GREEN, RAW, AND UNCUT. YOUNG ESTONIAN ART AT THE BEGINNING OF THE NEW CENTURY
Photo: Pelle Kalmo
3rd conference day organised in the series “An Addenda to Estonian Art History” by Center for Contemporary Arts, Estonia on Nov. 17, 2005 in Kumu Art Museum.
Main organizer Karin Laansoo, co-organizers Center for Contemporary Arts, Estonia; Estonian Academy of Arts, Association of Estonian Art Historians, Art Museum of Estonia
Speakers Karin Laansoo, Irit Rogoff, Kaido Ole, Rael Artel, Kristjan Mändmaa
Talks:
Karin Laansoo (Eesti Kunstiakadeemia). “Don´t trust anyone under 30! About making the book “22+ Noored Eesti kunstnikud / Young Estonian Artists””
Irit Rogoff (Goldsmiths College, University of London). “About the addressee of an art work”
Kaido Ole (Estonian Academy of Arts). “ 325-“
Kristjan Mändmaa (Estonian Academy of Arts). “New good designers”
Rael Artel (Rael Artel Gallery, Artdepoo, Estonian Academy of Arts). “Fotorama! New adventures in the new century”
Read more “Searching for a new denominator in the year 2000+n” (Center for Contemporary Arts, Estonia 2006, ISBN 9985-9321-9-6).
From the editorial:
On one hand there is no term more devolved than "new", losing its original not quite existent meaning the very moment it is uttered in the unstoppable flow of time – maybe just marking a certain moment of surprise. On the other hand we cannot escape continuously re-/over&after-defining "new" because this is the way we could discover something more immanent, above-personal and truly "quintessential" about the Estonia’s art. Something more significant than the usual compulsory rhetoric of the young upcoming generation, "new wave" or "new current", appearing, so to say, between the words, in the involuntary breaking points of art as a function of society. This more universal "new" would already be between double quote marks; it would show the relatively changeless system of values and opinions carrying young people from art education facilities to exhibition halls (once they've learned how to hang pictures on walls and turn on the video projector) and, years later, back to the same place, onto faded professorial chairs they might have never coveted in the beginning. The justification: they stood out even when young.
Of course the market, too, produces this demand for definition. The jaded field of ideas vociferously and continuously asks for fresh sacrifices. The fact is, during the last 10-15 years no recognised names have escalated into the international art arena from the Estonian territories except for Jaan Toomik and Ene-Liis Semper (and just maybe John Smith or, lately, Mark Raidpere but this is the "and-just-maybe" category . . .). From this very demand also sprung the biggest and most substantial project so far – the portrait book by curator and art scholar Karin Laansoo “22+ Noored Eesti kunstnikud. Young Estonian Artists”.
