Kunsti, kunsti kõigile...ptüi, JÄÄTIST, jäätist kõigile!

Tere Artishoki lugejad,


asi oli tegelikult väga lihtne - Maarin Mürk maitses pop-up JÄÄTISEKOHVIKU "Jäätis" erinevat toodangut ja see maitses väga! Siis tekkis mõte, et võiks uurida, kuidas ja miks see kõik toimib - ning nii saatiski uuriv ajakirjandus Artishoki näol hulga küsimusi kunstnikele Sigrid Viirile ja Kristiina Hansenile, kes seda jäätist valmistavad ja voila, siin see intervjuu ongi + ahvatlevad pildid ka juures.
Kas nüüd on Artishok elustiili-, kokanduse- ja trendiblogi? Võib-olla! Kahjuks peab tunnistama, et tegemist ei ole kinnimakstud postitusega, aga reklaam on see kindlasti! Leidke neid FBst: https://www.facebook.com/pages/pop-up-J%C3%84%C3%84TISEKOHVIK-J%C3%A4%C3%A4tis/497583037042339?fref=ts



- Kuidas teie organiseeritud jäätisetegu alguse sai?

Kõigepealt, kunagi ammu, oli selline intsident, et Juku tegi Vabriku tänava köögis kardemonisaiu. Juhuslikult sattus Sigrid, kellele väga maitsevad Juku tehtud kardemonisaiad, sealt mööda kõndima. Lõhnast lummatuna ja lootuses mõned saiad saada, loopis Sigrid lumepalle akna pihta. Juku oli lahke ja viskas Sigridile aknast mõned kardemonisaiad. Sellest kuuldes tekkis Kristiinal idee, et võiks järgmistel Kalamaja päevadel midagi teise korruse akna kaudu müüa. Mõni aeg hiljem kinkis Juku Kristiinale sünnipäevaks jäätisemasina ja siis sai selgeks, et see miski, mida aknast müüa, on jäätis. Teiselt korruselt korviga jäätise müük tundus lahe ühekordne aktsioon, aga kuna seda oli mõnus teha ja see osutus popiks ehk tundus inimestele maitsvat, siis otsustasime jäätise sortidega edasi eksperimenteerida. Nii see kõik algaski täiesti juhuslikult, ootamatult, planeerimatult ja õnnelikult.





- Teil on väga huvitavad maitse-kombinatsioonid. Kuidas ühe maitse väljatöötamine käib? Mis teie enda lemmikud on?


Mulle (S) maitseb matcha-tee jäätis ja hapukoorene jäätise põhi. Mina olen pigem selline, et üks maitse pluss miskit võiks veel olla. Kui on matcha-tee jäätis, siis pisike moositörts peaks ju ka olema või siis rabarberijäätise peal krõbe leivapuru. Mulle meeldib maitsekombodele lisaks ka tekstiline isuäratav kokkukõla nagu kollase ploomimoosi törtsuga või siis karamelliste kreekapähklitega. Kõlab kuidagi isuäratavalt. Krõbisev koos jäätisega, erinevad tekstuurid ja teineteist täiendavad maitsed on mulle meelepärased. Vastandid täiustavad teineteist. Samas meeldib mulle nuputada ka selliseid natuke teistsuguseid maitseid, mida poes naljalt ei kohta ja nendega eksperimenteerida. Nagu pihlakajäätis või siis seesamijäätis, mis on lisaks maitsele ka super ilusat imelikku värvi (jäätise kohata). Maitse kombod tekivadki nii, et istume Kristiinaga köögilaua taga ja mõtleme, mida oleks endal huvitav proovida, vahel arvestame ka sellega, kuhu jäätist parasjagu müüma läheme või oleme netiavarustes mõne huvitava retsepti otsa komistanud ja ei saa mitte proovimata jätta, kuidas see maitseb. Kombineerime konteksti ja maitseid.

Mulle (K) meeldivad ka teistsugused maitsed ja kombinatsioonid, kuid ma olen rohkem selline puhta maitse austaja. Mulle tundub, et kui liiga palju mingeid väga omapäraseid ja õrnu maitseid teistega segamini ajada, siis kaob see vaevutuntava maitse võlu ära. Me peame päris palju kompromisse tegema omavahel, aga see ongi hea, tulemus tuleb huvitavam.


- Tänapäeval on väga oluline, millest toidud koosnevad. Te ei ole kasutanud kõlavaid epiteete nagu "laktoosivaba", "rasvavaba" "öko", "käsitöö" jne. Kui palju te pidite end viima kurssi mingite toidutehnoloogiliste nüanssidega ja kas te püüate (nt tulevikus) pakkuda ka midagi muud kui lihtsat kodu-tehtud jäätist?

“Käsitsi valmistatud” ehk “käsitöö” on meil aegade algusest kasutuses. Tänaseks on olemas ka veganitele ja laktoositalumatutele šokolaadijäätis maapähklivõiga ja kui keegi avaldab soovi, siis saab alati tellida seda, mida hing ihkab ja tervis lubab. Oleme paidlikud ja vastutulelikud. Samuti oleme jäätistes enamasti kasutanud Kristiina tädi peetavate kodukanade mune, kuid me ei reklaami seda välja, sest mõnikord ei ole kodumune saadaval ja tuleb ikkagi kiiresti lähimasse poodi joosta, et tellimus täita.

- Kas jäätist on koos teistmoodi teha kui kunsti / näituseid? Lihtsam / raskem?

Teistmoodi küll, sest eesmärk on hoopis muu või siis suhtumine ses mõttes, et jäätisetegu on ikkagi pigem hobi ja kunst töö/elukutse. Hobi on tegutsedes kindlasti 100% pühendumist, aga saab kuidagi kergemalt, vähema vastutustunde ja kaugema eesmärgita võtta. Samas ilmnevad sarnased jooned, sest asju teed sa ikka nii nagu oled harjunud tegema.
Raskusi esialgu ilmnenud pole, mõnus on ja toormaterjali kulu saab tagasi. Kunsti puhul on enamasti ikkagi rahamure, et ei jagu selleks, kuidas tahaks teostada, tuleb pidevalt otsida alternatiive... vahel on see hea, aga kui seda pidevalt tegema peab, siis on see väsitav, ebaaus ja tohutult nö. vale aja kulukas.
Jäätise puhul ei ole kompromisside tegemine ka nii hell kui kunsti puhul, sest jäätist tehes oled ikkagi rohkem kellegi teise teenistuses, maitse-eelistused on täiesti arusaadavalt erinevad, aga kunsti puhul on see kunstniku visoon/tõlgendus ja maitse-eelitused teiste arvestades teisejärgulised.



- Mis oskuseid te oma kunstniku jm tegevustest üle saate kanda? Tootefotod on fotokunsti taustaga tegijatel väga kenad, aga veel?

Kõik oskused. Panustada ilma tulu lootmata, detailidele tähelepanu pööramine, kummalisena tunduvate ideede ellu rakendamine, kontekstiga arvestamine, analüüsimine, metsik ebapraktilisus, loogika eitamine, ettekujutusvõime, lendavad ideed, mida saab ja mida pole võimalik ja võibolla ikkagi on ja samas on meil jalad vägagi maas. Jäätiseputkat ehitades või kusagile üles pannes lähtume ruumist, kontekstist nii nagu näitusegi puhul. Mitte midagi ei saa teha ülejala ega suvaliselt. Kui me oma putkat püsti paneme või teise korruse aknast jäätist müüa otsustame, siis siiani on selleks kulunud tohutu aeg ja eeltöö, et kõik ikka lisaks maitsvale ka äge välja näeks ja tervikuna hästi kokku kõlaks ja meile endile meeldiks. Oleme nii mõnegi öö saagides-värvides-meisterdades veetnud. See on väga mõnus osa kogu sellest protseduurist ja seal saame kindlasti oma kunstnikuoskuseid kasutada, sest kunstnik ju teab kuidas trelli ja haamrit käes hoida.

- Sildistamisest ka - kas see on nüüd loovmajandus (kunstnikud loovad omale elatusvahendeid) või epikuurlus või ootamatult suureks kasvanud hobi või kalamaja-hipsterite väikeärindus? Ja kui Visible Solutions on üsna iroonia-põhine, siis kas jäätisetegu on näiteks uussiirus?

Elatusvahendeid seni sellega loonud ei ole, miinusesse ka ei ole jäänud. Meile lihtsalt meeldib seda teha ja paistab, et sööjatele meeldib ka. Eks see on nii hobi kui ka “kalamaja-hipsterite väikeärindus”, kuigi pool meist ei ela Kalamajas. Tore ju kui ei pea kõike supermarketist ostma, vaid saab naabertänavast ja teise mekiga. Me ei näe sellel sildistamisel väga mõtet.

- Kas teil on mingid tootearenduse plaanid? Pop-up jäätisemajake teil juba on, aga veel plaane? Kui palju aega see teilt praegu võtab proportsionaalselt, kas sellest võiks kujuneda ka põhiline sissetuleku-allikas?

Meie tootearendus tekib spontaanselt. Jäätise-majake tekkis sellest, et meile tehti ettepanek osaleda ühel müügiüritusel, kus teiselt korruselt korviga jäätise müük nii nagu seni olime teinud, ei olnud võimalik. Niisama laua tagant müümine ei tundunud meile endile aga huvitav ja seega otsustasime ehitada natuke veidra jäätisekioski. Ideid meil jagub. Eks näis. See on meie mõnu, võlu ja eelis, et me ei pea midagi tegema ja võime pea kõigega katsetada.
Aega võtab see täpselt nii palju kui meil aega on. Teeme siis, kui jõuame ja hetkel on see üsna hüplik, ebaregulaarne. Vahel peame ka ei ütlema, sest miskit muud on teoksil ja selleks, et ühepäevasele üritusele müüma minna, on üsna palju organiseerimist ja ettevalmistamist, nii u poolteist nädalat.
Põhiliseks sissetuleku-allikaks saamiseks oleks vaja ikkagi palju suuremat tootmist kui meil praegu on ja see tähendab ruumi, sügavkülmikut, masinat ja aega.

- Millised on teil plaanitud järgmised maitsed, mille üle juba vaikselt vesistama võib hakata?
Jõuludeks plaanisime teha piparkoogi-sinihallitusjuustu jäätise, aga ei jõudnud. Veel on arendamisel mandariinisorbett õunaveini ja natuke švipsis granaatõunaseemnetega, üks vegan-jäätis, midagi soolast ja eile andis Krista meile ühe hea idee, mis peab küll kevadet ootama. Katsetasime kardemonise hurmaajäätisega, aga see ei vastanud ootustele.




- Ning last but not least - miks mooniseemned tulevad pihlakajäätisel eraldi kaasa, mitte ei ole kohe sisse segatud?

See on üks meie paljudest kompromissidest. Kuna Sigridile maitsevad kombinatsioonid ja Kristiinale puhtad maitsed, siis otsustasime, et paneme mooniseemned eraldi kaasa ja nii saab igaüks ise valida, kas ja kui palju neid jäätisega manustab. Sama on näiteks matcha-tee jäätise juures ploomimoositörtsuga ja rabarberijäätise rukkileivapuruga.





PS. Just for the record - intervjueerija lemmikud on pihlaka jäätis KOOS mooniseemntegea ja hapukoore jäätis krõbeda leivaga!

Voldi lahti / Unfold

Lükka kokku / Fold back

Kunstiministeeriumi siseaudit 2014 (tsenseeritud lõigud)

Raadioeeter on teadupärast piiratud resurss ja nii jääb igast Kunstimministsteeriumist kuni pool salvestatud materjali välja. Kuivõrd 09.06. 2014 Klassikaraadios eetrisse minev Kunstiministeerium tegeleb ministeeriumi enese auditeerimisega, siis mõjub igasugune toimetamine - olgu või objektiivsetel põhjustel - saate sisu suhtes paratamatult ideoloogilise tsensuurina. Taolise etteheite vältimiseks toob Artisthok teieni kõik ERR-i eetrist välja jäänud saatelõigud: miks ministeeriumil on vähe sõpru? Miks saade nii igav on? Markus Toompere teeb Lembitu Kuuset. Haritud neeger, kahepeaga jaanalind ja raseerimata jalgadega naine.

Audiitorite Markus Toompere ja Peeter Krosmanni küsimustele ja etteheidetle vastab kantsler Indrek Grigor.

Voldi lahti / Unfold

Lükka kokku / Fold back

Sunday Morning Pancaces: Vahram Muradyan & Sveta Bogomolova

Sunday Morning Pancakes is a social format called to life to save the art critic from permanently damaging his or her stomach. As we all know the important talks are being held with a glass of wine in a nice bar. But to the colleagues who, can not keep up with the intensity of the institutional art world, a good alternative might be to ask the artist for a round of Sunday morning pancakes… Feel free to try this at home!



Vahram Muradyan and Sveta Bogomolova Exhibition Tartu Art House 22.11.-15.12. 2013

The transcription of the interview was published in Echo Gone Wrong

Voldi lahti / Unfold

Lükka kokku / Fold back

East Art Map is My Phone Book

Liisa Kaljula held a long conversation with the Eastern European performance art scholar Amy Bryzgel who visited Estonia, met artists, art historians and lectured in the Center for Contemporary Arts Estonia in October 2013. The interview was commissioned by the Estonian cultural weekly Sirp shortly before Sirpgate scandal, Artishok is glad to publish - concurrently with the shorter Estonian version in Sirp - its full length version in English after all these months of interregnum.

Your book Performing the East. Performance Art in Russia, Latvia and Poland Since 1980 came out this summer under the UK Publisher IB Tauris and you are already working on another one that addresses a broader area of Eastern Europe, including the former Yugoslavia, Central and Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet countries of Europe, such as Estonia. Yet you are an American scholar living and working in Scotland. What intrigues you in the former Eastern bloc? Is it art or is it politics?

It’s an interesting question that I often get asked. I guess my initial interest came from my own personal background. Two of my grandparents were Polish, and I grew up, as many Americans do, with my own family’s national traditions and customs. When I studied art history, I was painfully aware of the fact that no Polish artists were included in the curriculum – or even visible in the textbooks. I was genuinely curious what the art looked like in all of these underrepresented places in Eastern Europe.

When I finished my Master’s degree, I wanted to travel and live in Europe. Having studied mainly European art in university, this continent, and all of its individual countries, fascinated me. As part of my travels, I went to Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. I was interested in the way the recent political history had affected the local visual landscape. At the time, one of the easiest ways to live in Europe was to get a job teaching English in Eastern Europe; this was in the 1990s, and English-language schools were popping up all over the place. I ended up working at a college in Czestochowa, Poland, which trained teachers of foreign languages, including English.

I was there for nearly three years, so I learned Polish, and then decided to continue my studies at the PhD level. I chose Rutgers University, in New Jersey, because at that time it was one of the only places where one could do a PhD with a focus on Soviet and Eastern European art, because of the Dodge collection.

Aside from my personal motivations for studying the region, I think what attracts me is the way that art and politics intersect – sometimes overtly, and sometimes covertly. But the socio-historical context is almost always somehow present, and even when it isn’t, this absence is also meaningful. But at the end of the day, I guess that I also just happen to find the artists and art produced in the region really interesting, and really good.

You have been travelling the former Soviet block a lot lately and must have met many Eastern European artists and art historians on your way. The question of whether Eastern Europe has an identity of its own has been haunting me a lot lately, and if we do have something in common with all these countries from former Yugoslavia up to Latvia and Estonia then is it the shared historical trauma mostly or is there something more affirmative besides that?

The issue of “Eastern Europe,” and even the term, is a tricky one. We know that it is a geo-political term, and we should also know that if we use that term, then we are implicitly speaking about many “Eastern Europes,” not only geographically (the situation in Yugoslavia was quite different than in Poland or Lithuania, for example, and even from Romania to Czechoslovakia we see major differences in how communism was implemented), but also temporally (compare Czechoslovakia in the 1960s versus 1970s, or Poland in the 1980s with Hungary in the 1970s, for example). So while on the one hand there is a sense of a “shared historical trauma,” it is also different from country to country, decade to decade.

What interests me with regard to this question is the way that various styles, traditions, and approaches have been shared, imported and exported across this region. We certainly know more about the East’s adoption of Western styles – it is probably most often noted trope. It seems that we know a lot less about the influence that Eastern artists had on Western artists, despite the fact that it is well-documented that artists from the West came to the region and also knew about the art being produced here through mail art and other informal forms of export. The obvious examples are Allan Kaprow’s interest in the work of Milan Knizak, or Lucy Lippard’s inclusion of Czech artists such as Petr Stembera and the Slovenian artist group OHO in her text Six Years: the Dematerialization of the Art Object. But I think the more that we learn about the ways in which artistic practice was shared and distributed both across Eastern Europe and from East to West, the more we will see that there was considerable influence in the direction of East to West, which is not discussed nearly as often as it should be.

Your PhD is from Rutgers University which for the Estonian art circles, is known mainly because of the Zimmerli Art Museum that is under the tutelage of the university and houses the Norton Dodge Collection of Soviet nonconformist art (there is quite some amount of the cream of Soviet era Estonian art in that collection too). What role has the Rutgers University and the Norton Dodge collection played in your research curriculum?

The Dodge Collection was the foundation for my PhD studies, and really my introduction to the art of this region. When I was considering my dissertation topic, I always knew that I wanted to examine art from three different countries within the Soviet sphere of influence – Russia itself, a Soviet Republic, and a Central European country. Because of my experience in Poland, I decided to use my knowledge of the language to further my research. I thought that the Baltics would provide an interesting point of comparison, since these countries are very much part of the European tradition, yet were then cut off from Europe when they were incorporated into the Soviet Union.

I remember sitting in the registrar of the museum, looking through slide after slide in the collection, both to familiarize myself with it, and to select an artist or artist whose work I wanted to investigate. From there, I chose an artist whose work I found really compelling – that was the work of Latvian artist Miervaldis Polis. I was attracted by the use of humour and irony in his work, and the performative element that carried through from his performances into his paintings (or vice versa, really, because he was a painter before he created his performances). I do recall very vividly the collection of Estonian graphic artists that we had in the collection. While I liked their work, I was more interested in performance, which is how I chose my focus.

The Norton Dodge collection – in my mind - also bears historical traces of Western attitudes towards Eastern Europe at the end of 20th century when dissident art was smuggled out of the Soviet Union as an act of saving, whereas the region itself lost essential part of its cultural memory with this act. Have you felt this weight of your predecessors – art historians and art dealers travelling Eastern Europe in the 1990s – while travelling Eastern Europe now in the 2000s?

When I first started my research, back in 2004, I think I did get some apprehension on the part of locals, who felt that I, as an outsider, wouldn’t really be able to understand the local issues, since I hadn’t lived through them myself. I’ve encountered that attitude less and less, although someone did actually say something similar to me just this past summer! I can completely understand this hesitation with regard to “outsiders,” and the fear of being mis-represented. But usually the response to my work is quite positive, once I explain that my approach is really to tease out all of the various nuances within the context of this greater “Eastern Europe.” It’s actually really interesting to see the response of different artists when I ask to meet with them. Many of the younger artists are very interested in being represented now, as they are trying to gain as wide an exposure with their work as possible. Some of the older artists are surprised that I am interested in their work, and happy that I’ve contacted them, because they feel that the world has forgotten them.

How do you work on your field trips in these countries?

To be honest, for my current research I’m using as my guide Zdenka Badovinac’s Body and the East catalogue, together with IRWIN’s East Art Map. I use these texts almost as a phone book – they serve as my starting point whenever I visit a country. From there, I usually contact the local contemporary art center or modern or contemporary art museum, and local curators and art historians. I usually present local curators and art historians with my “list” of artists that I would like to meet, and then ask them to suggest other artists, so maybe this is why it works, because as an outsider I try to approach the scene from within, through the local experts and also texts compiled from within the East.

It has also been really interesting to see the legacy of Badovinac’s groundbreaking exhibition, because the vast majority of artists in that catalogue are still active, and still relevant. Only a token few have abandoned performance, or, sadly, some have since died, but Body and the East still presents an accurate picture of performance art in the region. My text will hopefully complement that one, and also present the subsequent twenty years since it was produced. I suppose that because my focus is performance, and not painting or sculpture – which is predominant in the Dodge collection – the Dodge Collection hasn’t been my point of reference as much for this aspect of my research. But it still remains a phenomenal collection, historical circumstances notwithstanding, and certainly formed the foundation of my initial work on the region.

Has it been difficult to understand the cultural code of Eastern European art as America is perhaps better known to us via TV and internet than Eastern Europe is to you?

I suppose I’ve been lucky in that I managed to start traveling in the region quite early. I made my first trip to Russia in 1996, and then in 1997 I traveled around Europe, as I mentioned, and lived in Poland from 1998-2000. While completing my PhD, after the requisite initial two years in residence at Rutgers, I worked on my dissertation remotely, living in Latvia from 2004-2009. So my vision and understanding of “Eastern Europe” has really been shaped by my experiences there. Although no one can understand a foreign situation completely, I feel that I am able to speak from the position of a very informed outsider, which has both advantages and disadvantages.

On the one hand, while I have the sense that I understand the nuances of the region, I continually have experiences that remind me that I don’t have the whole picture – it is easy to make assumptions based on individual experiences, and I continually have experiences that challenge those assumptions. But another thing that I learned from living in the region is how different each individual experience is from the point of the insider, as well. When locals discuss the Soviet period or the transition times of the 1990s and all voice different perspectives and opinions, and demonstrate different understandings of those times, I wonder how I can ever have a complete picture when even they can’t agree what it was really like! But I suppose that simply underscores the fact that history is never objective, and each perspective is individual and unique, and can provide insight – as long as it is an informed perspective, with strictly defined terms, then it has value.

In Kumu there is a huge European Council exhibition as we speak, which aims to prove that there is no difference between Western and Eastern European contemporary art. There is a point there from one side, as the avant-garde in the East has often been deemed less radical than the avant-garde in the West, but from the other side the conditions in which these avant-gardes emerged were still pretty different, the first acted in public space whereas the second in private or semiprivate space. You first book focused on exactly these differences between performance art in the East and in the West and you pointed out the influence of the art market in the West as the most essential of them. But didn`t the state with its commissions embody the art market in the East?

I absolutely agree that the state in Eastern Europe forms a similar parallel with the Western art market in terms of that entity from which artists wanted to distance or free themselves. In generic terms, much of the artistic work that has been developed in the 19th and 20th centuries has been about rebelling against something. But in specific terms, I think it means something very different to rebel against an academy, a predominant style, an art market, a governmental policy, a repressive regime, etc. I hope that in my work I can discover and highlight the subtleties of these differences.

In the earlier part of the twentieth century, artists throughout Europe were oriented towards the artistic centers in the West – Paris, Munich, Milan. Artists traveled there, and brought back the latest trends and styles – but almost always they made an effort to adapt those styles to local traditions and tastes, and the result was some interesting and innovative artistic forms, which happen to have their origins in the West (although at that time I think the idea was more that these places were considered artistic centers before they were thought of as Western). Take for example Czech Cubism. The style may have originated in Paris, through the collaboration between Picasso and Braque, but the Czechs took that style and ran with it, applying it to furniture and architecture, in ways that the Parisian artists never dreamed of. But this example illustrates that it is not simply a question of East or West, but of a layering of styles, approaches and influences. Because the Czech variant of Cubism happens to have its origins elsewhere in no way diminishes its uniqueness and art historical value.

So, in terms of there being “no difference” between East and West, I suppose it depends what terms we are considering, and also the time period. Indeed, the social and cultural differences between East and West are diminishing, and so many young artists these days are studying abroad and participating in residencies all over the world. So it makes it very difficult to speak of influence and background as homogenous. It should also be remembered that when we speak of the historical avant-garde, it was Eastern European artists who were at the forefront – most notably the Romanian artist Tristan Tsara (Tom Sandqvuist’s 2006 study, Dada East: The Romanians of Cabaret Voltaire addresses this gap in the literature).

Speaking of the neo-avant-garde, I think that what seems like a difference between radical art being enacted in public spaces in the West versus private spaces in the East is actually the result of a gap in the knowledge and literature that is slowly being filled. Even in Romania during the Ceasescu regime, there are examples of public performances (for example, those of Paul Neagu), although they are perhaps more rare than those witnessed in Yugoslavia. In some ways public performances in these places can perhaps be deemed more radical than their Western counterparts, since these public displays were enacted in places where free speech and expression was not the given that it was in the West at the same time.

It is very nice that you have helped make the Western readers acknowledge with your book that avant-garde is also a phenomenon of the East. If we assume that avant-garde is not a game for the insiders of art world but carries a mission in the larger society then do you think performance art has had a special role to play in Eastern European societies that have been struggling in great deal with maintaining free and open society?

I do, actually. My PhD dissertation was in fact focused on performance artists in the region in relation to Western theories of the avant-garde (Burger, Poggioli, Krauss). Their argument is that the avant-garde is either dead or doomed to repeat itself, but in the East the avant-garde actually functioned in many instances as inadvertent political activism. One of the most obvious examples of this was the Bulldozer Exhibition in Moscow in 1974, when artists pushed the boundaries of what was accepted, and the result was an article in the New York Times the day after the show was bulldozed, which forced the city authorities to allow the artist to stage a similar exhibition two weeks later, so as to appear open and tolerant of artistic expression. Each time an artist pushed these boundaries, they inched further and further toward the complete artistic freedom that they would experience in a democratic society. Many agree that the nonconformist artists in the Soviet Union were integral to its fall.

When I was in Croatia, which has a wealth of both older and younger generation performance artists, we were discussing whether performance art was now an exclusively Eastern European phenomenon, as it seems that the genre has really taken hold in the region, following the fall, and one can’t help but wonder if part of the reason – aside from the obvious idea that the body is now reclaimed from the state – is that artists aim to use these radical art forms to help shape these new democracies. By creating a discourse about relevant issues, in a very visceral, and sometimes public form, they can engage viewers in ways that they otherwise wouldn’t, and contribute to the discussion as to how the new societies that are in development should look.

But if to think of many Western exhibitions and books on Eastern European contemporary art, then the traumatic post-socialist Eastern Europe still seems to be the commodity that the Western world is willing to buy. Do you see Eastern Europe as responding to this Western commission to produce art that deals with the pain, with the humiliation?

I think that good art is art that responds sensitively and intelligently to relevant issues, no matter how great or small. The East-West division is an issue that many artists are certainly aware of, whether it is an awareness of the fact that their work is subject to external market forces, now more than ever after the fall of the Soviet Union, or an awareness that the Western market may be looking for something particular from the region – the exoticism that you mentioned – or even just a desire to be a part of the Western canon, for the simple reason of having their work known by a wider audience. I’ve seen a number of artists whose work deals with these issues, but the good ones are the ones that do it sincerely and honestly.

For example, I met a number of artists in Serbia who spoke to me about this phenomenon. Being from a nation that was recently involved in war, artists spoke of the expectation, by the Western curators, for work that directly addressed the war, was somehow about war, or about ethnicity. Vladimir Nikolic’s work engages with these issues directly. His 2004 piece Death Anniversary involved him hiring a dirge singer from Montenegro to sing at the grave of Marcel Duchamp. While Duchamp created the concept of the readymade, which is an object that is removed from its context and given a new meaning or value, Nikolic feels that, as a Serbian artist, he is prevented from participating in that discourse that was started by Duchamp, because of the expectation that his work be somehow about his local origins, or is interpreted through that lens. During the performance, the dirge singer, which represents that ethnicity, is placed directly between him and Duchamp, preventing him from entering the world of contemporary art autonomously. It is a very sophisticated piece that responds to this idea of “trauma” in a highly intelligent way.

The work of Zoran Todorovic is a different case. His work deals with traumas inflicted on the body by society. For example, in his piece Assimilation (1997-2006), he took the discarded pieces of human tissue that no one wants – cartilage and fat that is removed after plastic surgeries, such as liposuction or rhinoplasty – and made it into aspic that attendees of the exhibition opening could eat. The piece refers specifically to the notion of beauty in contemporary society, yet the artist tells me that a lot of people want to see his work as being solely about the Serbian experience, and emerging from the context of violence and war, which it isn’t. I think that Nikolic’s piece illustrates and addresses precisely what artists are up against in the post-Cold War world, and Todorovic is an example of an artist whose work could be misunderstood if subjected to reductivist and uninformed interpretation.

What have you concluded from your research so far - are there any archetypal motifs or themes that seem to unite performance art in Eastern Europe?

I don’t know that I could go as far as to say that there are archetypal themes running through performance art that are unique to Eastern Europe. Many of the motifs that we see with performance art in general, such as gender, or the exposure or destruction of the body, for example, are commonly seen in performance art in general, regardless of whether it is from the East or the West. Of course in Eastern Europe there is the engagement with the local political situation, which varies from place to place, but historically performance art has often functioned in concert with social and political protest. For example, the International Situationists were at the forefront of the protests in Paris in 1968, and the work of feminist artists in North America largely grew out of the civil rights and women’s movements there.

While I was in the former Yugoslav countries this past summer, I did notice a number of artists doing work that voiced protest again the EU. The Slovenian artist Ive Tabar, for example, who actually works primarily as a nurse, but also does performances, has a series of medical performances that he created to voice his discontent with Slovenia’s accession to the EU. I also came across a number of artists doing work dealing with gender, quite often with regard to women’s issues. I found this quite interesting, given that the East did not experience the same sexual revolution as in the West, nor were there definite feminist movements like those in North America or Western Europe.

For example, looking at the recent work of Borjana Mrdja, from Banja Luka, Bosnia, one sees striking similarities with the work of Croatian artist Sanja Ivekovic, however Mrdja was unaware of that work when she created hers. In 2009, Mrdja created a series of self-portraits entitled Enthroning, made from a make-up removal wipe that she pressed to her face, and which retained the traces of her make-up from that day, and resembled a self-portrait. In 1975-6, Ivekovic’s Diary also presented the remnants of the artist’s make-up, in the form of cotton balls and tissues used to remove it, together with photographs from women’s magazines of women made up in garish make-up. Much of her work from this time deals with notions of beauty and fetishizaton of make-up, much like Mrdja’s does today. Ivekovic was one of the few female artists in Eastern Europe at that time dealing with issues of gender. Perhaps the work of Mrdja, among others, suggests an awareness, among artists, of the significant work yet to be done with regard to gender issues in the region.

In Estonia, people do not identify with the concept of Eastern Europe much, as the politicians keep telling them that Estonia will soon be among five richest countries of Europe and wipe the dust of history from its feet. The reality is more diverse than that of course, though we have to agree that the former Eastern block has started to differ more and more in the 21st century, Estonia is strongly pro free market economy, Hungary has chosen an ultra right wing path, Ukraine is not supporting the citizen society etc. What have you experienced in your field trips – is Eastern Europe a historical phase rather than cultural region and geographical term? And if so, then are you as a researcher of Eastern European performance art collecting and conceptualizing the ephemeral, the temporary, the disappearing?

 Just as each nation in the Eastern bloc adopted state-sponsored socialism in different ways, it is interesting to see how each one transitions into a free-market democracy. I think that’s why while it is convenient to use the term “Eastern Europe” to refer to a geo-political region, one must at the same time acknowledge the differences, with the East, from region to region, and nation to nation. That is also why I think the model of local, national, regional and international contextualization is important when looking at the art produced here, in order to acknowledge the many layers of history at work, influencing the cultural sphere. I like the idea of “capturing the ephemeral,” not just with regard to performance art, but to the history as well.

Having travelled in the region since the mid-1990s, I’ve had the opportunity to witness first-hand how much these places have changed. It isn’t just the Western chain stores and the presence of things like Starbucks on the main square, but the way that each country is now marketing various aspects of local culture. For example, it is interesting to see the different products presented by each nation as an assertion of local national cultural identity, with restaurants and souvenir shops offering unique traditional cuisine and hand-made products. So while the political differences between East and West are disappearing, what seems to be appearing in its place is an assertion of the individual national identities that can now be found in Europe. This is an example from the tourism and commercial industries, but I think it also informs perceptions of the region, both in terms of the insider (how he chooses to represent himself) and the outsider (how the nation is perceived).

In your blog you said you were surprised that Estonia has such amount of performance art. Was it because of the nordic shy stereotype you had of Estonians? Or did Latvians tell you that it`s pointless to go up north from here as there is nothing there?

Ha ha, I did hear my fair share of local neighbor jokes when living in Latvia, but none about artists! Having been doing research on Latvian performance art for years, I suppose I expected a similar representation of performance artists in Estonia. Latvia doesn’t have a strong tradition of performance art, and the examples I found seem to be unique – but shining – examples in contemporary art. (That said, I have spoken with those who disagree that performance isn’t a popular genre in Latvia. Instead, they say that it simply hasn’t been represented adequately in the literature).

 The other reason I was surprised is that in terms of area and population, Estonia is one of Europe’s smaller nations, so the idea that having so many significant performance artists per capita seemed surprising. I suppose it shouldn’t be, considering the Baltic legacy of both the Singing Revolution and the Baltic Chain – two very artistic and performative forms of resistance that helped these nations break from the Soviet Union. But as to the reason why Estonia seems to have a greater cohort of active performance artists in comparison to Latvia and Lithuania is something I haven’t yet figured out – but maybe it really isn’t something that needs to have a reason.

Whom inspiring have you met in Estonia? Have Estonian artists changed in any way your understanding of art in the former Eastern bloc?

Every artist that I met in Estonia was captivating in a different way, and I would hate to single one out or omit another. After speaking with Al Paldrok, I was really intrigued by the phenomenon of Non Grata, which represents an art that can really exist outside of the institution, and be the result of a collective effort – at least I feel that it was that way in the beginning. Tanel Rander told me about “Oak Night,” which he described to me as more of a religion than an artistic project, based around the city of Tartu. I found this approach interesting, the idea that a philosophical ideal or religious state of mind can take on the characteristics of a piece of art. I was really fascinated with the work of Flo Kasearu, from her pieces dealing specifically with the Estonian identity and migration (Estonian Sculpture, Multi Travels, Estonian Dream) to her more recent work with the Flo Kasearu Museum, where she places her whole life on exhibit. I think that she addresses a variety of significant issues in really sophisticated and nuanced ways.

It was also really interesting to meet artists such as Siim-Tanel Annus, Raul Meel and Raivo Kelomees, who were doing such vanguard work in the 1970s and 1980s. Hearing them tell me about the challenges they faced getting their work done during that period was like witnessing a piece of history. It is interesting to see the different issues that artists faced in different periods, and the different topics that their work addressed. Kai Kaljo’s video performance, Loser, was a very topical piece when it was created, and really informs the viewer about the situation for an Estonian artist in the 1990s. It was also exciting to meet Jaan Toomik, and then see the work of his students, Sandra Jõgeva and Mai Sööt, whose work, I think, bears traces of his influence. I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to meet Raoul Kurvitz, whose work with Group T I know was very influential in the 1990s. Nor did I manage a meeting with Marko Raat, although I am happy that I was able to view his film, For Aesthetic Reasons, which I loved. I even met with the dancer Kaspar Aus, who told me about a piece that he had done with Raul Meel, so the crossover and interrelation between artists in this very compact art scene was stimulating to witness.

As to whether these artists have “changed my understanding” of Eastern European art, I think that they certainly have, given the range, variety and sophistication of their work. But as to how Estonian performance art fits into the whole of my study, I hope to be able to offer a more intelligent answer in the text of my book. The problem with this very intense research is that, when travelling from country to country, there is very little time for reflection on all of the information that I have taken in. I am looking forward to poring over these materials through the winter, before I start traveling again next spring.

It is extremely exciting to see how Eastern Europe is constructed from the West, which art works are chosen to represent Eastern Europe, made emblematic symbols of Eastern Europe etc. Do you already know which art work is going to be on the cover of your next book?*

I realize that in writing a book entitled Performance Art in Eastern Europe I am unwittingly constructing that history, but it really isn’t my aim. For the purposes of my research, I am trying to meet as many artists as possible whose work delves in any way into the performative – this includes artists who work on participatory artworks or even those who do staged performance and photo performances. I don’t feel that these artists necessarily represent the local culture, nation or region from which they come. Rather, their work is interesting, and might happen to address local issues, but it can’t simply be reduced to being representative. This is especially true for artists working nowadays, when international travel is so prevalent – as I mentioned, many of the young artists I meet today come with a range of experiences, both from within their own countries and from foreign travel and residencies.

Rather, I prefer to think of my research as seeking to meet with interesting and engaging artists, who sometimes happen to refer to local influences, and other times consider global issues. Marjan Crtalic, for example, who is based in Zagreb, Croatia, does a lot of work that references very specific social and political issues in the small town of Sisak, where he is from, but the universal themes that his work touches upon makes it relevant to a more global audience. Milena Jovicevic, from Montenegro, does work that specifically references gender issues significant to the local community, referencing the patriarchal society in Montenegro and the great divide between women of the older and younger generation. But because these issues can also be understood on a more global level, they have universal application and significance to a wider audience. I think this range of relevance is what often makes good art – the fact that it can be read and understood on many levels gives it a much greater depth.

As for the cover art, that is a good question. I.B. Tauris did such a great job with the cover to Performing the East that I don’t know how to top it. But I am sure that I will come up with something! During my travels I have met so many interesting artists and seen so many engaging and unique works of art. It will be difficult to select just one, but whichever work makes it to the cover will hopefully be an invitation to buy it, open the book, and read beyond the cover, which will reveal a wealth of artwork that will continue to delight the reader’s eye and mind beyond the surface appearance. At least that is my hope! 

*On the cover of Performing the East one can find the image of the Latvian artist Miervaldis Polis`s performance Bronze People's Collective Begging (1989).

Voldi lahti / Unfold

Lükka kokku / Fold back

Online Art Criticism: South

Artishok meets Arterritory

In the beginning of May 2013 Arterritory.com – “art and culture website in Latvian, Russian, and English, which focuses on Baltic, Scandinavian, and Russian art and its manifestations elsewhere in the world.” - came to Tallinn and to Estonian Academy of Arts to introduce itself to the scene and find contributors who would cover local art life. Artishok in the team of Maarin Mürk and Gregor Taul sat down and made an interview with Latvian editor Anna Iltnere, Russian editor Sergej Timofejev and Art Market editor Elina Zuzane to talk about their experience with Arterritory and about art criticism, its audiences, online writing etc.  

First of all – what is your background and how did you get involved with Arterritory? 

Anna Iltnere: I came from an artist family, my grandfather is a famous Latvian painter and my father is also an artist, so everybody paints around me. I didn't want anything to do with art because it`s such a pain and struggle, so I went away from art and wanted to study journalism. My teacher told me that it`s better to study something with content and then study journalism, so I went to study philosophy. But I started to write about aesthetics – so somehow I got back to my roots. I worked in art book publishing house and then was invited by initiators of Art Territory to become involved. 

Elina Zuzane: I come from a family of art collectors, we always had artworks in our house, so I wanted to study something creative. I studied fashion forecasting in England in University for the Creative Arts and started working in same sphere, but then I moved back home. Some acquaintances were just about to open a gallery and invited me to join them – Gallery 21 in Riga. Daiga Rudzate, who also is behind The Purvitis Prize, asked me to help her with that and later on invited me to join Arterritory. This is how I stepped into a role of art market editor of English section. 

Sergej Timofejev: I am actually a poet. But already ten years I'm involved with a project that is very multicultural and mixing texts with music, video, sound installation etc; we are actually pioneers of this post-soviet poetry-video. We started this already in the mind 1990s, but from 1999 with the name Orbita – everybody has their own planet, but we are all moving on the orbit. Now we were slowly moving from live performances to art installations, we even participated Cesis art festival last summer and were nominated to Purvitis art prize, but didn't get it this time! So I am from literary field, but have always been interested in all other things going on in visual culture, music etc and I know quite many people in Russia and in Baltic states, who could be invited to write something, so probably that's why I got involved.  

Is it typical in Latvia, that backgrounds of the people who write about art are so diverse? In Estonia, most people come from the discipline of art history. 

Anna Iltnere: Not so typical. That was also one of the ideas of Arterritory that Latvia is missing a different way how to talk about art. We also have art history department in the academy of arts and it represents one certain school of teaching. But it is not art criticism and not art writing, it is just art history. They are not very critical. One of the best art critics in Latvia is actually an artist! Overall there is also lack of writers, so we write ourselves, but also translate from Baltic-Russian-Scandinavian writers just to show the other way of writing – besides giving information of course. We also give opportunities to young writers. We want to talk about art in a not very dry or just an historical way.  

But there is no specific art criticism education in Latvia, it is just learning-by-doing? 

Anna Iltnere: Yes. 

Last autumn we had a huge discussion here about how the wider audience is alienated from contemporary art and one thing (among others) to blame for that was lack of art criticism. What is the position of contemporary art in Latvian society and what kind of criticism is needed? In Estonia we just and first of all seem to need more, more, more! 

Anna Iltnere: We also need more, not just one or two good art critics! What I am missing besides evaluating analytical side is the writing that would give to the visitor the feeling to go to the exhibition, to see art! How great that could be, what we could find there! 

Elina Zuzane: In Latvia we do not only need contemporary art criticism, but also contemporary art museum! There is definitely also a gap between contemporary art and society, there is just very narrow group of people who are interested in contemporary art, who are willing to read reviews etc. Mostly people are just not that interested in contemporary art, although they might read about design and architecture. 

Anna Iltnere: There is this feeling that “here am I” and “here is the culture”, but we are not connected. People don't understand that culture can effect society and the other way around and that we are the culture! 

Elina Zuzane: This gap is quite hard to bridge, it must start with children. 

Sergej Timofejev: Exactly, children must be taught how to like a work of art! And art criticism should talk about culture more generally, try to find things that relate from other fields, what is the Zeitgeist. Culture is about context, if you can get this context, if you are feeling this context as something close to you, then you are feeling comfortable around art, music, whatever.  

Arterritory is created as a response to the lack of this type of criticism you described earlier. But how much coverage does art get in Latvian mainstream media – dailies, weeklies, radio, TV? 

Anna Iltnere: Two newspapers have cultural supplement, one weekly is dedicated to culture, and there is one art magazine that has been around for ten years or more – they have also online version and archive as well. And then we have magazine for photography, Fotokvartals. 

Sergej Timofejev: Arterritory is actually not “in position” to Latvian cultural media, but to international one, trying to bring information together from different regions, give wider perspective.  

Have you written to those channels yourself? Is this something you would like to do?  

Anna Iltnere: I haven't thought about it, because when I started to write I already started working for Arterritory. But I think it would be sad if I could write only one text per week or two weeks, and short ones! I don't think I am “ready” as a writer so I need writing, writing, writing. 

You as art critics – how do you start, what are your writing rituals? 

Anna Iltnere: Deadlines are really-really good things and I mean REAL deadlines – I know that in the morning everybody will look at the website and there must be something there! It really educates to mobilize. Of course there are texts that you need to write within a week or two weeks, but there are texts that don't need that much time. When I am at an exhibition I don't think what I'm going to write about this, it`s when I come home I start asking myself questions like – why I liked that, what it evokes in me, what do I know from other fields that relates to this etc. I may not use all the treads eventually, but it helps me to put things into context. Then I do a collage of thoughts and when I put it all to paper I see how it could be structured. And then it`s necessary just to start writing, not to ponder too much, but to write and then you see, how it goes together and what is missing. But first you need somehow to talk it through in your head – if you start with writing immediately, you'll struggle. Sometimes I think and read about it a whole day and in the evening it`s half an hour and it`s done! If I have found the main idea, it all comes together very quickly. 

Elina Zuzane: Anna explained quite well, how website mobilizes you to publish something every day. We have such a varied content – news, reviews, interviews etc so you just have to see what you can do in one day or one week. I just try to stick to my to-do list and if I manage something more than was planned for that day it makes me really proud of myself. I really like doing interviews, every interview is a bit like a therapy – as you go through them you go back to the initial place of conversation. 

Anna Iltnere: Critic Bo Nielssen once said to me that the best school he got was when he was working for the newspaper where he had to write short texts about every opening and to decide is it good or bad and why. Maybe it`s not the best art criticism because it is for the newspaper, but it`s a great school – you have a deadline and you have to formulate your opinion. 

What kind of demands do you have for your writers? 

Sergej Timofejev: To write a good text! (laughter) 

Elina Zuzane: Not to be just descriptive, but to provoke thought-processes reader could think about afterwords. More personal approach. 

Sergej Timofejev: Because we can`t review all the exhibitions that are happening, so for one review about an exhibition for example in Tallinn we have to get an idea what is going on there on more general level as well. 

Anna Iltnere: I need to see a story, not just a description, what did you as a writer get out from that experience, but what did it provoke in you? Maybe it could then provoke more universally too!  

How far does your work as an editor go? Do you send texts back and forth, give lots of feedback, work with the writer etc? 

Anna Iltnere: I don't spend much time with completely new writers, because it demands lots of effort. But if I see that he has potential, he just needs a bit of guidance how to put it together then I will work with him. 

Elina Zuzane: Sometimes we work with a writer only once. 

Sergej Timofejev: We had one write in St Petersburg and when he started to write to us, we had quite big discussions with him. But with the time he started to write more and more perfectly and now new portal for visual art in St Petersburg has hired him and we have to find new reporter from there! (laughter) 

All your editing and all your writing and commissioning-editing-giving feedback-holding it all together takes a lot of time. Usually your own practice is the first thing you sacrifice. How do you manage to keep things balanced for yourself? 

Elina Zuzane: You need to structure your day. If you answer to all your emails in the morning, rest of the day is yours. 

Anna Iltnere: You just have to limit the editing part to, lets say, two pieces a day and then concentrate on your own stuff. It`s totally possible to edit and publish and edit and publish whole day long, but what`s the point? 

Sergej Timofejev: It is also a question of how much information can your audience read? One or two articles a day is enough. 

Anna Iltnere: Exactly, now we have started to collect for example short news like opening of this week etc. together and we publish them all at once. One entry every day takes more time and also our readers like it more how we do now. 

I just wanted to ask you this – how well do you know your reader? 

Anna Iltnere: It is quite hard to know precisely. We know how many people visit the page from each country. 

Elina Zuzane: We know the statistics. 

Anna Iltnere: We would definitely like to get more students, reach younger audience – they are growing with that information, so they are the most important audience we could have. 

Sergej Timofejev: I think Facebook is also quite good way to get at least some overview of the audience we have. Like for me it seems there are more women then men. 

Anna Iltnere: Women are just more active in FB, they are “liking” more stuff. Generally, it is interesting to see, what is getting “liked” - if you share something with more humor, not just beautiful, everybody are like “hmmm...”, but if you go with something “inspirational”, it`s going to get very many likes. So it`s actually pretty easy to understand what FB will like. 

Sergej Timofejev: Sometimes you try to construct this response, but it`s not always possible. Some material that you don't expect anything from are getting lots of “likes”. 

Anna Iltnere: I remember when we published article about Tallinn cultural capital experience – lots of people shared it, but very few actually opened the article. When I looked into statistics, it really surprised me.  

But to ask about numbers: how many visitors do you have per day? 

Anna Iltnere: Around thousand, together from all the countries. Proportionally most from Latvia, so now we try to get more from other countries, having more reporters spread out. 

Elina Zuzane: We have to be realistic as well – we know the audience in Latvia better. People in the Baltics are keeping the information to themselves, they don't give you the feedback, but we would like to know our other audience members better as we do in Latvia. 

Anna Iltnere: Good thing is that everything that is published, is there and if in the future you search for some name, you are able to find that article, it`s not getting outdated. 

Sergej Timofejev: It`s also interesting how those search systems as Google and Yandex work – if you are popular, you'll turn up via search, which makes you even more popular etc. FB is quite meaningful, breaking those systems. Anna Iltnere: Our visitors come also mostly through FB, it`s not like they are sitting in front of the computer and think “what to do” and then type in www. arterritory.com.  

About writing online – do you feel this technological framework influences the way you write? And there is always a question about how lengthy articles people are willing to read online. Do you have any writers who don't want to write online? 

Anna Iltnere: That`s why we have “Interview” magazine, because long conversations are more comfortable to read when printed. But generally, when we started, we had more shorter entries – short news, articles were shorter etc, but now we have found balance between theoretical, long articles and short news entry. When writing is interesting enough, it keeps you to it! But if it`s boring, it will be boring also in short and in printed version! (laughter) 

Elina Zuzane: Online you can always add something extra, like a video. We also post more and more images. 

Anna Iltnere: With those two years we also learned more about how to use this online medium, like using video we didn't do at first. We also changed page design – first it was long and narrow like a sausage and with many pages, but our readers said, that they would rather scroll. So now it is wider, everything is bigger etc.  

Do you rewrite history as well what online allows you to do so easily? 

Anna Iltnere: Sometimes I edit mistakes, a letter missing for example. I find it a great opportunity! 

Elina Zuzane: We also publish interviews very quickly and this means that if the person later discoverers that he doesn't like anything, we can edit it later on. But it doesn't happen so often. 

Do you get lots of comments? 

Anna Iltnere: At first we didn't have any comments and now we have very few. We thought that we have to write first comments ourself, because if people see that there are no comments, they also don't dare to be the first ones. More discussion happens under FB posts, people feel it`s more “their” space. 

Sergej Timofejev: I see also that all those stupid comments that flooded under political news are also starting to happen in cultural media. There is another cultural website in Latvia, quite interesting, more about politics, theatre, literature etc and comments get quite stupid there already. Interesting comments just drown. In our Latvian section where we now have more comments, we have quite a good balance. 

Elina Zuzane: In Arterritory if there is very critical review of an exhibition, people start defending it, making conversations and arguments – this is an ideal! But it only happens when author has been brave enough to have a judgement.  

On your page you also have sections like “Art market”, “Lifestyle” etc. Art criticism in the context of art market has very specific role, and lifestyle feels more like easy browsing. How do you balance the more serious and the more promotional, easy readings? 

Anna Iltnere: This “Lifestyle” is a bit misleading, because we mostly don't write about design and architecture and cinema, but it goes all into there. But what is important to me is that everything we publish is a good text, it should be interesting, have a good language and give some information. 

Sergej Timofejev: There is a lack of understanding among the audience that we are not looking for information, but for understanding. How to put pieces together. 

Do you already see some gaps in the art writing scene in Latvia generally, that you have decided you are not going to fill? Is there space for something else? 

Anna Iltnere: Maybe because there is Fotokvartals, we rearly write about photo exhibitions. 

Elina Zuzane: Same thing with architecture – we only choose from this field the topics that are interesting to the broader audience.  

What about sharing the Baltics with Echo Gone Wrong? 

Elina Zuzane: They publish press releases more or less, so it`s already slightly different.  

So you don't feel like overlapping or competing with them? 

Elina Zuzane: Not really. 

Anna Iltnere: What`s good in Echo Gone Wrong is that they very equally represent all countries in English – we have in English more about the exhibitions in Stockholm than in Riga. 

Do you have role models, both personally as writers and also for Arterritory, how to develop it? 

Elina Zuzane: It`s a very difficult question because nowadays you get information through very different sources. I like to read books about art and art market, about people who are key figures in the art scene. I don't think there is one single person or single outlet. I did and interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist and there is this moment when you meet someone you have been reading a lot and who has been involved with so much and he is finally sitting in front of you – it is a surreal moment. I was probably a bit starstruck, ooh, celebrity… and disappointed, because we didn't have enough time. But we have this mission now to find those key personalities and do interview with them. That's when you learn something about yourself as well. 

Sergej Timofejev: I myself also lack the understanding of what is going on in the world like everybody else, so maybe that`s why interviews are interesting. Of course nobody gets the whole answer, picture is composed out of small pixels. It`s just our time now with no big ideologies, no big pictures. So it feels much more meaningful to have more channels, small rivers of information – this is also what Arterritory does. 

Anna Iltnere: When I write I check out lots of nowadays art criticism in different media. I really like Guardian Adrian Searle, he knows how to give you a circle of knowledge and context and he is so inspirational, with all of his knowledge! At the end of one review he said very nice thing that he wants to finish this writing now and go back to view exhibition more. Other one I like is Dave Hickey, I like that he is not from the typical pristine background of how to write. He says that most important is to write well, because you are a writer. It`s not only what you say, but how you say it, because your medium is words. For Arterritory it`s important to see other art websites globally, that are very colourful, have easy feeling to them, but with great content. Because it`s life, it doesn't have to be super serious, it`s not what art is. In Latvian language it`s hard to express something with humour, but with great content, in English it is more easy. I don't know why it`s harder in Latvian to be playful, but also meaningful!  

What are the next steps for Arterritory? 

Elina Zuzane: We want to do second edition of Arterritory conversations magazine in autumn, so we have to have strong enough content to publish it in a magazine again. 

Anna Iltnere: First edition we complied from the already existing material, but now we knew that we had one year and we contacted lots of people. Our long term goals are to increase audience outside Latvia, in Russia for example. 

Sergej Timofejev: It could be also good to get some more funding! I still do some other jobs to get through, but it would be totally desirable to dedicate oneself only to Arterritory!

Voldi lahti / Unfold

Lükka kokku / Fold back

Niekolaas Johannes Lekkerkerk "Shadows of a Doubt"

Curator Niekolaas Johannes Lekkerkerk talks about the exhibition "Shadows of a Doubt".
Questions by Indrek Grigor
Recorded in Tallinn 03.10. 2013

Shadows of a Doubt
Tallinn Art Hall
2 -- 27 October 2013


Tallinn Photomonth presents Shadows of a Doubt, a group exhibition at Tallinn Art Hall that brings together works by seventeen international artists, proposing different ways to engage with the experience and conditions of the present moment.

According to the curator of the exhibition Niekolaas Johannes Lekkerkerk (Rotterdam, The Netherlands), Shadows of a Doubt aims to provide an active space for "an appointment with thought".

"The present moment is always unstable and fleeting," said Lekkerkerk. "I'm inviting the viewer to reflect on how individual memories, collective histories, fears and hopes inform and obscure the experience of the present."

Whilst Shadows of a Doubt is a central part of the programme of Tallinn Photomonth, it is not a photography exhibition. "The concept of time is essential to the way we think about photography; and photography, in turn, is instrumental to how not only our memories, but also our expectations for the future are formed," said Kristel Raesaar, artistic leader of the festival.


Curator: Niekolaas Johannes Lekkerkerk. Participating artists: Nina Beier, Persijn Broersen & Margit Lukács, David Raymond Conroy, Filip Gilissen, Ane Mette Hol, Toril Johannessen, Flo Kasearu, Gert Jan Kocken, Laura Kuusk, Oliver Laric, Gabriel Lester, Katja Novitskova, Magali Reus, Meriç Algün Ringborg, Jani Ruscica, Mario García Torres, Tarvo Varres

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Critic in Psychoanalysis. Laura Kuusk's field of possibilities

Sarjast Kriitik Psühhoanalüüsis, Indrek Grigori esimene istumine Laura Kuusega - võimaluste väli.
From the series Critic in Psychoanalysis, Indrek Grigor’s first sitting with Laura Kuusk - field of possibilities.

Foto: Indrek Grigor
Video: Laura Kuusk

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Tanel Randeri kommentaar näitusele "Kus lõped sina, algan mina"

Tanel Randeri kommentaar näitusele "Kus lõped sina, algan mina".
Küsib Indrek Grigor
Intervjuu on algselt salvetatud Klassikaraadio saate Kunstiministeerium tarbeks (14.10. 2013)



"Kus lõped sina, algan mina" Tartu Kunstimaja suur saal ja monumentaalgalerii
28. september -- 20. oktoober 2013

Tallinna Fotokuu laieneb esmakordselt Tartusse ning esitleb Tartu Kunstimajas näitust Kus lõped sina, algan mina. Anneli Porri kureeritud näitus pakub läbilõiget Eesti kaasaegsest fotokunstist, võttes keskse teemana vaatluse alla ruumi ja keskkonnataju.

Foto koos fotol kujutatuga aitab mõtestada poliitiliselt, sotsiaalselt ja ka tajuliselt muutuvat keskkonda.

"Fotograaf saab olla vaatleja või sekkuja, kes oma tegevusega loob või teeb nähtavaks inimese ja keskkonna vahelisi suhteid ja sõltuvusi," ütles näituse kuraator Anneli Porri. "Ühelt poolt defineerib subjekt teda ümbritseva keskkonna, aga teisalt loob keskkond subjekti, annab talle tähenduse ja ajaloo."

Kus lõped sina, algan mina koondab üht võimalikku valikut Eesti fotokunstist aastatest 1992—2013, jagunedes omavahel põimuvateks alateemadeks: poliitiline ja ideoloogiline ruum, isiklik ruum, fotograafiline ruum ja transtsendentne ruum. Näitus laenab oma pealkirja Helen Meleski samanimeliselt teoselt, mis uurib ruumikäitumist igapäevastes töösituatsioonides.

Kuraator Anneli Porri. Osalevad kunstnikud: Dénes Farkas, Johnson & Johnson, Flo Kasearu, Margot Kask, Eve Kiiler, Paul Kuimet, Laura Kuusk, Marco Laimre, Peeter Laurits, Kristina Norman, Helen Melesk, Marge Monko, Krista Mölder, Birgit Püve, Raul Rajangu, Liina Siib, Laura Toots, Anna-Stina Treumund, Tõnu Tunnel, Anu Vahtra, Vergo Vernik, Visible Solutions OÜ

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Hedonist: Vein ja Vine

Mõistmaks baari Vein ja vine fenomeni, intervjueeris Müürilehe hedonisti rubriigi tarbeks baari üht omanikku Assar Jõgarit tuntud veinigurmaan Markus Toompere.

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Asterisk ja suvekool

Mis on Asterisk, enam vist väga seletamist ei vaja. Kuid nüüd toimub 28. juuli - 04. august Okasroosikese lossis Tallinnas hoopis midagi sellist, mille nimi on "Asteriski suvekool". Mida see suvekool endast kujutab, keda osalema ootab jms pakilisi küsimusi küsis suvekooli korraldajatelt Elisabeth Klementilt ja Laura Pappalt meilitsi Maarin Mürk.

Suvekooli koduleht ise asub siin: suvekool.asterisk.ee
JA NB! ASTERISKI SUVEKOOLI SAAB REGISTREERUDA 24. JUUNINI!!!


Niisiis, kust ja miks tuli idee teha suvekooli?
Suvekooli idee sündis soovist panustada kuidagi Eesti graafilise disaini arengusse. Oleme paljudelt tuttavatelt välismaal kuulnud, et nad tuleksid hea meelega Eestit kaema ja miks mitte kutsuda neid külla just suvel, kui kõigil on talvega võrreldes rohkem vaba aega. Just selle printsiibiga oleme ka alati Asteriski korraldanud – kõik sünnib läbi sõprussidemete ning arvestades, et korraldame midagi nii suurejoonelist esimest korda, tunduski mõistlik alustada oma lähikonnast. Külla kutsutud õppejõud nö katse läbinud – teame, mida võime neilt oodata.

Vabandage minu eelarvamusi, aga suvekoolid minu peas seostuvad pigem ülikoolidele hõlptulu teenimisega (mõningate staarnimede kohaletoomisega, kellel on talvel liiga kiire) ja niisama mõnusalt koos rahvusvahelise seltskonnaga aega veetmisega. Ei seostu aga eriti õppimise või teadmiste omandamisega. Kuidas Asteriski suvekool erineb teistest suvel toimuvatest koolidest või kuidas ta selle formaadiga üldisemalt suhestub?
Oleme sellega täielikult nõus ning vaadates mujal maailmas toimuvaid samalaadseid suvekoole võib seda mitmel puhul ka järeldada. Sõna 'suvekool' on juba eos vastuoluline. Suvi – peamine aeg puhkamiseks, kool – põhiline puhkusevaba periood. Aga mis seal salata, mõnusalt koos rahvusvahelise seltskonnaga aega veetmisel on kindlasti nii suve- kuika ideaalis tavakoolis suur osa. Inimestega tutvumisel ning läbi vestluste õpib tihti vast isegi kõige rohkem. Me ei ole oma eesmärgiks seadnud, et peaksime kindlasti formaadilt teistest suvekoolidest erinema, kuid siinkohal tuleb esile tõsta meie suvekooli suunitlust, mis püüab rääkida graafilise disaini ja selle vormide kõrvalekalletest.

Tahtsingi just küsida, et mis on selle suvekooli sisu, kandev idee?
Suvekooli kandev idee on laiendada graafilise disaini definitsiooni Eesti kontekstis. Hollandis ning mujal maailmas oleme tutvunud mitmete eklektiliste praktikatega, mida oleks huvitav ka Eesti publikule tutvustada. Üha enam oleme näinud, kuidas erialad ja formaadid segunevad ning selle tulem ongi suuresti meie suvekooli sisuks. Soovime arutada, millne roll võiks sellistel ideedel olla Eesti disainihariduses, kuid mitte ainult. Oluline on ka mõelda, kuidas sellisted praktikad reaalselt toimida saaks ja miks need üldse olulised on.

Miks korraldate Asteriski suvekooli just Eestis? Elate-tegutsete mõlemad aastaid Hollandis, Eesti suvi meelitab koju?
>Ja kas see suvekool peaks olema natuke Eesti konteksti arvestades ka nagu järelaitamistund, arvestades väljakäidud mõtet, et disainer on rohkemat kui nö teenindav personal?
Võrreldes Hollandi nadi suvega meelitab muidugi Eesti suvi meid koju ning praktilise poole pealt on see on üks aastaaeg, mil mõlemad kindlapeale iga aasta kodus oleme. Me ei leia otseselt, et meie tegevus ja hetkene elukoht Eestist väljaspool tähendaks, et meie projektid ei oleks seotud Eestiga – aastate jooksul oleme pidevalt korraldanud Eestis Asteriski ning on ka mitmeid plaane lähitulevikuks.
Järelaitamistunniga suvekooli võrrelda ei tasuks. Pigem soovime arutada, mida on välismaailmalt õppida just Eesti kontekstis. Mida saaks reaalselt meil siin rakendada.

Mis on teile suvekooli puhul oluline, mida te ootate juhtuvat? Kas võiks olla ka mingi väljund, tulem?
Ennekõike soovime tekitada diskussiooni graafilise disaini üle, seda nii läbi arutelu kui praktiliste harjutuste. Kuna loodame kokku saada väga mitmekülgse grupi, saab ka näha, kuidas erineva taustaga inimesed koos töötavad. Loenguprogrammi abil loodame näidata, mis vormides disain maailmas eksisteerib ning millist sisu graafilisel disainil on pakkuda. Seda kõike läbi suvekooli õppejõudude Paul Ellimani, Rebecca Stephany, Joris Kritise ja Urs Lehni ja mõningate külalisesinejate.

Millised on teie enda varasemad kogemused/kokkupuuted suvekoolidega?
Nadid! Me ei ole kumbki kunagi üheski suvekoolis osalenud, kuigi huvi on olnud küll. Paraku need suvekoolid, mis meile silma on jäänud, on olnud harukordselt kallid. Sel suvel toimub Euroopas ja mujal maailmas sarnaseid koole ca 3-4 ning nede osalustasud jäävad vahemikku €1000–€4000… Kuid suvekooli formaat ise on meile väga sümpaatne ning nüüd ongi eesmärgiks luua kool, mille tingimused oleksid meie jaoks ideaalsed. Püüdsime hoida suvekooli osalustasu võimalikult madalal, et kõik saaksid seda endale lubada.

Kas mingid osad on ka avalikud, st mõeldud teistele peale registreerunud osavõtjate?
Kogu loengu- ja ettekanneteprogramm on avatud tervele linnale. Esinejate hulgas näeb kindlasti suvekooli õppejõude ning ka külalisi Eestist. Lisaks ettekannetele tahame ühe õhtu pühendada avalikule diskussioonile graafilise disaini haridusest Eestis. Aga täpsem programm on veel välja selgitamisel!

Eestis ei ole väga harjutud selliste asjade eest maksma (isetekkeline haridus ja kultuur) – kui keegi väga tahab osaleda, aga finantsiliselt ei ole võimalik, siis kas on selles osas ka läbirääkimisruumi? Samas kui selle keskne märksõna on disain, siis kas on vaikimisi eelduseks, et selles valdkonnas leiba teenival sihtrühmal on raha?
Nagu eelpool mainitud, et kui võrrelda meid ülejäänud maailma suvekoolidega, on Asteriski suvekool kindlasti odavamaim – eriti kuna ootame osalema ka palju tudengeid, peab hind olema taskukohane kõigile. Oleme ka ise kunagi Eestis tudengid olnud ning teame väga hästi, et ei ole lihtne sellist summat eraldada, kuid selliseid asju tuleb näha omamoodi investeeringuna. 
Kui keegi soovib osaleda, kuid ei saa seda omale lubada, siis tasub kindlasti meiega ühendust võtta, püüame leida lahenduse! Just see disain–raha võrdlus on miski, mis meid lausa närvi ajab. Sellel marginaalsel teljel, kus ise hetkel töötame, tundub, et on tegemist justkui paralleelmaailmadega: sa teed kas töid a) mille eest maksad üüri b) projekte, mis on su enda huvi. A'd hoiab üleval B. Selle vahesfääri olemasolu vajalikkusest ning üldse eksisteerimisest soovimegi suvekoolis juttu teha.

Mis on teie enda jaoks õnnestumise kriteeriumid selle suvekooli puhul? Mille järgi te otsustate, et üritus õnnestus väga hästi?
Selge on see, et tulemusi kui selliseid lihtne mõõta ei ole, eriti pikemas perspektiivis. Omamoodi võit on juba see, et selline asi saab toimuda ning et huvilisi leidub. Aga ennekõike loodame, et kõik osalejad, nii tudengid, õppejõud kui loenguprogrammi külalised, leiaks suvekoolist midagi kaasa võtta ning ehk tuttavategagi jagada. Ja eks natuke lõbus võiks ju ka olla.

Keda te ootate oma suvekooli osalema? Ärge palun vastakse “kõiki toredaid inimesi” :)
Suvekooli ootame osalema kõiki toredaid inimesi. Peaaegu. Oleme kindlasti keskendunud ennekõike Eesti publikule, kuid loodame, et sekka satub ka osalejaid välismaalt. Sihtgrupina oleme arvestanud graafilise disaini tudengid, kunstitudengid, noori professionaale, kuraatoreid ning kõik ülejäänud disainihuvilisi. Oleme püüdnud rõhutada, et ootame suvekooli inimesi ka teistelt erialadelt kui vaid (graafiline) disain, kuid tundub, et sellist publikut on raske kohale meelitada. Samas on neljast õppejõust kaks kunstnikud, kelle töö on küll paljuski disainiga seotud, kuid väljundiks on midagi muud. Seega loodame siiski, et info jõuab ka muu publikuni.

Mida suvekool oma osalejatelt eeldab – kui suur on koormus; kas osalemine tähendab, et tuleb lülitada enda selleks ajaks täiesti muudest tegemistest välja vms?
Parem oleks muidugi, kui saaks olla kohal kogu aja. Oleme püüdnud sellesse pikka nädalasse tuupida võimalikult palju. Workshopid algavad juba hommikul ning kestavad pärastlõunani. Ideaalis näeme, et osalejad on platsis 8 päeva hommikust õhtuni ja samal lainepikkusel.

Voldi lahti / Unfold

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Sigrid Viir - New York (ja palju muud), VOL 2

Sigrid Viir ja Karin Laansoo Photoville`il, NY, juuni 2012. Foto Maarin Mürk.


Et kõik ausalt ära rääkida nagu oli, siis varsti juba aasta tagasi, juunis 2012 saabus Photoville`i raames New Yorki oma näitust tegema Sigrid Viir, kellele oli omistatud ajutine Artishoki pressikaart, et ta jagaks ka siiapoole ookeani oma muljeid Suurest Õunast. Nüüd lõpuks jõuab teie ette, kallid lugejad, kolmeosaline postitus, mis hõlmab (1) Sigridi Artishokile kirjutatud ridu-komplekteeritud fotosid, (2) pikka ja põhjalikku intervjuud kunstnikuga (küsijaks Maarin Mürk) ning (3) MMürki fotosid Photoville`st.

VOL 1 saab näha siit: http://artishok.blogspot.com/2013/02/sigrid-viir-new-york-vol-1.html
Järgnevalt aga VOL 2 ehk Maarin Mürgi intervjuu Sigrid Viiriga - tema rahvusvaheliselt edukast aastast 2012, soolo-projektidest, Visible Solution OÜst ja paljust muust. Jutuajamine leidis aset oktoobris 2012 ning sai transkribeeritud-ülevaadatud jaanuaris 2013.


Alustuseks – sinu tööd seeriast "Rutiinipurustaja, Tuusik, Lauakaru, jt." ringlesid eelmisel aastal koos Temnikova&Kasela galeriiga mitmetel messidel, viimati septembris 2012 Viinis. Kuidas on läinud? 
Müügi mõttes mitte just kõige edukamalt, ses mõttes, et ega “Rutiinipurustaja, Tuusik, Lauakaru, jt” seeria kõiki töid ära müüdud pole – keegi kollektsionäär Saksamaalt ostis kataloogi põhjal „Lauakaru“ ja kaks tööd sellest seeriast ostis Indrek Kasela ise. Kuna need on skulpturaalsed fototööd, siis nad võtavad rohkem ruumi ja inimesed ilmselt pelgavad, et kuidas ma neid ikkagi lahti ja kokku panen; võib-olla on sellepärast osaliselt ka neid raskem müüa. Samas ma ka ei eelda hetkel tohutut müügiedu. Kunsti ostmine on üpris otsustusterikas toiming.
New Yorkis Pulse`i messil märtsis 2012 torkas sinu seeria ülejäänud, üsna traditsioonilise "messikunsti" hulgast küll igati silma. Nii et see skulpturaalsus, mille sa müümise tõrkena välja tõid, töötas väga hästi – sa pälvisid ka ju Pulse`i noore kunstniku preemia. 
Tore kuulda! See skulpturaalsus ongi väga oluline osa sellest tööst ja müügile orienteeritus ei olnud ka omaette eesmärk.
Kuidas sa neid tegema hakkasid? Mul kerkib vaimusilmas kohe ette kujutlus, kuidas sa neid ehitad, konstrueerid, leiutad...
Need konstruktsioonid on ikkagi peas ja paberil enne välja mõeldud, peale fotode lavastamist. Kahjuks mul ei ole stuudiopinda, nii et need on tehtud isa töö juures – käisin seal nädalavahetustel ja ehitasin need koos isa abiga ühe hooga. Ma ei saanud oma jooniseid ka kellelegi teisele anda, et tee nende järgi valmis, selleks ei olnud eelarverida ja tegelikult meeldib mulle ise ehitada. Minu jaoks on oluline selles valmistamis-protsessis osaleda, sest kõige peale ei oska paberil mõelda. Samas puudub siiani ka teistsugune töötamis-kogemus.
Kust ja miks üldse huvi selliste masinavärkide vastu?
Masinad peaksid justkui inimese midagi jaoks lihtsamaks tegema – nagu ka igapäevased normid ja reeglistikud, mida kasutame selleks, et toimida. Masinal on enamasti ka üks arusaadav funktsioon, milleni korduvate käikude abil jõutakse; masin on midagi ettearvatavat, ühes konkreetses rütmis ja ühe konkreetse eesmärgi nimel töötav. Samas tasuks hoiduda liigse masinlikkuse eest ning vahel küsidagi, aga miks nii? Objektid mida oma nö. düsfunktsionaalsete masinate ehitamiseks kasutasin, olid needsamad igapäevaesemed, mis nendes keskkondades olemas olid. Konstruktsioonid rõhutavad asjasust, masinlikkust, funktsiooni ning lisaks on vaataja sarnases olukorras minuga ehk ta peab kükitama, otsima, uurima selleks, et näha.
Sellest on saanud hittseeria, mis tundub töötavat igas kontekstis – messidel, näitustel jne. Milliseid projekte sa ise veel oma loomingust kaalukamaks pead?
Kindlasti „Koridori“ projekti koos Taaniel Raudsepaga ning Visible Solution OÜd koos Karel Koplimetsa ja Taaniel Raudsepaga. Aktiseeria vanematega oli endale suureks väljakutseks. „Rutiinipurustaja, Tuusik, Lauakaru jt.“ ehk needsamad masinad on olnud kõige pikaajalisem sooloprojekt, see on küpsenud vahemikus 2008-2011.
Oled sa koolis ka veel?
Jaa, ma olen EKA foto magistrantuuris. Hakkasime Visible Solution OÜd tegema just magistrantuuri alguses ja seega läkski nii, et ma mingil perioodil paljudesse loengutesse ei jõudnudki.
Kui te VSga alustasite, tundus see mulle ausalt öeldes liiga lihtne nali. Kogu loomemajanduse retoorika on nii ilmselgelt absurdne nagu uus nõuka-aeg, kus ülevalt poolt pannakse mingid nõuded peale, mida siis „peab“ täitma, et edukas olla...nii et kogu projekt selle pilamisele üles ehitada, tundus natuke nagu lahtisest uksest sissemurdmine. Samas on sellise projekti järele kunstimaailmas ilmselgelt nõudlus. Mis sulle endale selle lähenemise juures väljakutseks oli? Miks te seda teete?
Me teeme seda, sest see on situatsioon, kust me endid leidsime ehk et on tugev surve kunstnikku raha teenima panna. Alguspunktiks sai Indrek Grigori loeng fotokatele, kus analüüsisime Kultuuriministeeriumi tegevust – et mida me kogu aeg vingume, et Kultuuriministeerium ei tööta, tegelikult me ei teagi, mis seal täpselt toimub! Siis tuli ka just loomemajandus hästi jõudsalt peale, et kui sa ei müü, siis sa oledki nobody, luuser, sa ei saa endaga hakkama. Just sellel hetkel mõtlesime ka sellele, et mis meist edasi saab kui me koolist ära läheme; me ei taha hakata loomemajandus sektoris tööle, me oleme ikkagi erialalt kunstnikud ja meie eesmärgid on erinevad. Nii et tundsime vajadust kritiseerida riigi kultuuripoliitikat; sellel ajal juhtus just ka see galeriide rahastamise juhtum.
Me ei plaaninud Visiblet nii pikalt teha, aga see ongi jah osutunud edukas, on tulnud mingid ettepanekud, millele sa ei saa ära öelda, a la Manifesta küsib, kas me tahaksime osaleda – loomulikult me ei ütle ei!
Neile, kes Manifestal ei käinud - milline oli Visible Solution OÜ väljapanek? 
Me ei teinud spetsiaalselt midagi uut, peale trükise ja raamatuautomaadi. Läksime Manifestale olemasoleva nelja kunstiteos-toote, lippude ja tooteesitlus-perfokaga rongijaamas. Väljapaneku nimi oli „Trading Post“, koht kus saab asju osta, müüa ja vahetada. Seal oli faks, külastajad said teha omapoolse pakkumise kui neile midagi meeldis; see võis olla rahaline, aga ka sümboolne, mingit sorti vahetuskaup. Me ei ole faksidele veel vastanud, kogusime need kokku ja kui leiame sealt midagi, mis tundub nii atraktiivne, et raatsime mõne oma kunstiteos-toote ära anda, siis vahetame. See oleks tegelikult huvitav järgmine samm – lasta need asjad ringlusesse ja just pigem kodudesse ja kontoritesse.
Siis meil oli väljas ka raamat, mis algab tekstiga, mille tellisime Armin Kõomäelt, kus üks firma, kes ei saa endaga hakkama ehk Visible Solutions OÜ, palub meilt kui omanikelt eutanaasiat ja raamatus on ka ära toodud meie vastus. Raamatu jaoks tegime ka spetsiaalse raamatumüügiautomaadi.
Ah jaa, ja nähtamatu käega Belgia lipu heiskasime ka avamisel, performatiivselt esmakordselt publikule. See lipp jäi üles suurde saali, muidu asus meie nö. müügikiosk koos kohviku ja raamatupoe ja piletimüügiga keldrikorrusel, et tekitada segadust, et kas see on nüüd kunstiprojekt või mis.
Eestist vaadates on alati olnud soov jõuda sellesse “päris” rahvusvahelisse ringlusesse, kus kunstnik olemine oleks respekteeritud töö ja positsioon. Sina oled viimase aasta jooksul saanud mitu sellist ringluse kogemust, kuidas on olnud?
Ma ei ole muidugi päriselt seal rahvusvahelises ringluses. Olen osalenud Manifestal ja võitnud Pulse`i auhinna, millega kaasnes üks galeriinäitus NYs ja Photoville`il osalemine; lisaks on minu töid näidatud kahel kunstimessil ja lisaks varasemalt ka mõned välisnäitustel osalemised...
Manifestal oli meil fikseeritud eelarve, mis kattis reisi ja elamise ja kunstnike töötasu. Kunstniku eest hoolitseti ja produktsiooni arvelt kehvemasse hotelli ei oldud nõus panema ega töötasust loobuma. Produktsiooniraha on kõik Eesti riik kinni maksnud, sellega Manifesta ka tegelikult arvestab. Selles mõttes oli tõesti mõnus tööd teha, et saime Kultuuriministeeriumilt ja Kulkalt summa, mida küsisime ja sai maksta töötasu inimestele, kes aitasid – ei pidanud nuiama, et kuule isa, tule aita ehitada. Saime kõik kolm ka aastase Kulka stipendiumi, nii et ei saa tõesti viriseda. See peaks olema muidugi pigem tavaline kui erandlik, et saad töö tegemise eest raha ja inimestele maksta. Samas oli eelarve ikkagi piiratud ja tuli otsida sobivaid materjale jne, mitte kõik ei olnud võimalik. Kuigi meil olid seal väljas enamasti olemasolevad tööd, siis mõte oli ikkagi kogu aeg selle projekti juures ja teha oli hullult palju, väljapanekule mõelda, parandada, jne. Samas oli ka suurem vastutus, et appi, me ei tohi seda kuidagi ära rikkuda, raha oleme ju saanud jne.
Kuidas oli Manifesta tagasiside ja kontaktide mõttes? 
Üks Austraalia kunstiajakiri (Un Magazine) kirjutab meist lugu, mõnes kohas mainiti, keegi veel meilitsi uuris meie tegutsemise põhjuseid, aga põhjalikult keegi Eestist väljaspoolt käsitlenud pole. Nii et väga mingeid kontakte ei saanud... fakse oleme paarilt muuseumikuraatorilt saanud, aga midagi konkreetselt ei ole pakutud.
Milline oli teie projekt Veneetsia Biennaalile – kuudavasti oli napp kaotus Denes Farkasile? 
Plaan oligi välja mängida OÜ tegevuse senisel kujul lõpetamine, et võtta kasutusele mingi täiesti uus retoorika. Visible ongi natuke skisofreeniline situatsioon ja oleme endid ka ise omaenese lõksust avastanud, et kas me peaksime võtma siis firmaomanike või kunstnike positsiooni. Aga kuna võib-olla plaanime Veneetsia-projekti muus kontekstis elustada, siis ma rohkem ei täpsustaks.
Teie osaühing on nüüd mitmekordselt auhinnatud ettevõtmine. Millised suunad teil praegu töös on?
Töö Visible uute võimalike suunadega vaikselt käib, ei taha enam samal põhimõttel kunstieos-tooteid valmistada. Aga see uus võtab aega – meil võttis ligimale aasta, kuni me lõpuks esimeseks näituseks oma kunstiteos-tooted valmis saime.
Selline kriitika nagu te teete loomemajanduse suhtes – kas seda ei peaks tegema hoopis kuskil a la turunduskonverentsidel? Kunstinäitustele jõuab ikkagi see publik, kes pigem jagab teie vaateid. 
Esimesel Hobusepeas toimunud näitusel, nö kontori avamisel oli kohal ka selliseid inimesi, kes uskusid, et avamegi kontorit ja ürituse reklaam oli üleval Loov Eesti kodukal. „Adam Smithi Lemmik Nähtamatu Käsi Puuris“ oli kohal Kultuurikatlas toimunud turunduskonverentsil. Aga meie probleem on ikkagi jah see, et me oleme kunstnikud. Alguses oli meil omavahel juttu ka loomelinnakutesse inkubaatoritesse minekust – seal tegutseda oleks olnud päris kummaline. Aga Taanielil on kolm last, ta peab sellisel tööl käima, mille eest saab fikseeritud palka. Kokkuvõttes me ei saa endale lubada, et Taanielil pole igakuist kindlat sissetulekut. Kahjuks kunstnikel sellist kindlat sissetulekut pole ja Kulka stipp 500€ kuus ei ole just suur ning seegi on ainult üheks aastaks, ilma Haigekassa kindlustuseta. Nii et hetkel on Visible rohkem kunstiprojekt, mitte seal majandusväljal tegutsev; see pool on meil kõige nõrgem.
Kui mõelda, et mis suunas seda arendada, siis minu esimene loogika olekski teha päris firma, mis pakukski tööd, aga mille kaudu saaks ka rahastada oma kunstiprojekte. Seda kattuvust võib olla päris palju ning vahe ei pruugikski olla nii radikaalne. Selline päriselus järgi katsetamine annaks ka kunsti osale võib-olla mingi uue tasandi. 
Meil ongi päriselt loodud osaühing.
Üks probleem on selles, et nende asjade tootmine on väga kallis. Meil on olnud küll mõttes teha personaalseid esitlusi vms. Näiteks Tartu Kunstimaja Monumentaalgaleriis olnud näitusele valisime välja 49 inimest kunsti- ja majandusmaailmast ja tegime neile personaalse pakkumise – oli võimalik saada üks meie toode vahetuskaubana. Saatsime neile inimestele postiga pakkumise, plaan on uuesti saata. Vastuseid peale Sorose ja Saatchi, kes viisakalt keeldusid ja Walt Disney Company, kes läks täiesti närvi, pole tulnud. Walt Disney Company saatis pikema kirja (Miki Hiirega paberil), et peame oma kodukalt kõik meie ja nende seost näitavad dokumendid kustutama, et me ei tohi mainida, et nad on meie kliendid. Et meil ei ole nendega mingit koostööd jne. Me ei rahuldanud nende soovi. Samas tahame ikkagi pigem kunsti kui ettevõtluse vallas tegutseda.
Kas sul ei ole olnud kiusatust panna oma messikogemusi OÜ teemade alla? Näiteks Alistar Hicksi intervjuu sinu kataloogis on üsna tavaline art worldi praktika (ja see ei ole siinkohal kuidagi hinnanguline väide!) – räägitakse ära mingi maailmanimi, kelle funktsioon on olla sinu kui tundmatu kunstnikuga nö ühes lauses ja kes tunnistab ausalt, et ta ei tea sinust ega sinu töödest eriti midagi (mis oli temast sümpaatne).
See mulle ka meeldis. Ta on vist korra näinud mind ja minu töid ja küllap need asjad nii käivadki, et on selline läbijooksmine ja lennult haaramine, erialane oskus ja situatsiooni ärakasutamine.
Ma ei ole kunagi ühelgi messil ise kohal käinud ja ma natuke kardan neid – ma ei ole tohutult hea suhtleja, mulle ei meeldi selline pingutatud olukord. Aga OÜga ongi väga võimalik, et hakkame uuest otsast vaatama kunstimaailmas toimivaid suhteid.
Ma seisin eelmisel kevadel mõned tunnid Pulse`i messil Olgat asendades sinu töödega Temnikova&Kasela boksis ja kui üldiselt ma saan ka messisituatsioonis ärevushäire (liiga palju inimesi jne), siis seal mulle väga meeldis inimestega suhelda. Rääkisin sinu töödest, käigu pealt tekkis kogu aeg uusi tõlgendusi jne.
Tegelikult ongi minu puhul näiteks nii, et enamasti kujutan asju märksa hullemana ette, kui need tegelikus olukorras on. Mõtlen üle. Nagu oli selle aktiseeriaga – see tundus palju hullem, täiesti ilmvõimatu, nii piinlik ja nii ebamugav, mu vanemad ei ole nõus jne. Aga kui sa oled selles situatsioonis kohal, siis sa kuidagi harjud ära ja adapteerud.
Kuidas su vanemad muuseas suhtuvad sellesse, et see töö muudkui jätkab ringlemist? 
See on nii ja naa. Ma olen põhjendanud ka, et tegelikult on see ju igati OK situatsioon ja ma alati informeerin neid, kui see seeria kuskil väljas on. Algul oli jah jutt, et see on ainult koolitöö, aga siis oli juba Cheese`s intervjuu; siis oli mingi vahejuhtum, et Sirp trükkis ühe foto sellest seeriast ajalehes, ilma minu teadmata. Ema helistas, oli veidi mures, sest väike kogukond on igasuguste külajuttude tekkimiseks eriti soodne pinnas. Aga üldiselt on nad siiani olnud nõus selle eksponeerimisega.
Te olite Visible Solutions OÜga ka esimesed ja viimased Kumus residentuuris. OÜ sobis sinna kontoripinnale ideeliselt väga hästi, tundus lausa perfektse kontseptuaalse lükkena. Kuidas see kogemus oli ja palju sa oled ise residentuurides käinud?
Ma ei ole siiani residentuurides käinud, aga olen hakanud sellele tõsisemalt mõtlema. Näiteks mulle meeldis väga New Yorkis ning ma tahaksin sinna tagasi võib-olla just mingi residentuuri kaudu. See oleks hea viis, sest selle kaudu tekiksid uued kontaktid. Kontekstivahetus on alati hea – näiteks, kuigi mulle ei meeldinud väga minu vahetusaasta Karlsruhes, siis võib-olla sellest just kasvabki välja midagi huvitavat ja teistsugust, kuna sa otsid oma ebamugavusele lahendust.
Kumu residentuur oli selline naljakas. Ruum oli õudselt raske olemiseks, me ei suutnud seal tegelikult tööd teha – pikk, kitsas, aknad üleval. Vahel tegime Visible kohtumisi hoopiski Kumu hoovis. Super oli see, et saime kasutada töökoda, hiljem ka Manifesta jaoks – inimesed tundsid meid juba ja lasid masinate taha. Sellest oli palju abi. Kuna residentuur jäi suve-perioodi, mis ongi selline hapum töötegemise aeg, siis me väga  Kumu inimestega kohtumas ei käinud. Maria-Kristiina Soomre, kes selle residentuurimõtte algatas, oli sealt ka juba praktiliselt ära läinud ja ikkagi on residentuuris olles vaja inimest (vähemasti kunstimuuseumis), kes sind ringi juhatab. Meil olid küll kõigi töötajate kontaktid olemas, aga see päris nii ei tööta. Aga lõpuks me, või pigem meie asjad, olime seal nii kaua, et saime ka Tartu näitust Kumus ette valmistada. Ehk siis kolmest kokkulepitud kuust sai umbes pool aastat.
Tegelikult oleks residentuur Kumus väga tore suund; kunagi oli vist isegi mõte olnud, et see hoovipealne väike maja olekski residentuuri jaoks – mõnusamat ruumi kui see praegune on kindlasti vaja. Võib-olla mingi selline väga spetsiifiline ja veider kunstipraktika sobiks sinna olemasolevasse kitsasse tuppa ka.
Räägiks sinu New Yorki ja Photoville`i kogemusest ka. Lugedes alguses Photoville`i kontseptsioone, siis see tundus väga põneva ideena (trendika piirkonna DUMBO äärel konteineritest moodustuv ajutine „küla“, kus pidevalt toimuvad sündmused, kogunevad inimesed, saab süüa-juua-kohtuda-ja kunsti näha), aga kui ma nägin seda teostununa, siis minu üllatuseks oli enamus kunstnike võtnud seda kui väljakutset tekitada endale konteinerisse sisuliselt valge kuup. Pildid pandi korralikult vormistatutena seinale, toimus justkui eitamine, et kogu asi leidis aset jäätmaal, post-apokalüptilises trailerparkis. Selles mõttes ma pean jällegi ütlema, et sinu objektid sobisid sinna väga hästi, nad ei püüdnudki olla korralikud ja nende kummaline konstruktsioon haakus hästi eksponeerimis-keskkonnaga.
See oli konservatiivsem küll jah kui ma eeldasin. Keegi tõesti ei arvestanud nende konteineritega, enamasti olidki valmis asjad, mis siis lihtsalt üles pandi. Samas oli muidugi ka minu projekt juba valmis, aga konstruktsioonid võimaldavad rohkem ruumiga mängimist ja tegelikult satud sa sinna konteinerlinnakusse nii, et sul peavad juba tööd kaasa olema. Võib-olla edaspidi, kui juba teatakse Photoville`i formaati, siis arvestatakse rohkem ka selle post-apokalüptilise keskkonnaga. Üks-kaks huvitavat dokumentalistika projekti ma siiski leidsin.
Kuidas oli Photoville`i küla melu - sa lülitusid ju Karin Laansoo kaudu, kes on Photoville organiseerijate hea tuttav ja NY kohalik eestlane?
Ma ei olnud muidugi väga palju seal Photoville`il kohal. Kuna olin esimest korda NYs, siis ei raatsinud seda aega ainult seal veeta. Photoville`ist käis läbi küll suur hulk inimesi, aga enamus nendest olid lihtsalt läbijalutajad, mitte nii kriitiline publik. Kuna mul jäi selline mulje, siis ma otsustasin, et ma ei hakka seal koha peal pikalt istuma.
Mis sa tegid, kus sa käisid?
Tegelikult käisin korra iga päev sealt näituselt ikkagi läbi, käisin kontrollimas – tööd said seal natuke rohkem väntsutada, midagi oli korra alla kukkunud jne. Aga muidu – uitasin mööda linna niisama ringi, käisin suurtes muuseumites, parkides... aeg läks väga kiiresti. MoMAs oli Taryn Simoni näitus ja juhtumisi tegi ta just artist talki ajakirjanikele, sattusin seda kuulama, see oli väga huvitav. Näitus oli ka hea. Ülejäänud saalidest, kunstiajaloo klassikast jooksin suuresti läbi; lootsin komistada pigem millegi sellise otsa, mida ma ei olnud varem näinud. MoMA PS1s oli Lara Favaretto. Guggenheimis oli Rineke Dijkstra ülevaate näitus, kelle fotosid tean, aga kelle videotöödest ma ei teadnud midagi ja need olid väga lahedad. Kariniga käisime Lumen festivalil Staten Islandil, seal olid sellised pisikesed soolamäed, mille vahel ja otsas toimusid erinevad perfokad ja näidati videotöid. New Museum oli ka huvitav, parajasti oli Klara Lindeni näitus. Seal oli üks tore intsident ka – oli üks uks, mille juures rippus kirves, sellest uksest sisenedes sattusid tuppa, kus oli selline madal kapiukse suurune avaus. Keegi läks sealt läbi ja mina läksin ka, tundus loogiline sealtkaudu edasi liikuda. Sellepeale tormas kusagilt välja valvur, et nii ei tohi, see on keelatud ja püüdis samal ajal sealt läbi pugevat naisterahvast tagasi ajada. See vahejuhtum meeldis mulle, sest vahel ongi raske eristada, kus on piir ja kuivõrd tohib või ei tohi sekkuda kunstiteostesse ja muuseumi kontekst ja hirmud tulevad ka hästi esile.
Metropolitan Art Museumi katusel oli Tomas Saraceno “Cloud City”, seda käisin viimasel päeval vaatamas. See on selline modulaarne moodustis, pleksiklaasist, nöörist ja peeglitest. Taju kaob ära ehk et sa ei saa aru, kus sa ruumis paikned, väga hull kogemus.
Aga NY galeriimaastik? 
Väga palju millegi meeldejääva või erutava otsa ei sattunud. Algul ma väga ka ei valinud, mõtlesin, et käin lihtsalt järjest läbi, aga 6-8 galerii järel sain aru, et ma ei hakka seda tegema – nii palju on igasugust jama. Tekib infomass, väsid ära ja pärast ei jaksa enam sorteerida, meeldinud ja huvitavaid nüansse eristada igavast, ei jaksa lihtsalt vastu võtta.
Mis sul linnast endast veel meelde jäi? 
Paljusus! Mitmekesisus! Võimalikkus! Esimene metroosõit – oled metroovagunis ja ümberringi on koos täiesti erinevat tüüpi inimesed ja see on kuidagi nii loomulik! Meil on linnapilt palju vähem kirev ja vaoshoitum.
NY kurikuulus intensiivsus ja tihe konkurents - kas sul tekkis äratundmine, et sa professionaalselt suudaksid seal hakkama saada?
Mul ei tekkinud seda tunnet, et ma ei suudaks. Kui läheksin tagasi ja oleksin seal pikemalt, näiteks residentuuris ja üritaksin seal kunstnikuna tegutseda, siis saaksin vastata. Mina olin ikkagi 17 päeva turist ja see universum paisus kogu aeg; mida rohkem ma tegin, seda rohkem oli veel tegemata.
Me jooksime sinuga lisaks planeeritud kohtumistele korra ka täiesti suvalises metroopeatuses kokku – võiks arvata, et selliseid kohtumisi 8 miljoni elanikuga linnas naljalt ei juhtu!
See ongi lahe, et Eestis sa märkad ka inimesi, aga sa ei võta seda kohtumist kuidagi nii olulisena. Aga seal, kui sa märkad kedagi, siis sa lähed ja räägid juba midagi. See võimalus, et sa kedagi kohtad, on nii väike, et see tundubki kuidagi erilisem. Siin sa ei kasuta seda ära, sest tõenäoliselt ma kohtan teda veel ja veel.
Inimesed olid NYs väga sõbralikud ja palju tuldi ise juttu rääkima. See eelarvamus, mis on ameeriklaste kohta levinud, et nad on pinnapealsed – mulle tundus, et ei ole nad midagi nii pinnapealsed, neid tegelikult ka huvitab, mis sa arvad. Kõik otsivad selles suures linnas mingit inimlikku kontakti, kasvõi korraks. See pole lihtsalt puhas viisakus.
Mis su plaanid nüüd edasi on? 
Eks ma üritan vaikselt mingi uue projektiga peale hakata. Peale NYd võttis kaua aega, et kuidagi tagasi raja peale saada.
Kas sa tunned mingit loorberite raskust või ootuseid enda suhtes ka?
Väga ei tunne. Aga mul ei ole asjad lendleva kergusega nagunii kunagi tulnud. Kogu aeg on ikka see loomise raskus ja närvipinge enne kui sa midagi näitad. Algus on alati väga ebakindel – oled mingi asjaga tegelenud ja nüüd pead järsku seda näitama. Auhinnad ja tunnustus annab ikkagi julgust juurde, et näed, ma siin ise niimoodi mõtlesin ja kellelegi veel läheb see korda, et see on teistele ka huvitav.
Küsin veel sinu tööprotsessi kohta – on sul hea enesedistsipliin, konkreetsed tööperiood jne?
Kui ma tööd teen, siis jaksan päris palju ja pikalt tegutseda. Aga käimasaamine võtab aega. Enesedistsipliin võiks kindlasti parem olla just ideede väljatöötamise osas, sest ega need kusagilt pähe ei kuku. Arvan, et olen veidi halb aja planeerija ka, sest ühelt poolt on mul aega palju ainult endale kasutamiseks ja tihtilugu on mul võimalus toimetusi tänaselt homsele lükata; samas kui vaja, siis on intensiivne tööperiood ilma nädalavahetuse ja pika uneta.
Eluolust veel - kas sa teed modellitööd ka veel?
Ma ei tegutse enam aktiivselt modellina, välismaal ei käi, sest muidu jääks kunstniku töö soiku; ja modellindus ei ole minu jaoks kuidagi meelierutav ka. Aga vahel ikka olen modell ikka endiselt ka, raha pärast enamasti, kuigi Eestis saad sa võib-olla kogu päeva eest 30 eurot; on muidugi ka tulusamaid tööotsi ja vahel saad lihtsalt tuttavale teene osutada. Samas kuna ma palgatööl ei käi, siis ka see 30 eurot on oluline toiduraha. Nii et ma vahel olen olnud sunnitud modell olema, eriti sügisel kui raha üldse ei ole.
Kas see kogemus on andnud sulle midagi, mida sa saad kunstnikuna kasutada?
Ma arvan, et sellepärast ma üldse kuidagi julgesingi EKAsse fotot õppima tulla. Ma olen olnud teisel pool kaamerat ja ma tean, mida see tähendab. Ega ma ei osanud tol hetkel jälgida fotograafide tööd, kuidas valgust üles pannakse jne, aga lihtsalt, et sa näed palju erinevaid inimesi erinevates keskkondades ja olukordades ning see annab mingi kogemustepagasi, mida saab ära kasutada.
Lõpetuseks – mis on sulle Eesti kunstielus meeldib ja mis fustreerib? 
Tegelikult on vist nii, et see, mis fustreerib ja meeldib on sama ehk et väiksus. See on hea ja halb korraga. Halb, sest kõik toimub pisikeses oma ringis ja Eesti-keskselt ja muudab asjad, kunsti üksteisega sarnaseks. Erinevusel ei ole nii palju võimalusi ja ega näituse tegemise kohtigi ülearu pole. Hea, sest inimesteni, kes sind huvitavad, on lihtsam jõuda – arvan, et julgeksin ja saaksin kontakti, kui keegi mind erialaselt huvitaks. Nähtavaks muutumine on siin ka lihtsam.

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