A Period of Breathing In

Heie Treier (4/2016)

 

17. IX 2016–19. II 2017
Kumu, 5th floor, Gallery of Contemporary Art
Artists: Neeme Külm, Krista Mölder, Taavi Talve
Curator: Kati Ilves

 

 

The exhibition "Between the Archive and Architecture. Neeme Külm, Krista Mölder, Taavi Talve" has rebuilt the 5th floor of Kumu Art Museum beyond recognition. In some places, there is now a labyrinth, other areas have a lot of free space, there are some spatial puzzles, and one rather ingenious architectural proposal. The exhibition as a whole gazes inward, dealing with the museum itself as an institution and exhibition space rather than topics in the wider society, outside the institution.

What audience could this kind of exhibition be for? It is probably only those who have previously visited the 5th floor exhibitions at Kumu on numerous occasions and can compare the current situation with the "normal", who can appreciate the thought and effort of the artists. Perhaps, the most important audience for this exhibition are the people who commissioned it, or Kumu employees, for whom this is like a breath of fresh air. If we consider this exhibition to be an interim period of breathing in, it carries an important role. For a first-time visitor to Kumu, what they can see and experience here may rather remain an unattainably elitist and formal game with invisible rules.

From Indrek Grigor's radio interview with the exhibition curator Kati Ilves¹, we found out that this exhibition has been in preparation for three years, and was motivated by the museum employees' tedium with the complexity of the architecture of Kumu – as we know, it is not a simple "white cube" which selflessly serves "art as something sacred", but a complex space with curved walls, pillars cramping the line of sight, etc. Indeed, the architecture of Kumu dictates rather forcefully what can be exhibited there and how. How could this architecture be subdued or bent to the services of artists?

The main large spatial ideas in the exhibition come from the sculptor Neeme Külm, who has recently specialised in exhibition design and installation. As such, as an "invisible" force behind the scenes, he is an almost irreplaceable professional on the Estonian contemporary art scene. Now, he is showcasing his own spatial ideas. Perhaps his current radical quality has been further incensed by collaboration with Anu Vahtra, for example, and with other contemporary artists who, by and large, expressly think in a spatial manner.

On the 5th floor of Kumu, Neeme Külm asks: what if we could build a bridge in the air, from which to view from above paintings by Ülo Sooster hanging in the permanent exhibition on the 4th floor? What if we could bring a granite pillar into Kumu, which looks completely absurd next to the white gypsum pillars, and tie these two pillars temporarily together with tie-down straps? What if the picture hanging on the wall could be rotated, but by someone else, somewhere far away behind several walls? And, in turn, the rotation mechanism also needs to be exhibited to the public?

Krista Mölder has exhibited pictures on the walls. These are photographs of nature and archives, but why – remains unclear. And finally, a large and dominant element of the exhibition is Taavi Talve's video "Pimetähn" (Blind Spot, 2016), which is shown on an enormous screen. The artist has obviously dedicated a lot of thought and energy to making it, the film is very professional, but its point remains unclear.

Comparing this large exhibition at Kumu with other similar recent exhibitions in Estonia, one sometimes feels like mentioning the word "formalism" when viewing that kind of art: not in an accusatory tone, but as a statement. Formalism primarily engages with issues of form – a phenomenon that was criticised particularly strongly in the Estonian art scene of the early 1990s, and which the rising generation of artists of the time worked hard to discredit. Now, it seems as if that formalism has returned in a stronger and more professional guise, but also as a recycled and conscious (temporary?) choice of the new generation. Focusing on problems of form is usually a sign of enclosure, in a good or bad sense – self-defence mechanisms. However, if it lasts for a while, or even dominates, one should ask what is going on.

This autumn, the exhibition "Pseudo"² was held at the Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia: perhaps it was also a sign of the same kind of exhibition tedium experienced by its organizers. Actually, the works of the artists exhibited (Dénes Farkas and Taavi Talve, Dora García, Flo Kasearu, Jevgeni Zolotko, Kristiina Hansen and Sigrid Viir, Neeme Külm) had already been displayed separately, but they were now exhibited in a rebuilt or mixed way, so that the new arrangement would cause an estrangement.

 

 

Neeme Külm
Columns
2016
site-specific installation
Kumu Art Museum installation
view,
photo by Stanislav Stepashko
Courtesy of the artist

 

 

 

In autumn, Kristi Kongi's extensive exhibition of paintings opened at Hobusepea Gallery, and her inspiration for the show came from packaging or a plastic bag.³ The artist did not relate to it ironically and critically as Leonhard Lapin had in the packaging-collage series of his time, but sincerely, based on the colours and patterns of the plastic bag.

So, it seems that there is a certain general breathing-in period on the Estonian art scene – at least in Tallinn. This is in stark contrast to the political confrontations that took place only recently on the local art scene, which were naturally informed by Marxist-based critical theory, among others. On the contrary, however, the current almost collective focus on nothing but the object refers to the object-centrism and goal of objectivity based on analytical aestheticism – the person (subjective) has been excluded completely from this. Or perhaps it refers to phenomenological aestheticism, where egocentrism is permitted and favoured. From a psychological perspective, the situation probably refers to self-defence mechanisms. Yet self-defence against whom, exactly?

However, these are the tendencies that are prevalent at the moment and – whether we like it or not – they are signs of what is happening in the wider sphere outside of art, perhaps of the uncertainty related to the changing of the world. Any changes in the atmosphere are, as always, most sensitively perceived by artists.

 

 

Heie Treier is an art historian and critic, and associate professor of art history at the Baltic Film, Media, Arts and Communication School at Tallinn University.

 

Quote corner:
"One rather important topic that people in the art circles talk about is professional exhibition installation. Which essentially refers not so much to the works, but to the sometimes extremely labour-extensive spatial reorganisation of the exhibition hall. Neeme Külm and Jaana Jüris' company Valge Kuup OÜ is the potential embodiment or flagship of this process. I'm not completely sure whether the business was established thanks to an interest in construction materials, or whether the business has caused by an interest in Külm as an artist towards construction material and quasi-architectural solutions. However, not even that is actually important. [---] Free from picturesque decoration, a gallery space transformed into the anonymous white cube that people used to try to escape from, has itself become an artist's tool. Likewise, the ready made, or finished object, which initially attacked and doubted the genius of the artist as creator, has become an integral part of the installation whose artistic value no one would even think to doubt."

Indrek Grigor, Kunstiministeerium. Arhiivi ja arhitektuuri vahel. – Klassikaraadio 3. XI 2016.

 

"However, this self-reflection remains in a secure environment from the museum's point of view. The symbolic order of the institution is briefly shaken, but at the end of the exhibition all the holes in the floor will be closed and disappeared without a trace, the status quo is restored."

Ingrid Ruudi, Valged seinad on seest õõnsad. – Sirp 9. XII 2016

 

 

¹ Indrek Grigor, Kunstiministeerium. Arhiivi ja arhitektuuri vahel. – Klassikaraadio 3. XI 2016.

² Heie Treier, Kunstnikukeskne näitus. – Sirp 21. X 2016.

³ Gerli Nõmm, Kristi Kongi avab isikunäituse "Kas oled end näinud?". – Kultuur.err.ee 3. XI 2016.

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