The 2017 work year was a variety-pack of projects and travels bringing rocks and people together. Projects from 2017 now lie nestled in snow, while projects for 2018 are already underway.
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This week celebrates the publication by Aalto University of a ground-breaking Environmental Art book. Edited by my friend and comrade in art, Markku Hakuri, Place or Space (Paikka vai tila) tells the story of places, spaces and situations that the contributing writers encounter when reflecting on the potential of art as a provider of social commentary, and as a shaper or a challenger of the visual appearance of our environment.
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The second time I was invited to teach in Finland, the environmental art class was part of a seminar in Koli National Park. The theme for the Sixth International Conference on Environmental Aesthetics was “Stone.” Presentations were made by a Swiss geologist, a Japanese dry-garden builder and a modern dance troupe that performed at a soapstone quarry. Besides presenting a slide talk at the conference I had a group of university students for the week to make environmental art in the Finnish countryside. My description (below) of one of their projects will be included in Site or Place.
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Going back through the year 2011 in my iPhoto files, I was drawn to those depicting family and friends, new and old. A collection of recollections dear to my heart. From maple sugaring season and projects at home in Vermont and New England, to travels in Finland, Newfoundland, Norway and Denmark, the fun began when we all got together.
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The trees in the parks of Helsinki were beginning to show signs of awakening from their winter sleep when I arrived here early May. Today, my last day in Finland on this trip, they are flush with lush green leaves. I leave behind good friends, old and new. It’s been an exciting few weeks of city life. The Kerava Art Museum exhibition is now open to the public until August 28 when the artist’s pieces will be dismantled and moved, or recycled. I’m pleased with the way my two works came out. ‘L.E.M.’ is the small stone and steel construction displayed inside the museum in partnership with Tristan Hamel’s silk-paper globe. Outside, ‘Wishing Wells’ invites museum-goers and passer-by’s to walk through and around its canyons and cavities.
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Below is the gist of my presentation for the artist’s seminar that preceded the opening of the show at Kerava Art Museum yesterday. The title and theme for this exhibition is ‘Hole in the Universe’. I don’t know how it sounds in Finnish but the word ‘hole’, in English, can be heard as ‘whole’; with a ‘w’. So the title, when spoken, can be interpreted in two ways. Both are interesting concepts to ponder, and respond to by making art. A hole can be a void, a container or a passage way. To become whole in the universe, complete in mind, body and soul, is perhaps the ultimate artists’ quest.
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The techniques used to set stones in relation to one another can be varied. The sizes and shapes of the stones in any supply are often the final determining factor in the design of a dry stone structure. The supply limits the possibilities, focusing the process of design on what is doable. Limits actually increase the potential for a successful outcome. By first assessing the qualities of the available stone, a more ornamental or contemporary design might be considered and pursued.
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The dry stone sculpture rising out of the lawn outside Kerava Art Museum is beginning to attract local attention. People on their way to work are slowing down as they pass. Some stop and ask what’s happening. I learned through a student interpreter that one fellow said he liked seeing natural stone being used, that every one has a unique and beautiful shape. The people of Finland are surrounded by rock. Even in central Helsinki, bedrock outcrops are everywhere. Stone is only surpassed by forest and water in defining the nature of the landscape, and the psyche of the Finns.
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The first full day of sculpture making at Kerava Art Museum brought one form to completion. Because this is a temporary exhibit, I’m building directly on the lawn grass. The granite pebbles and cobbles are easy to handle and a nice change of pace from heavy lifting, even though I do have to spend most of the day on my knees. Their smoothness makes them a bit slippery. I wouldn’t recommend using them this way for a permanent construction. This type of arrangement is like making a big ring cake out of small potatoes. Thanks to students Lauri, Hannah and Iisa for set-up assistance. And to Jenni M. for stone shifting.
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Yesterday, Professor Markku Hakuri took me for a train and bus ride to check out the site for my installation at the Kerava Art Museum. This morning I went ten miles outside of Helsinki to a look at gravel pit. A ‘tailings’ pile I found there has the right ingredients for making a piece that combines twelve hollow cones into a mound shape. Because a group of university art students will be helping me, it’s important that the stones be easily shifted and lifted by hand, and the cones and mound be definable with lines and guide frames. This afternoon I made a 3-D sketch in clay of the design I’ve been working on in my head for the past couple of days.
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