Article 2009-04-16 Interpretation and concentrated work

Tulkintaa ja tiivistettyä työtä. Artikkeli ilmestyi Sydän-Satakunta -lehdessä 16.04.2009
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Interpretation and concentrated -article was published in the local news paper Sydän-Satakunta. I make my points about a lot of issues like the imbalance between art & culture in financial means compared f.e. to sports. Also talk about my views in general. Maybe the most important point being the question of future and what kind of input art can have. In my opinion it's difficult to see just technological advancements without some sort of co-operation with different fields. So my feeling is that art and culture are very important creating new ideas and innovations.

Spring is coming...great!

Opening 2009-03-03

Art exhibition openings are fun since you see so many friends that you haven't - for a reason or another - seen for so long. This opening lacked some but brought some surprises as well. Quite enjoyable.
Artists are so often working alone that this kind of flood of people sometimes feels so strange. And after returning home, which is empty, it feels so distant and one wonders whether it actually was for real or not.

Portraits - Muotokuvat

Tällaisena aikana, kun monet esiintyvät valokuvissa, Facebookissa jne. mietityttää, miksi "vanhanaikainen" muotokuva edelleen viehättää. On muotokuva toki pysyvämpi ja osoittaa kohteensa olevan merkittävä henkilö jo siksi, että on valinnut tämän tallennusmuodon jälkipolville. Minusta vanhojen muotokuvien suurin anti ehkä onkin niiden kautta tapahtuva tutustuminen aikaan ja siinä eläneisiin ihmisiin satojen vuosien takaa.

Toinen kiinnostava seikka on taiteilijan tulkinta mallista. Näkökulma saattaa olla epäedullinenkin mallin kannalta ja esittää hänestä sellaisiakin puolia, joiden malli itse soisi jäävän huomaamatta. Kokonaan eri asia ovat sitten nuo kuvat, jotka ovat pelkkä representaatio valokuvista. Niiden kohdalla on vaikea löytää motivaatiota.

Samoin julkinen muotokuva saattaa poiketa huomattavasti yksityisiin tiloihin tulevasta. Itse olen tehnyt molempia ja julkisen työn ohella kohteelle itselleen vapaamman - ja pienikokoisemman - version kotiin.

Welcome - Tervetuloa

This is an open invitation to my new exhibition for anyone interested. Some people seem to think that they need a separate invitation before they overcome their shyness to attend. That is totally unnecessary since art exhibitions are open to everyone. Be welcome!

Tämä on avoin kutsu näyttelyyni kaikille kiinnostuneille. toivottavasti teitä riittää. Se, että näyttelyssä käy paljon ihmisiä, on aina taiteilijalle palkitsevaa. lämpimästi tervetuloa!

EDIT:// Näyttelyteksti

Sami Rinne

BANGKOK BOOGIE NIGHTS

Galleria Pirkko-Liisa Topelius
Ullanlinnankatu 1 A 2-4, 00130 HELSINKI
04.03. - 29.03.2009, avajaiset 03.03.2009
TI-PE 11-17 LA-SU 12-16 MA suljettu

Näyttelyn nimi viittaa modernistitaiteilija Piet Mondrianin teokseen 'Broadway Boogie Woogie', jonka hän sai valmiiksi 1943 pian muutettuaan New Yorkiin. Teoksessa oli paljon runsaampi määrä yksityiskohtia kuin hänen aikaisemmissa teoksissaan ja nimen se sai tuosta musiikista, jota Mondrian rakasti tanssia.

Minulle tuo teos tuli mieleen asuessani Bangkokissa - nykyhetken New Yorkissa. Valoja, ääniä, kuvia ja paljon paljon muuta mahtuu tuohon suurkaupunkiin. Bangkokissa voi valita, millaisen kuvan siitä saa. Tutkiessa pieniä kujia - joita riittää loputtomiin - saattaa vahingossa löytää pienen puiston tai tuoretorin tai mitä vaan. On yhtä monta käsitystä Bangkokista kuin on siellä kävijöitäkin.

Itse kuvataiteilijana olen ihastunut siihen valtavaan määrään erilaisia visuaalisia yksityiskohtia, värejä ja virikkeitä ja heijastumia mitä kaupunki tarjoaa. Yhtenä ajatuksena oli nimetä näyttely Bangkok Graffitiksi, mutta nimi viittaa ehkä liiaksi nuorisokulttuuriin vaikka haluaisin sen enemmän kuvastavan sitä loputonta mielikuvien ja visuaalisten merkkien määrää, jota kaupunki on pullollaan. Myönnetään - kaupunki ei aina ole kaunis tai puhdaskaan, mutta elossa se on, mitä suurimmassa määrin! Haluan näyttelylläni tuoda esiin noita ilmeitä, yksityiskohtia ja tunnelmaa, joka yhdessä maailman suurimmista kaupungeista vallitsee. Kyseessä on oma valintani, mutta kaupungissa, joka on levinnyt niin laajalle ettei kukaan tunnu tietävän missä sen rajat ovat, valinta on ainoa mahdollisuus. Kukin valitsee oman Bangkokinsa. Tässä tapauksessa yksityiskohdat luovat kokonaisuutta. Yritän siis luoda uudestaan yhden näkemyksen ja tunnelman siitä, mitä olen kokenut ja nähnyt.

Teokset ovat syntyneet Aasian matkoillani viimeisen neljän ja puolen vuoden kokemusten perusteella. Matkalaukkukoko on ollut tietoinen valinta jo siitä syystä, että olen muuttanut niin monta kertaa etten pysy laskuissa mukana. Kyseessä on eräänlainen visuaalisten kokemusten päiväkirja.


Kokemäellä 24.02.2009

Sami Rinne

11.02.2009 Article

Dreams vs. Reality

"Scenes tend to occur in waves of three. The first wave brings the few, the adventurous and the enlightened. The second wave brings more, it brings the avant garde. The third and final wave brings the masses. The masses tend to be asses and they murder the scene."
The above quote was from a text remembering Phuket before it became popular. Popularity also destroyed it. In some sense this tends to happen to Art movements as well - just think of Modern and what happened. There was a compact thinking why they did something they did. Mostly against academic painting - or should I say - against other dogmatic people that thought that painting was about brown color, copying Old Masters, avoiding life and pretending that everything could be approached through allegories?

Well, they got their counter attack. Color, wild compositions (if any), splitting the image in facets, experimenting and letting the color drip, drop and splash. Funnily though, the Modern Masters were educated in the atmosphere of the Tradition, so they knew perfectly well how to fight against it. The next generation was not that skillful or knowledge-wise. They simply stuck to the Modern cliches and forms and repeated them endlessly. So much that it finally became so much unlike Modern and they started to call it POSTmodernism - whatever that is. I think it's much of everything and nothing at the same time.

In my mind, Art is much to do with patterns but they need to be review at times to make sure they still are viable and not just repetition without meaning.

I sometimes feel that accomplishing to do an image of Art is like trying to make something very fragile to be stuck on 2-dimensional canvas forever - or that is the goal, very few get that far.

Buri Ram - The Pleasent City

It's been a while since I wrote anything. You know - the New Year in Thailand - it stops anything and gets on your way in every possible way. Thais like to celebrate and I've said before that everything seems to take three times longer than in Europe but they also have three New Years in a row. Yep, you heard correct, 'our' New Year, Chinese New Year and of course my favorite - Thai New Year - also known as Songkhran in April. I am born during those crazy days of Songkhran, the Water Festival, so I don't need to spend it alone. The whole country seems to go nuts.

Well, that's about that. I get excited so easily.
Buri Ram literally translates as Pleasentville, although Thais that I asked about it seemed rather confused about the meaning of the words so I guess they might be rather ancient and more prose than verse or the other way around.

I was there with my friends and climbing to the mountain was a task regarding that it was VERY hot day again. I always try to discourage people to make any accurate plans while traveling in Thailand since the schedule is very likely to change. And I myself am so lazy that any extra climbing and swetting is always wrecking my nerves. My favorite way of traveling is reading books. No sweat there and one can do it in the comfort of ones home.

So there was I looking these ancient ruins. And swetting... First question was why oh why this kind of things are always so difficult to enter. They are fortresses of course but still... Almost first thing that I heard was that someone has stolen the stone images carved above the exits. At least in one spot so those I saw were FAKES (!)Nice. I could have looked similar in any "antique" shop in Pattaya or Bangkok. They have these expensive things that they call antique. When I was young anything younger than 100 years was just old things but development develops so nowadays antique is something that was made a week ago.

When we finally came down and drove closer to town we stopped at another big temple. It was much nicer and much bigger than the one at the mountain top. They said it was a temple for water and rice (growth). More interesting and which was better, no other tourists around. I could've slept there all day in a nice Fisherman's net but as usual I didn't find any clues that they had thought of my comfort. My feeling is - regarding most of things in Art or Architecture or anything similar - that it should be looked from vertical position. Yes. More relaxed, more suitable and time to consider whether it is worth getting up from bed. Frankly said, most things aren't and you have seen them on National Geographic Channel already.

All in all, worth seeing but sitting in a car for 12 hours is not my idea of fun. It translates to back pain and I hate pain.

LUX AETERNA

LUX AETERNA – Ikuinen valo

Tänä vuoden pimeimpänä aikana mieleen muistui alemman tutkintoni näyttely Gotiikan tematiikasta ja sen yksi käsite ikuisesta valosta, joka heijastuu kaikista luomakunnan kappaleista, niistä pienimmistäkin ja vaatimattomista.

Gotiikka – kuten niin monet muutkin ihmisen rakentamat ideologiset rakennelmat – oli itseasiassa yhtä suurta väärinkäsitystä (Pseudo-Dionysius), mutta aikaansai mahtavia uskonnollisia rakennelmia varsinkin Ranskanmaalla. Olin jossain välissä Ile-de-Francen alueella tutustumassa noihin katedraaleihin mm. Reims, Beauvais ja lukuisa määrä muita joita en nyt enää muista kuin mielikuvalta. Gotiikan ideologian mukaan kirkko oli kuin puun juuristo kääntyneenä kohti valoa ja sillä tuli olla seitsemän tornia vrt. opetuslasta. Johtuen tuon ajan rakennustekniikasta, enin määrä jonka näin, oli viisi tornia. Täydellisyyttä kun on vain kirjoissa ja unelmissa. Ja ehkä taiteessa, kun se ominaislaatunsa avulla lähestyy unelmia, satuja ja sellaista jota julma todellisuus halveksii.

Tästä huolimatta, ajatus ikuisesta valosta ja sen kaikkialle tunkeutuvasta hoivasta tuntui lohduttavalta. Myöhemmin sitten heräsi ajatus, onko sitä olemassa vaikka on pirun pimeää? Ihminen haluaa uskoa ikuiseen ja varmaan ja pysyvään. Ehkä juuri siksi, että niin harva asia on noita edellämainittuja. Elämme kuin olisimme ikuisia.

Tänään muistelin edesmennyttä ystävääni, joka poistui kaksi vuotta sitten oman käden kautta hyppäämällä junan eteen. Ostin tuona päivänä pienen muistoesineen, jota yhä kannan mukanani. Hän oli yksi niitä unohdettuja, joilla ei ollut paljoa ystäviä ja elämä oli mennyt muita palvellessa ja raskaita töitä tehden. Auringonvalo – tai mikään muukaan valo – ei tainnut lämmittää häntä hänen yksinäisyydessään.

Valo on maalaustaiteessa olennaista. Sitä on vaikea vangita kankaalle. Se on hankalasti toteutettavissa, luonto tekee sen upeammin kuin yksikään maalaus pystyy sitä matkimaan. Ilman valoa juuri mitään tuntemastamme ei olisi olemassa. Se muuttuu ja kimaltaa kaikessa mihin osuu.

Mitä mahtoivat vanhat kreikkalaiset tarkoittaa laulaessaan: “Niin kauan kuin elät, loista!” Ehkä he halusivat ihmisen olevan loistelias oma aurinkonsa, joka olemassaolollaan valaisee muita ympärillään. Nyt kun Valon Juhla lähestyy – samoin kuin vuoden pimeimmät hetket – voimme sytyttää oman valomme ja valaista ja lämmittää sillä muita.

Loistakaamme!

LUX AETERNA – The Eternal Light
This being the darkest period of the year, it somehow reminds me of my exhibition themed around Gothic. There was a basic concept that adored light. The light was reflecting from everyhting in the universe – even the most remote of beings and things.
Gothic period – as so many ideologies (I try to avoid the word religion since I see little difference) put up by humans – is a great misunderstanding (referring to Pseudo-Dionysios). But still it was able to achieve ‘miracles’ in architecture of its times, especially in France. I was going around Ile-de-France region and enjoying its friendly people and good food (compared to Parisiens which are ackward people!). And of course seeing those cathedrals in Reims, Beauvais and so on. Most I can remember as images and relate to the feeling and location but can’t really remember their names any more.
The basic structure is a basilica turned to heavens like a giant tree roots seeking the light of God. There should be seven towers as there were seven followers of Christ. Due to technical problems the most I saw were five towers. So as good as a theory it might be, it couldn’t be accomplished here on Earth. So sad. Reaching that level of pure perfectness – maybe it can be done only in our imagination or literature or fairy tales. Or art in general since arts really are closest what we come up with concerning living as a human being.
Somehow the idea of eternal light that was reaching allover was a comforting one. Later I wondered whether it really exists when it’s totally dark? We like to believe in something eternal, safe and stable. Perhaps because so many things are actually the opposite. We live like we are eternal, indeed.
Today I remembered my friend that took his own life two years ago. That day I bought a memento that I still carry with me every day. He was one of those people, whos life went working hard and serving the needs of others. Sunlight – or any other form of light – didn’t seem to warm him in his solitude.
Light in painting is a necessity. It is hard to capture by the means of the brush stroke. It almost futile to compete with nature. Mother nature outshines every and each one that even dares to challenge its shining glory. Without light almost everything that we know of would seeze to exist. It shines and glimmers in everything that it touches.
Sometimes I wonder what the ancient Greeks meant when they sang: “As long as you live, shine!” Maybe they wanted us to be shining beacons in our lives to shed light upon eachothers. Now, when the Celebration of Light is near, we all can lit our own lights and give warmth to the others.
Let’s shine!

Independent?

Sometimes, like now when it's Finnish National Day - 06.12.2008 - 90 years of "freedom", I wonder what on Earth is to be independent? Not an easy concept at all.

Artists are so dependent on many things, mostly connections and sometimes as something as unpredictable as luck or plain coincidence. That's life folks! You can never know and that requires that strange thing called coping up with the uncertainties. Uncertain, that's what an artists life and freedom and being independent is all about.
Ultimately, there is the question of money. You know, the thing that they say makes the World go around. Hmm...er...I guess that nobody would choose this profession based only on the facts of income. There was a study of Finnish artists and they claimed that at our 50's we MAY reach the level of income that our peers on other fields have enjoyed quite a long time. On the other hand, the same study suggested that we are far more happy in our profession than the average 'Joe - the plummer'.

Now when the uncertainties of economics are here again, I hope people to scan their beliefs of satisfieing life. It might be that there is something outside all that talk of profit and financial scams. In my profession the finances are the realities only as far we think them providing the possibilities, as I suppose in most cases, but would I change my profession and lifestyle because of just the cause of better gains. This, I suppose is the difference between large public and 'Joe - the plummer' types compared to artists. I would not change position just for a better deal. I have the best job in the World already.

Hope you all enjoy your independencies. Enjoy it, while it's yours.

The picture was taken on a journey to Koh Samed Island near Chon Buri. Nice place but I am not a big fan of islands. There might not be a boat available...

Painting as a Diary

I like something what Picasso said. He suggested that painting was merely one way of keeping a diary. I have noticed that my feeling greatly effects the results. Depending the day, of course!

Art lovers

ART LOVERS - THOSE WONDERFUL PEOPLE!

Being an artist is quite a task since one is his own secretary, marketer, producer, publicist, PR person and so on - endlessly. I can easily forget people who actually love art and its makers. I had an opurtunity to have an exhibition in a small gallery of Liisa Ekquist this year. It raelly is a small one but the more lovely, too.

Liisa and Juhani are wonderful, warm-hearted art lovers. There are not many like them. The place they have chosen is an old house near the center of Noormarkku. A small town that few go to see an exhibition. People visiting the place are mostly local and for this very reason people like them are so important. There would be nothing without them! This is like offering people free peak to the world of art. No cost there.

I suppose this used to be the way of early art lovers all over the World. Showing images and works of art to their friends, colleagues and even to the normal people sorrounding them. Not being selfish, these people try to share their passion to others and convince the overall public of the value of art. This, of course, mostly on their own cost and freetime.

Thank you Liisa and Juhani that there are people like you around! Thank you a lot!

Beginning of Art Talk...

I have contemplated quite a while to open a blog to show some of my own images and say a word or two about artist's profession.
I am a professional artist working at the moment in Thailand. Originally I am from Finland and go back there every now and then to showcase my work.

I feel that art has a lot to offer to our World, especially at the times when economy is faulting. People tend to think too much about money-related issues and much less about things that really matter - at least to me.

I hope You - as reader will enjoy my blog and if I wake up some thoughts the better.

This first pic is from the year 2000. It is from a series of gouache paintings where I combined gouache and silk screen. The Holiday Inn chain purchased quite a few of these artworks to their hotel in Salmisaari, Helsinki. They are there at display on the corridors and rooms.

I have tried to explore different materials and printing options since new and exciting always makes me see the huge potential in art.
I hope this kicks in my blog.