on not being able to paint

POST #063: Arboreal graffiti

2012-03-07T23:13:00.000+01:00

POST #062: What colour is the present?

2012-03-05T13:44:00.000+01:00

POST #061: leftover drawings II

2012-03-04T10:21:00.001+01:00

np. Perfume Genius - Normal Song

POST #060: Roßkopf

2012-03-03T19:03:00.000+01:00

POST #059: [ˈbɛrn]

2012-03-02T18:41:00.000+01:00

The whole IAAB residency posse together on a field trip. We had such a blast!

np. Animal Collective - Graze

POST #058: on not being able to paint

2012-03-02T11:02:00.000+01:00

POST #057: Chienbäse + Morgenstraich I + II

2012-02-27T14:57:00.000+01:00

So what did we do last night?

We went to Basel for this very traditional night-long carneval. <quote> Something you should see once </quote> and it was kind of breathtaking... or at least Chienbäse was since the air was thick with smoke. It seemed pretty much that the whole city was on the move so through the night we were more or less packed like (smoked) sardines. Anyways, good times!

Many thanks to Miatta and Sylvie for sharing this once in a lifetime experience with us!

POST #056: Frühling

2012-02-23T10:30:00.000+01:00

Spring is gathering pace and it feels almost criminal to work inside. Every day should be one of a kind and we should stumble across something amazing that would leave us in awe, but it's getting harder. I know we should venture deeper into the Schwarzwald, but we also have lots of artistic practice to execute. That's the other thing we should do every day: art (and crafts). Of course to combine both trekking and making art would be a obvious soft option (which we have been doing by collecting certain colors from the surroundings) but to wrap it up with more intensity is the trickier part. I guess we just have to ~~wait and see it develop~~ go and see.

POST #055: Vernissage

2012-02-21T22:31:00.000+01:00

We're having a show together with Miatta Kawinzi and Maurice Mbikayi at dock:, Basel, CH from 25.2. to 4.4.2012. Vernissage is on 24th starting at 18.

See you there!

POST #054: Die Übung

2012-02-18T11:48:00.000+01:00

POST #053: !!!

2012-02-16T16:14:00.000+01:00

POST #052: contemporary collage workshop vol. II

2012-02-14T19:23:00.000+01:00

np. OutKast - Happy Valentine's Day

POST #051: Schlossberg

2012-02-12T22:00:00.000+01:00

np. Bon Iver - Towers

POST #050: 6 Monde

2012-02-12T13:19:00.002+01:00

np. The Sway Machinery - Pilgrimage Coda

POST #049: Altbach

2012-02-12T00:24:00.000+01:00

POST #048: on not being able to (deal with) paint

2012-02-10T11:36:00.000+01:00

POST #047: contemporary collage workshop

2012-02-07T18:20:00.000+01:00

POST #046: I almost forgot

2012-02-06T23:17:00.000+01:00

Found painting (Oulu, December 2011)

POST #045: Schwarzwaldblick

2012-02-06T10:13:00.000+01:00

Vielen Dank an unsere Reiseführerin und -führer!

POST #044: sneak peak + music

2012-02-03T21:26:00.000+01:00

Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musician: Section VIII

POST #043: TWAOS exchange

2012-02-02T19:27:00.000+01:00

Last year we were invited to take part in tenwordsandoneshot.com, a very nice blog where artists post a picture from their studio and answer to ten questions. After Kevin (guy behind the blog) had gathered pictures & answers from 100 artists, he made a fabulous book of 100 copies about it in cooperation with Deutsche & Japaner creative studio. Books were reserved for the participated artists so that the artists could exchange one copy of the book for one artwork of the same size. We got very excited about the idea, so we took a screenshot of our TWAOS page and made a water colour painting of it.

Picture quality isn't that good, but guess you'll get the idea anyway.

np. Giorgio Moroder - Chase

POST #042: Die Suche nach Material

2012-01-30T21:55:00.000+01:00

POST #041: Helsinki - Gdynia 5.-6.1.2012

2012-01-23T13:08:00.001+01:00

POST #040: leftover drawings

2012-01-19T20:38:00.000+01:00

POST #039: Bilder von Freiburg

2012-01-17T22:43:00.000+01:00

POST #038: first week in Freiburg

2012-01-16T00:24:00.000+01:00

Long time no see, again. We've spent now 8 days here in Freiburg, and it's been both intense and quiet. It's a bit hard to start after almost two months of not making anything art related, and especially when all our materials are in Helsinki. But this is just what we needed.

The view from our apartment is just great. Started to work with a sunrise/sunset timelapse video, and it's in our intentions to continue doing it throughout the whole residency period. We also started to reproduce to a transparent paper the leftovers from other residency artists who has been dwelling in Kunsthaus L6 before us.

Video is taken from Zähringe district and the castle surroundings nearby, Burg Zähringer.

We'll be right back with some pics from our Helsinki-Rostock ferry ride and with some snippets of new works. Stay sharp!

np. Dj Tumu89 - Smooth Criminal

POST #037: and a happy new year

2011-12-29T12:06:00.000+01:00

POST #036: season's greetings

2011-12-28T10:20:00.001+01:00

POST #035: Removing stuff

2011-12-14T19:35:00.001+01:00

I've been messing around a bit with Bloggers HTML-code and took some baby steps in tweaking. It's fascinating because when you make websites with other editors like Dreamweaver you just end up adding stuff. With Blogger one needs to work the opposite way. It's a bit the same situation when you're moving from bigger apartment to a smaller one. First you get rid of some furniture and clothes, maybe change your picture tube telly to a flat screen, but when you get with your spared stuff inside the new apartment, you realize how full it really is. Soon the things you thought earlier were too dear to be binned, will be binned.

See what I'm talking about.

And yes, I was attacked by the infamous pepper spraying cop while I was typing the title for the before mentioned blog.

PS. There are some pics of my paintings from 2008, which are a pretty rare sight at the interweb nowadays. Yep.

POST #034: Independence day curling

2011-12-11T21:02:00.001+01:00

POST #033: found note

2011-12-03T22:09:00.001+01:00

Found this after uninstalling our exhibition at Gallery Kluuvi. It was stashed in a pile of rubbish. Guess it was meant for our eyes only, but we just couldn't resist sharing it with you guys. Formerly this was just a blank, clearly visible A4 sheet on a window recess, but somebody decided to write on it & hide it. Also our book on demand portfolio got snatched, which is kind of flattering.

I guess all this is happening because we want to communicate. Not desperately but eagerly. Showing stuff is not at all what this is about. Gathering and sorting masses of information, evaluating the gained results and sharing those collectively for a possible re-evaluation and feedback or even better, for a proposal for improvement is the real deal. We are working as researchers in a very concrete way, and our field of research is 'materials as universal signs of communication between artists and viewers'.

Just kidding, life's good. Listen to Tim Hecker.

POST #032: a place for everything and everything in its place, a making-of

2011-11-22T09:12:00.001+01:00

Sry for not posting for awhile. After installing those two before mentioned exhibitions the passing of time has got out of hand. We're renovating our new apartment and it's taking hell lot of more time that we were prepared for, but I think we're now playing on the winning side.

This video is from our former studio and from the ongoing exhibition at the Kluuvi Gallery, Helsinki (HOX! till 27th). The video cuts off short because, typically, the battery emptied out ahead of its time. Should've switched off the LCD-screen.

Anyways, go and see the show(s). If you're unable then check out pics from here. God bless you and Roberto Cacciapaglia.

POST #031: Galleria Alkovi

2011-11-03T21:43:00.000+01:00

Check it out!

POST #030: few teasers before the exhibition

2011-10-24T18:01:00.000+02:00

np. Yle Puhe

POST #029: found drawings 1

2011-10-21T08:57:00.001+02:00

We found ourselves a new apartment. Moving is a perfect excuse to go through every shoebox and drawer, and that's how I found these. They mostly date back to my childhood exchange of letters and are drawn by my friends. The two entire pages are actually two sides of one page, made by one of my little sisters several years ago. Notice the tiny pencil-made holes in the paper.

(¡ʇǝɹɔǝs doʇ)

(EYE AND EYEBROW)

(This eats one mousekin every day!)

(ballet dancer)

Löysimme uuden asunnon, ja muutto lähestyy. Sen seurauksena kaikki laatikot ja kaapit täytyy tietenkin koluta läpi, sieltä nämäkin löytyivät. Piirrokset ovat lapsuudenystävien kirjeistä ja koko sivun kuvat (saman sivun kaksi puolta) on tehnyt yksi siskoistani. Huomaa lyijykynällä tehdyt taidokkaat reiät!

POST #028: 24 farben

2011-10-07T13:19:00.000+02:00

Imi Knoebel, 24 Farben-für Blinky, 1977

Yesterday at school one of my fellow students said that she hadn't had 'the kicks' from any work of visual art for a long time. Me neither (the last time was in maybe 2006, when I was encountered with Vesa-Pekka Rannikko's works for the first time). Then I saw Imi Knoebels 24 Farben-für Blinky in Dia:Beacon in 22. of September 2011. Surely the surrounding architecture played it's own role in the overall experience, and maybe I was in a very sentimental mood after seeing Blinky Palermo's retrospective but still I would have never guessed how deeply colours and abstract shapes could affect me. Still the most striking thing was, that these works were dedicated to the memory of Palermo by a very dear friend. Formerly Knoebel had used quite monochromatic scale between black and white but in this homage he expanded his repertoire to consist all these wonderful colors.

All of this is, of course, irrelevant in relation to the concrete works of art. But I just can't help thinking about the act of must. I also felt it when my brother died in July. I had an acute concern that I would forget him in three weeks, if I didn't do something quick. Now it's been almost three months and I still think of him every day. After seeing 24 Farben-für Blinky, I know for sure that I will make something for him but in due time. Isn't that just amazing?

POST #027: Souvenirs

2011-10-05T15:58:00.000+02:00

from that city beginning with letter N.

Beachcombing treasures & a Félix González-Torres (from PS1).

Vielä täytyy esitellä matkamuistoja siitä N:llä alkavasta paikasta: rannalta löydettyjä aarteita ja ehta Félix González-Torres. Kun muuten joskus ensi kertaa kuulin englanninkielen sanan beachcombing, ilahduin suuresti kun lempiharrastukselle löytyi oikea nimi. Viehättävä sana, vaikka taitaa silläkin olla varjopuolensa. Vastaavalle termille voisi olla käyttöä suomessakin, vaikkei vuorovesi täällä dramaattisemmin vaihtelekaan. Ehdotuksia?

POST #026: DISCO FIJI!

2011-10-04T21:41:00.001+02:00

For better use of plastic bottles, see this.

POST #025: a brand-new portfolio

2011-10-03T13:16:00.000+02:00

We're going to Germany in couple of months for IAAB residency, so we made this portfolio about our recent works. Check it out and order a copy if you like!

Lähdemme IAAB:n residenssiin Saksaan tammikuussa puoleksi vuodeksi, ja teimme sen kunniaksi englanninkielisen portfolion.

POST #024: New York II

2011-09-26T03:06:00.000+02:00

np. Nas - Memory Lane (Sittin' In Da Park)

POST #023: sketches of Bonbonsai

2011-09-19T02:48:00.000+02:00

Untitled (Bonbonsai) or when Arcangel met Steinbach who met Mr. Okamura
digital print on vinyl (not printed)

np. Jah Wobble & The Nippon Dub Ensemble - Cherry Blossom Of My Youth

POST #022: art posters @ AGK

2011-09-11T01:54:00.000+02:00

np. Beastie Boys feat. Santigold - Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win

POST #021: New York I

2011-09-10T05:34:00.000+02:00

site tarpaulin / työmaapressu

flea market jewel / helmiä

Noguchi museum

Sol LeWitt sculptures

POST #020: secrets and take-away posters | salaisuuksia ja take-away julisteita

2011-08-21T15:01:00.002+02:00

So it's been over a month since the last post. Maybe one can call it a summer break, but the truth is that all of the summer we've been doing some secret things we cannot yet reveal. Honestly! Here's a tip: 111111.

Besides to this secret project and mystic number yada yada yada, we have also worked with some "real" things like the ongoing Art Goes Kapakka-festival in Helsinki. We were invited to bring some of our works to the eldest Irish pub in Finland called O'Malley's (founded 1981). We got this idea of art posters as soon as we entered the pub for the first time. The place was spacious and the walls were covered with different kind of beer and cider posters, which we took as a starting point for our on-site project. Instead of installing complete paintings we took photos of those on the O'Malley's walls and printed out at Picaset. The complete pictures were printed as A3 so that the paintings were on 1:1 scale showing a bit of the pub's wall from each side. There were 40 different posters and we printed three copys of each, so that the spare ones could be given as gifts during the AGK-festival.

Here are some pics of the posters and from our new studio. Notice the new warehouse shelfs. We'll be adding later some pics from the pub.

Viime bloggauksesta onkin kulunut jo yli kuukausi. Kai sitä voisi kutsua kesälomaksi, mutta totuus on se että työn alla on yksi salainen projekti jota ollaan tehty koko kesä, ja josta ei nyt voi vielä kertoa. Vinkkinä numerosarja 111111.

Ollaan me toki myös tehty jotain, mitä voi täällä nyt heti jakaa. Meidät kutsuttiin Art Goes Kapakan Tsiigaa-osioon, eli tuomaan jotain teoksia ravintola O'Malleysiin. Ravintolan seinillä oli jo valmiiksi monenlaisia, lähinnä olut- ja siiderijulisteita, joiden myötä lähdettiin kehittämään teosideaa. Päätettiin kuvata Sisällysluettelon maalaukset pubin seinillä ja teettää niistä taidejulisteita. Julisteita taittaessa jätimme vähän ravintolan seinää näkyviin niihin siten, että maalaukset olivat 1:1 koossa. Julisteet painettiin Picasetissä SuperGloss-paperille, ja lopputulos oli hyvä. Julisteita painettiin 80 kpl ylimääräisiä, joita jaetaan O'Malleysissä. Hae siis omasi nyt!

Ohessa muutamia kuvia julisteista ja uudelta työhuoneelta. Huomioikaa uudet varastohyllyt. Ravintolakuvia luvassa myöhemmin.

np. The Bad Plus - You Are

POST #019: all things must pass

2011-07-14T22:30:00.001+02:00

Funny how you realize that artists studio is just a room after you take every meaningful item away. Oh well, thx for the last 2 years, and as Russell Simmons puts it "thank you for coming out, God bless you and good night."

PS. We already have a new studio, so there'll be some new shieet coming out any time soon!

POST #018: a gift

2011-07-05T09:14:00.000+02:00

We spent two sunny summer holiday weeks in Oulu.
My youngest sister (8 years) gave me many drawings. This one she called "an artwork".

Kesälomailimme Oulussa pari viikkoa. Sain nuorimmalta siskoltani ison kasan piirustuksia. Tämä nimenomainen on hänen mukaansa "taideteos" (ne muut luontoa ja perheenjäseniä esittävät eivät ilmeisesti olleet).

POST #017: The Cellar

2011-06-14T10:28:00.001+02:00

We spent almost couple of weeks (1.-10.6.) at Saaren Kartano participating a master course held by Simryn Gill. We talked a lot about art and life, and it was kind of heavy. One day I took a little time out from fellow students and headed to this beautiful newly renovated cellar from late 19th century. There I started to work with fishing line since I experienced that it works well with the natural light condition in that specific space.

This cellar was huge, approx. 4 to 5 meters in height as width also, length about 9 meters. Half of the structure was below ground level and because of very thick walls temperature stayed stable at c. +10 celsius, so my toes were freezing all the time I worked there. At the same time I also worked with a camera + pico projector combination and "punctured" a window opening in one bay inside the wall structure. I installed a camera on the outside wall in the exact same spot where the walls hollow spot was and connected the camera to the projector, so that the viewers could see outside as if there was a real window opening. Some people didn't at first even realize that it was a projection although all the equipment were clearly visible.

np. Boards of Canada - Dayvan Cowboy

POST #16: Kuvan kevät- exhibition guide

2011-05-28T15:33:00.005+02:00

Janne is supervising the spring exhibition today.

One and a half sunny hours to go...

POST #015: spring-cleaning motivation

2011-05-28T15:20:00.001+02:00

POST #014: installing Sisällysluettelo 7.5.2011

2011-05-19T12:49:00.000+02:00

Sorry for not posting for awhile, we've been quite busy. But anyway, we got our thesis work done on time and the name changed from Inventory to Sisällysluettelo | Table of Contents. The wall dedicated to our work wasn't long enough, so we had to cut down the number of paintings from 46 to 34 but it was still ok. The exhibition is up till 5.6. @ Finnish Academy of Fine Arts (Kaikukatu 4, Helsinki) so please do pay a visit if around.

np. The Natural Yogurt Band - The Natural Yogurt Mix

POST #013: daydream sketches a.k.a. lazy hipster art

2011-04-23T14:55:00.001+02:00

¡ןןɐ,ʎ ɹǝʇsɐǝ ʎddɐɥ
ןןɐ,ʎ ɹǝʇsɐǝ ʎddɐןɐ,ʎ ɹǝʇsɐǝ ʎdd
ɐ,ʎ ɹǝʇsɐǝ ʎd,ʎ ɹǝʇsɐǝ ʎ
ʎ ɹǝʇsɐǝ
ɹǝʇsɐ
ɹǝʇsǝʇ

POST #012: rag rug

2011-04-20T12:48:00.000+02:00

We're currently having a mini break from our thesis work, so Maria is working with contemporary poetry and I attended to a two day 'Trauma and Beauty'-workshop. During the course we were to think of some kind of concept/piece that would refer to or deal with trauma or/and beauty.

I made a small rug rag out of thickened acrylic paint.

np. Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees

POST #011: inventory pt. 5

2011-04-14T12:08:00.000+02:00

33/46

34/46

35/46

np. Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx - NY Is Killing Me

POST #010: kosminen luumu / cosmic plum

2011-04-13T12:47:00.000+02:00

POST #009: inventory pt. 4

2011-04-05T10:02:00.000+02:00

28/46

29/46

30/46

31/46

np. Gil Scott-Heron - The Crutch

POST #008: inventory pt. 3

2011-03-29T10:19:00.000+02:00

27/46

making of 28 and 29/46

np. Tyler, The Creator - Yonkers

POST #007: Tienvarsimainos, the making-of

2011-03-23T15:47:00.000+01:00

During 22.11.2010-3.12.2010 we attended to a course titled 'Still life attitude'. The idea was to think about still lifes and its relations to one's own methods. We rearranged one roadside advertisement.

For more pictures about the compelete work, visit here.

np. Salem - King Night

POST #006: Luxembourg

2011-03-16T13:32:00.002+01:00

At the moment we're having an exhibition at Leslie's Artgallery in Luxembourg (3/3-16/4). Basic idea was to make an exhibition that'll fit in one suitcase, but we didn't quite manage in our plan. We also had to use backpacks.

For more pictures about the show, visit here.

np. Aceyalone, RJD2 - A Beautiful Mine

POST #005: inventory pt. 2

2011-03-10T13:35:00.001+01:00

16/46

making of 17/46

POST #004: inventory pt. 1

2011-02-23T13:44:00.004+01:00

making of 16/46

14/46

15/46

(official announcement) Our MFA thesis work, Inventory (work title) will consist of a total of 46 watercolours, each approx. 23 cm x 24 cm. The watercolours are based on the photographs of the all temporary containers (46 pieces) we had in our studio in autumn 2010, e.g. buckets, cardboard boxes and plastic bags.

After photographing, the contents of each individual container were carefully assorted and documented in writing as in a proper inventory. All the listed contents form a 9-page word file consisting of a total of 3496 words. In the final piece the list of contents will be presented simultaneously with the watercolours as monologues hearable from mp3-player. Watercolours will be numbered so that they will match the right track numbers in the mp3-player. (/official announcement)

POST #003: color chart

2011-02-23T13:31:00.002+01:00

from left to right: Marvelous anchor, Fleshlight and Fanny Hill's

on top: Private dancer

During the silicone workshop I figured out that it would be fun to make these body-tinted 'frisbees'. Silicone is much used in dildos, vibrators, masturbators, lubricants etc., so I thought it would be interesting to connect the work with the aesthetics of adult toys. After all Finland is one of the leading Nordic countries in promoting sexual well-being by bringing this stuff for sale in grocery stores since 2009.

Each colored silicone has it's own name that represents a real life sex toy. I selected sex toys which have proper names (see pictures) rather than using terms like dildo or butt plug, so that the connection is not too evident. Later I mixed colors that resemble sex toys colors and also transferred the names to match with the silicone puddles. The silicone puddles were then stretched in emboidery hoops, so they're nice and tight.

POST #002: Arduino basics

2011-02-16T13:35:00.005+01:00

Got to do some Arduino programming and used soldering iron (last time was in elementary school!). As in previous post I was saying, the servo motors didn't seem to work out too well with silicone casts so instead we had to eventually figure out something else. I connected the screen plate (w. two servo motors) to Arduino and made a very simple for-code that makes the other servo spin 180 degrees and the other servo to do a sawing-like movement. The code isn't exactly made properly and that's why the other servo is zig-zaging,but it was just the thing we were looking for.

After we got the code to function, we attached two small surveillance cameras to servos with blu-tack, and the cameras we plugged in to pocket projectors AV-input. So basically the projectors show what the cameras are scanning. Seems to work quite nicely, especially when combined with some small scale stuff we have made.

np. Bill Laswell - Milky (DJ Grazhoppa Mix)

edit. The complete work can be found from here.

POST #001: two-part silicone

2011-02-15T13:43:00.000+01:00

hollow silicone casts, molds taken from bubble wrapped paintings

The idea was to make two hollow silicone casts, that would inhale/exhale when combined with servo motors. After got these cuties done and attended to Arduino-class, the idea didn't work so well any more. The easist way to do it with Arduino+servos would have been to make some MDF-sticks and attach to servo rotors. Quite mechanical and not too sophisticated.

So these babies are to wait for a new, better idea. At the moment they're just relaxing.

np. Khan - Booker to Hooker