Three videos of the collection of the Av-Arkki
September 19 - October 12, Lower gallery
Anssi Kasitonni: Masa (2009)
Anneli Nygren: Laundry work(1992)
Timo Vaittinen: Central park(2011)
AV-arkki is the Distribution Centre for Finnish Media Art. AV-arkki distributes and promotes Finnish media art to festivals, events, museums and galleries worldwide. AV-arkki has been a pioneering distributor since 1989 and has opened up opportunities for artists to get their works recognized internationally. The activities of AV-arkki have contributed to the success that Finnish media art enjoys today. These activities are unique in both Finland and the other Nordic countries. This year 2014 AV-arkki celebrates it´s 25th anniversary.
The exhibition shows a selection of video art works by Anneli Nygren, Anssi Kasitonni and Timo Vaittinen. But how to differ between video art and film art shown in cinema and television? Perttu Rastas describes the collage-like character of video art as follows: “Film art derives from
literary and theatrical traditions where text plays a central role. A film is a visualized text dominated by the laws of drama. A video is, however, something else. Video art is writing with images.”
Anssi Kasitonni is an award-winning artist from Sahalahti, Finland. He has worked in music, drawing and sculpture, but to many of his fans, the most beloved of his works are the short films he makes at his own farm. The films deal with questions related to morality, love, death, generation gaps, sexuality and, of course, submarines. Anssi’s movies are a world unto themselves that tells us something essential about ours.
His video Masa (2009) is a prison break story combining animation, puppetry and live action. A technologically advanced guinea pig yearning for freedom is creative in developing getaway plans to escape its owners unrequited love.
To simply call Anneli Nygren a video artist would not be enough to explain her multifaceted artistic work. She started to produce videos and film in the 1980’s including a broad range of film genres such as documentaries, fiction, animation or music videos. One characteristic of her work is to film with simple and low-tech tools. The fun aspect is more important to her than the use of professional equipment. Furthermore her art also covers music, drawing and photography. Anneli Nygren lives and works in Turku, Finland.
Laundry-Work (1992) seizes Yoko Ono’s performance idea carried out in a very commonplace way. - Entertain your guests by showing them your laundry.
Timo Vaittinen works with collage and painting and turns this mixture into a moving, spatial animation. He also experiments with light in his video art works, where he creates an atmosphere of mystery and uniqueness.
Central Park (2011) shows the mysterious light phenomenon dancing in the darkness of central park.
More information: http://www.av-arkki.fi/en/about-av-arkki/
Sirpa Turpeinen
Curator of Education
tel. +35850 542 0591
sirpa.turpeinen(at)jkl.fi