere in the Estonian
Tanel Veenre
subjections and sovereignties.
diaspora. Another interesting result
Designed by Asko Künnap and Andres Rõhu
of this project was Marko Raat’s
Photos by Tiit Rammul
2015 documentary Fast Eddy’s Old
Tallinna Raamatutrükikoda, 2016
328 pages, in English and Estonian
Testament is a book by and about
Kadri Mälk, one of the most unique
Eye-Catcher. The
Life and Work of
Vello Muikma
of the freelance cinematographer Ed
Vaar, which gruesomely dwelt on the
lingering moments before his death.
Canada was one of the main des-
and renowned Estonian jewellery
artists, which features jewellery
News, about the life and slow death
tinations for those Estonians who
Ellu Maar
from the last ten years and is
decided to emigrate in the face of
framed by her illustrated life story.
Soviet occupation after the Sec-
The latter is written in a non-or-
ond World War. With the current
thodox way, to reveal Mälk’s inner
refugee crisis looming over Europe,
motivation, the pains, trials and
it’s worth the effort to think back on
exaltations of an artist, that can
help guide the reader – or rather the
Pilgupüüdja.
Vello Muikma
elu ja looming
Eye-Catcher.
The Life and Work of
Vello Muikma
the past and what it meant to build
a life in a new country. The story of
Muikma, who was one of the cen-
viewer – through her life journey so
far. The book is text light and image
Texts by Ellu Maar
tral figures in the Toronto Estonian
heavy, however the selected im-
Designed by Liina Siib
community, gives us a better under-
ages have been used strategically
Toronto: Estonian Studies Centre, 2016
256 pages, in Estonian and English
standing of Estonian émigré culture
and powerfully to bridge people and
and adds another piece to the visual
legacy of the post-war Estonians
landscapes, drawings and jewels,
to demonstrate the complexity of
Eye-Catcher. The Life and Work
what being a creative talent means
of Vello Muikma, written by the
and the otherworldly dimensions of
art historian Ellu Maar, follows the
living in exile.
70
History of
Estonian Art
6/II
examined period (for example phoing of art (for example: art history,
restoration and heritage conservation) or expanded the field of art in
general with for example amateur
art and popular art.
Editor Krista Kodres
Texts by Anu Allas, Sirje Helme, Jaak
Kangilaski, Anu Kannike, Juta Kivimäe,
Exhibitions
Krista Kodres, Andres Kurg, Peeter Linnap,
Kai Lobjakas, Karin Nugis, Virve Sarapik,
Gregor Taul, Mari Vallikivi
Designed by Andres Tali
Tallinn: Estonian Academy of Arts, 2016
528 pages, in Estonian with English
summary
History of Estonian Art 6/II is the
second part of the sixth volume of
the History of Estonian Art series,
11.11.16–11.12.16 Paul Kuimet
tography), supported the function-
A-Gallery
Hobusepea 2, Tallinn
Open: Mon–Fri 10am–6pm, Sat
11am–4pm
agalerii.ee
14.10.16–07.11.16 Anu Paal
11.11.16–05.12.16 Caius Kull
09.12.16–02.01.16 Kätrin Beljaev
Draakon Gallery
Pikk 18, Tallinn
Open: Mon–Fri 11am–6pm, Sat
11am–5pm
eaa.ee/draakon
10.10.16–29.10.16 Hanna Piksarv
31.10.16–19.11.16 Maria Sidljarevitš
21.11.16–10.12.16 Rene Reinumäe
12.12.16–07.01.17 Karel Koplimets
09.01.17–28.01.17 Britta Benno
30.01.17–18.02.17 Danel Kahar
20.02.17–11.03.17 Kaja Kann
13.03.17–01.04.17 7 Personal
Exhibitions: Alina Orav, Jenny
Grönholm, Liisa Kruusmägi, Liisi
Küla, Ragne Uutsalu, Heinrich Sepp,
Katarina Meister
03.04.17–22.04.17 Art Allmägi
24.04.17–13.05.17 Maxim Mjödov
EKA Gallery
Vabaduse väljak 6/8, Tallinn
Open: Tue–Sat 12pm–6pm
artun.ee/ekagalerii
that consists of two parts. The first
Permanent exhibition: AdamsonEric (1902–1968)
19.08.16–01.17 Juhan Kuus he
Measure of Humanity. 45 Years of
Documentary Photography in South
Africa
6.10.16–29.10.16 Darja Popolitova,
Merlin Meremaa, Hanna-Maria
Vanaküla, Soja Hallik
3.11.16–26.11.16 Here we are! #fomo.
Curated by Pille-Riin Jaik and Liina
Pääsuke
30.11.16–10.12.16 Hannah Harkes,
Kirill Tulin, Rachel Kinbar, Jonas Van
den Bossche
15.12.16–17.01.17 Laivi Suurväli
13.01.17–04.02.17 Norman Orro
9.02.17–04.03.17 Egle Lillemäe and
Triin Loosaar
Contemporary Art Museum of
Estonia
Põhja 35, Tallinn
Open: Apr–Dec, Tue–Sun 1pm–7pm
ekkm.ee
Estonian Museum of Applied
Art and Design
Lai 17, Tallinn
Open: Wed–Sun 11am–6pm
etdm.ee
22.09.16–30.10.16 Pseudo
Permanent exhibition: Story of
part is entitled ‘The development
of art from the late 1960s to the
regaining of independence’ and it
examines the development of Estonian art both at home and in exile.
This is a direct continuation of the
Adamson-Eric Museum
Lühike jalg 3, Tallinn
Open: May–Sept Tue–Sun 11am–6pm
Oct–Apr Wed–Sun 11am–6pm
adamson-eric.ekm.ee
developments described in the first
part of the sixth volume, History of
Estonian Art 6/I. Following in the
same fashion as the first part, fields
of art are delineated in the way they
were by the Estonian art public in
the course of the half century.
The second half of the book ‘Other
fields of art life from 1940 to 1991’,
is dedicated to fields that were
mostly ignored or not considered
to be ‘real art’ during these decades. These forgotten fields have
nevertheless managed to establish
themselves as art by the end of the
71
Estonian Design
16.09.16–06.11.16 Vicious Circle
08.10.16–08.01.17 Classics. Ivi Laas
08.10.16–28.12.16 Roundabout Baltic
Johanna Ulfsak
25.11.16–13.12.16 Merike Hallik
16.12.16–03.01.17 Anneli Oppar /
Moonika Kase
Hobusepea Gallery
Hobusepea 2, Tallinn
Open: Wed–Mon 11am–6pm
eaa.ee/hobusepea
Kadriorg Art Museum
Weizenbergi 37, Tallinn
Open: May–Sept Tue, hu–Sun
10am–6pm, Wed 10am–8pm
Oct–April Wed 10am–8pm, hu–Sun
10am–5pm
kadriorumuuseum.ekm.ee
21.09.16–10.10.16 Erno Enkenberg,
Matti Vainio, Kari Vehosalo (FIN)
12.10.16–31.10.16 Jass Kaselaan
02.11.16–21.11.16 Kristi Kongi
23.11.16–12.12.16 Paul Rodgers
14.12.16–09.01.17 Karel Kopliments
11.01.17–30.01.17 Taavi Suisalu
01.02.17–20.02.17 Dada Sada Pada.
Curator Margit Säde Lehni
22.02.17–13.03.17 Alissa Nirgi
15.03.17–03.04.17 Perro. Curator
Javier Galan (ES)
05.04.17–24.04.17 Keiu Maasik
Haapsalu City Gallery
Posti 3, Haapsalu
Open: Wed–Sat 12pm–6pm
galerii.kultuurimaja.ee
October Jaan Toomik
November Ulla Juske
December Pille-Riin Jaik
January Karl Christoph Rebane
February Läänemaa Ühisgümnaasium
March Ede Raadik
April he Estonian Academy of Arts
Fashion department show
May Kristin Reiman
HOP Gallery
Hobusepea 2, Tallinn
Open: hu–Tue 11am–6pm
eaa.ee/hop
23.09.16–11.10.16 Estonian
Leatherwork Artists’ Union
14.10.16–01.11.16 Merle Kasonen /
Pilleriin Jürisoo
04.11.16–22.11.16 Kärt Ojavee /
Permanent Exhibition: Paintings
from the 16th–18th century. Dutch,
German, Italian and Russian masters.
Western European and Russian applied
art and sculpture from the 18th–20th
century.
03.09.16–08.01.17 With a Burin,
a Brush and a Pencil. Russian
Graphic Art from the 19th−20th
Centuries in Estonian Museums
Kumu Art Museum
Weizenbergi 34 / Valge 1
Open: April–Sept Tue–Sun 10am–
6pm, Wed 10am–8pm
Oct–Mar Wed 10am–8pm, hu–Sun
10am–6pm
kumu.ekm.ee
Permanent exhibition: 17.02.06–
31.12.17 Treasury Classics of Estonian
Art from the Beginning of the 18th
Century until the End of the Second
World War
17.02.16–19.02.20 Conlicts and
Adaptations. Estonian Art of the
Soviet Era (1940–1991)
02.07.16–30.10.16 Poetry and Spleen.
he Victorian Female Image and
Fashion from Alexandre Vassiliev’s
Collection
08.07.16–06.11.16 Marcel Lefrancq
and Belgian Surrealist Photography
09.09.16–30.10.16 Mare Balticum.
An artistic exploration of the
underwater soundscape of the Baltic
Sea
16.09.16–02.04.17 Soviet Midnight.
Raul Rajangu
17.09.16–19.02.17 Between the
Archive and Architecture. Neeme
Külm, Krista Mölder and Taavi Talve
21.10.16–11.02.17 Water Music and
Other Pictures of Sound. Vladimir
Tarasov
18.11.16–27.08.17 Conductors of
Colour. Music and Modernity in
Estonian Art.
25.11.16–12.03.17 Paul Delvaux.
A Waking Dreamer
Mikkel Museum
Weizenbergi 28, Tallinn
Open: May–Sept Tue, hu–Sun
10am–6pm, Wed 10am–8pm
Oct–April hu–Sun 10am–5pm, Wed
10am–8pm
mikkelimuuseum.ekm.ee
Permanent exhibition: Collection of
Johannes Mikkel: the Art of Western
Europe, Russia, and China from 16th
to 20th centuries
09.04.16–02.10.16 Patrons of Narva.
he Art Collection of the Lavretsovs
22.10.16–03.17 Might and Pain.
Works from Margus Punab’s
Collection
Museum of Estonian
Architecture
Rotermann’s Salt Storage
Ahtri 2, Tallinn
Open: Wed–Fri 11am–6pm, Sat–Sun
10am–6pm
arhitektuurimuuseum.ee
Permanent exhibition: Space in
Motion. A Century of Estonian
Architecture is the Museum of
Estonian Architecture’s permanent
exhibition, which acquaints visitors
with the development of professional
Estonian spatial and architectural
culture. he exhibition encompasses
the most important segments of
20th century Estonian architectural
72
history, as well as the more intriguing
phenomena of today.
17.06.16–25.09.16 Genesis. he
History of Architectural Design
15.09.16–02.10.16 Modern Finnish
Poster
15.09.16–30.10.16 Peter Skubic.
Mirrors are Invisible
Niguliste Museum
Niguliste 3, Tallinn
Open: May–Sept Tue–Sun 10am–5pm
Oct–Apr Wed–Sun 10am–5pm
nigulistemuuseum.ekm.ee
Permanent exhibition: he Art
Museum of Estonia’s collection
of medieval and early modern
ecclesiastical art is exhibited at the
Niguliste Museum
01.01.13–31.12.16 Interactive Rode
altarpiece
28.09.16–27.10.16 Kadri Mälk.
Testament.
Tallinn Art Hall
Vabaduse väljak 8, Tallinn
Open: Wed–Sun 12am–6pm
kunstihoone.ee
27.08.16–09.10.16 Silence, Darkness.
Curator Anneli Porri
22.10.16–04.12.16 Random Rapid
Heartbeats. Curator Kęstutis Kuizinas
(LT)
17.12.16–05.02.17 Kaido Ole.
Nogank Hoparniis.
16.12.16–15.01.17 Raul Keller
/ Kaarel Kurismaa / Mari-Liis
Rebane / Karl Saks. Timer.
Tallinn City Gallery
Harju 13, Tallinn
Open: Wed–Sun 12am–6pm
kunstihoone.ee
23.09.16–16.10.16 Ininite Lives.
Curators Camille Laurelli (FR / EE)
and Nicolas Audureau (FR/RU)
22.10.16–04.12.16 Random Rapid
Heartbeats. Curator Kęstutis Kuizinas
(LT)
09.12.16–08.01.17 Herkki-Erich
Merila
Tartu Art House
Vanemuise 26, Tartu
Open: Wed–Mon 12pm–6pm
kunstimaja.ee
Big hall
20.10.16–13.11.16 Light Festival
Exhibition. Curator Tanel Rander
17.11.16–11.12.16 Elmar Kits 1966.
Curator Peeter Talvistu
16.12.16–08.01.17 Annual exhibition
Small hall
20.10.16–13.11.16 Lea Liblik
17.11.16–11.12.16 Evi Tihemets
16.12.16–08.01.17 Annual exhibition
Monument Gallery
20.10.16–13.11.16 Maanus Mikkel
17.11.16–11.12.16 Margit Lõhmus
16.12.16–08.01.17 Annual exhibition
Tallinn Art Hall Gallery
Vabaduse väljak 6, Tallinn
Open: Wed–Sun 12am–6 pm
kunstihoone.ee
Tartu Art Museum
Raekoja Square 18, Tartu
Open Wed, Fri–Sun 11am–7pm, hu
11am–9pm
tartmus.ee
19.08.16–09.10.16 Tanel Veenre.
Dried, Dehydrated, Dessicated
22.10.16–04.12.16 Random Rapid
Heartbeats. Curator Kęstutis Kuizinas
(LT)
05.03.16–30.10.16 he River Runs
hrough Here… Chapters from the
Art History of Tartu
29.09.16–01.01.17 Encounter
Estonian Design. An Introduction
29.09.16–04.12.16 Who Creates the
City?
10.11.16–19.02.17 Four Views on
Changing Tartu
08.12.16–05.03.17 Solo show of
Anna-Stina Treumund
Vabaduse Gallery
Vabaduse 6, Tallinn
Open: Mon–Fri 11am–6pm, Sat
11am–5pm
eaa.ee/vabadusegallery
13.10.16–01.11.16 Jüri Arrak
03.11.16–22.11.16 Aarne Mesikäpp
24.11.16–13.12.16 Pille Lehis, Pille
Ernesaks
15.12.16–03.01.17 Kersti Vaks
05.10.16–24.01.17 Liis Koger
Vaal Gallery
Tartu mnt 80d, Tallinn
Open Tue–Fri 12pm–6pm, Sat
12pm–4pm
vaal.ee
11.10.16–15.10.16 Jüri Arrak
20.10.16–05.11.16 1082
10.11.16–10.12.16 Lola Liivat
73
Estonian Art 1/2016 (37)
estonianart.ee
Published by
Estonian Institute
Editorial board
Eero Epner, Marten Esko, Karlo Funk, Elin Kard,
Andres Kurg, Kadri Laas, Piret Lindpere, Rebeka
Põldsam, Taaniel Raudsepp
Editor
Stacey Koosel
Language editor
Richard Adang
Graphic Design
Sandra Kossorotova, Aadam Kaarma (AKSK)
Web Design
Peeter Mikk
We thank
Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Urmas Müür,
Karlo Funk, Rebeka Põldsam, Eva Sepping, Martin
Rünk, Kiwa, Margus Tamm and the Editors Club
Printed at
Aktaprint
Front cover
;paranoia mascot, 2016
Back cover
Triin Tamm “Writer’s Block”, 2016
ISSN: 1406-3549; ISSN online-version: 1406-5711
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