Tõnis Laanemaa, Curators: Wang Xixi & Al Paldrok, DeepArt Space, Eastern Art Zone, Xiao ‘pu Village, Songzhuang Town,Tongzhou District, Beijing, China

Tõnis Laanemaa – graphic artist and painter
The group of young artists called ANK-64 bears a resemblance to EKR (Group of Estonian Artists), and was also established in the modernism-keen decade. It lasted, despite the different individual traits of its members, for quite some time, gradually becoming a legend. It was not possible to register such a group in the 1960s, nor did it have a constitution, but the members were united in a certain closeness of aesthetic ideals. Compared to the previous generation, the ANK members, with their strikingly individual style and associative symbols-images, came closer to contemporary international art. The dominant trend in the latter was pop art, which expressed the mentality of urbanism, mass culture and the consumer era in a language influenced by advertising, comic strips, and the tabloid media. It was also affected by the radical manifestations of the early decades of the 20th namely collage and assemblage. Pop art had taken root in a different society from which young Estonian artists developed. Features typical of a Western society and way of life were only beginning to turn up here, and the postmodernist eclecticism and social context of pop art aesthetics became more comprehensible a bit later, which was reflected in the work of the group SOUP-69. The ANK-like reception of pop art was essentially aesthetic; searching for style was also influenced by the legacy of the past, namely Art Nouveau and rediscovering symbolism of the time, which blended with impulses received from the barely half-a-century-old surrealism as a reactivated modernist trend. Constructing your own “aesthetic universe”, as Elnara Taidre described the work of Tõnis Vint, characterised other ANK members as well. Tõnis Laanemaa also aspired towards this, although he was not as focused as some other young graphic artists. He studied graphic art at the State Art Institute from 1961 to 1966. His graduate work was a series of tourism posters. As early as in 1961 he was elected as Chairman of the Student Research Society. A year later he was replaced by Tõnis Vint. Through the Society, Laanemaa initiated student exhibitions in the Tartu University café and Tõravere Observatory. The student display in 1964 was the first of his numerous later exhibitions. The first individual exhibition at the Tallinn Art Salon took place in 1970, after which he was admitted to the Estonian Artists’ Association. He could be compared with the graphic artist Vello Vinn who did not belong to the ANK group. Both used the novel technique of etching in relief printing: Vinn – white lines against a black background (Crab, Cat), Laanemaa – red lines against a black or brown background (Spiral I-II). Vinn’s works displayed clarity of detail and rigid symmetry of composition that characterised his later style as well. These were in a tense relationship with the gloomy, ominous and anxiety-inducing emotional impact of his symbols. In Laanemaa’s etchings, the associative undercurrent could be perceived much more weakly, the emotional content was more on the surface, expressed directly via a dynamic confusion of lines where details tended to dissolve. This approach, that largely ignored details, was influenced by a wave of abstract work in Estonian art in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The artist presented similar works (Flight, Youth, Archers, all 1971) also at the 2nd produced one of his most successful posters for that exhibition.
The posters he displayed at his exhibition in 1975, clearly show the artist’s skill in the field that however remained secondary in his overall work. The relief print etchings he presented at the 3rd Two Clouds, 1974) reflected the increasing general interest in the surrounding reality in its specificity, or to be more precise – in urbanising milieux, mainly expressed by the generation of young artists who followed ANK. In rapidly changing contemporary art, generations follow one another after much shorter intervals than is normally estimated in human life.
In Laanemaa’s case too, it mattered that he was a few years older than the other ANK members, as he studied at the Tartu Art School between 1952 and 1957 where he acquired some home truths about composition. The latter did not make him exceptional in ANK: there were, after all, compositions of Jüri Arrak or Enno Ootsing in the 1970s (born in 1936 and 1940, respectively). Against the general image of ANK, Laanemaa’s “social sensitivity” stood out, a fact also mentioned by Riin Kübarsepp (Riin Kübarsepp, Anne Untera. Tõnis Laanemaa. Tallinn 2009). Besides the etching Wheels depicting rolling car wheels and the sheet To the Country showing parachutists, mention should be made of works by other young artists of the time tackling rather similar topics: Tiit Pääsuke’s painting In the Forest with a Car (1973), Kaisa Puustak’s sheets Flight and Railway with a Cloud (1974) in vernis mou-aquatint technique.
Tallinn Print Triennial. He Triennial (Wheels, To the Country, Between In the 1970s, artists aspired for photographic impression not only in traditional techniques, but photographs were used more directly as well. Laanemaa, too, was taken with this trend. Photo etching At the Dog Show (1976) secured him – together with etchings Race and Clouds – a purchase award at the 4th and the graphic artists really made an effort for these forums in their specialty. Laanemaa took part in the 5th Artists and a Super-excavator (1977). His enthusiasm for experimenting faded in the 1980s, and he produced works in line etching with more modest ambitions, such as Dance Party on St John’s Eve (1983) based on linear rhythms), Sunday on Horses (1983), Organ Concert in St Nicholas Church on 25 August 1991 (1991) and views of Tallinn.
Earlier, Tõnis Laanemaa had already begun cultivating vedutas. Some of his etchings resembling old vedutas became very popular, such as View of Tallinn with St Olaf’s Church and View of Tallinn with St Nicholas Church (1972), which were also displayed at exhibitions of Estonian graphic art abroad. Urban views were much in demand and to some extent this is still the case today. After graduating from the Art Institute, Laanemaa worked as a designer at the workshop called Ars and the Directory of Leisure Parks. In 1992 he became a freelance artist and had to adapt to the new requirements, as traditional vedutas are no longer much cultivated. This inspired him to display his urban views in the Helleman Tower in Tallinn in 2009. In the new century he has been actively exhibiting all across Estonia, involving his students at his drawing and painting studio. Selections of works often depend on the venue. For example at the exhibition in the Narva Museum’s Art Gallery in 2008 he presented large-format sheets about nature in eastern Virumaa county (Here, on the Northern Coast, The Valaste Fir, 2004, drypoint, relief print), and photo prints of the Kreenholm factory (Old Kreenholm Factory, 2007).The latter are the most successful he has done in the increasingly popular technique. On the occasion of his 70th displayed both gravures and drawings at the National Library. Besides teaching at his drawing and painting studio, he draws a lot, especially nudes. The current vigorous expressive manner of drawing brings to mind the earlier drawings from his ANK-period; like with many older artists, he can also be characterised by un retour à la jeunesse – a return to youth. Laanemaa is very fond of French and even writes poems in that language. In June 2012, together with Küllike Pihlap, he organised an exhibition of photographic prints in Triennial in 1977. The triennials had a stimulating impact triennial as well, with two outstanding etchings, Architecture (1980) and Alatskivi Castle titled Estonian and French Castles, thus marking his 75th “A return to youth” is also expressed in recent frequent displays of his paintings. After all, the artist studied painting at the Tartu Art School and showed one painting – Clouds – at his first personal exhibition. The main motif running through his newer paintings (series Timespace, and others) is the female nude, depicted in a poster-like manner, in intensive basic colours. Paintings, just like drawings, reflect the impact of Neo-expressionism and Neo-pop, demonstrating the artist’s ability to welcome modern trends, just as he did in the period of ANK.
Mai Levin

Autumn semester’s final thesis defendings take place:
Art and Design defending is on 18.11.2015 at 13.00 at Kiriku plats 1-201
Scenography, MA defending is on 11.01.2016 at 10.00 at Lembitu 12
Cultural Heritage and Protection, BA defending is on 12.01.2016 at 10.00 at Suur-Kloostri 11-103
Art History, BA defending is on 20.01.2016 at 10.00 at Suur-Kloostri 11-103

On Thursday, December 17th 6PM we are pleased to host curator and professor of Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig Beatrice von Bismarck who will hold an open lecture „Valorisation Machines or The Exhibition as (Re-)Staging: “When Attitudes Become Form – Bern 1969/ Venice 2013”, Venice Biennial 2013“. The lecture will take place at the main hall of Estonian Academy of Sciences, Kohtu 6.

Exhibitions are in general performative. They bring their exhibits on stage by making them public. Furthermore they involve them in a process of meaning production through embedding them into new constellations. Over the course of processes of shifts and transpositions, additions and commentaries they create different relations between the exhibits and other objects on show as well as display devices, sites and spaces, people and discourses. Exhibitions are thus always temporally defined and this through the temporary structure of their exhibits as much as through their own rhythms, processes and duration.
With the exhibition “When Attitudes Become Form” (Bern, 1969) process and ephemerality have been inscribed not only into the history of art but also into the rather younger history of exhibitions. While a number of other curatorial initiatives around the late 1960s and early 1970s offered similarly oriented contributions to the discourse, the Swiss show and its curator Harald Szeemann acquired a particularly outstanding, almost legendary reputation. The re-staging of this show in 2013 in Venice at the Prada Foundation under the title of “When Attitudes Become Form -Bern 1969/ Venice 2013” implied a de-contextualisation and a resulting shift of meaning not only in aesthetic terms. Hand in hand with the alterations of the temporal and material conditions of the exhibits went a number of re-valorisations and capitalizations, which affected the artistic works, but also the participating artists, the curators and the exhibition itself. The Venice exhibition can thus be treated as a paradigm not only with regards to the theatrical nature of exhibiting but also to the meaning and value production of its performative capacities.

Beatrice von Bismarck (Leipzig/ Berlin), professor at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig for Art History, Visual Culture and Cultures of the Curatorial. 1989 – 1993 Städel Museum, Frankfurt/Main curator 20th Century art. 1993 – 1999 Lüneburg University, co-founder and -director of the project-space „Kunstraum der Universität Lüneburg“. 2000 co-founder of the project-space „/D/O/C/K-Projektbereich“. 2009 initiator of the MA-program “Cultures of the Curatorial“. Research areas: The curatorial; effects of neo-liberalism and globalization on the cultural field; postmodern concepts of the „artist“.
Currently on research leave for a book on “The Curatorial” financed by the “Opus magnum”-program of the VWStiftung.

Publications include: – Games Fights Collaborations. Art and Cultural Studies in the 90s, Ostfildern-Ruit 1996. (ed. with Diethelm Stoller, Ulf Wuggenig); – Interarchive. Archival Practices and Sites in the Contemporary Art Field, Cologne 2002. (ed. with Hans-Peter Feldmann, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Diethelm Stoller, Ulf Wuggenig); – Grenzbespielungen. Visuelle Politik in der Übergangszone (Performing the Border. Visual Politics in Zones of Transgression), (ed.), Cologne 2005; – Globalisierung/Hierarchisierung. Kulturelle Dominanzen in Kunst und Kunstgeschichte (Globalization/ Hierarchization. Cultural Dominances in Art and Art History), Marburg 2005 (ed. with Irene Below); – beyond education. Kunst, Ausbildung, Arbeit und Ökonomie, (beyond education. Art, Education, Work and Economy), Frankfurt a. M. 2005 (ed. with Alexander Koch); – Nach Bourdieu: Visualität, Kunst, Politik (After Bourdieu. Visuality, Art, Politics), Vienna 2008 (ed. with Therese Kaufmann, Ulf Wuggenig); – Auftritt als Künstler (Performance as Artist), Cologne 2010; – Cultures of the Curatorial (ed. With Jörn Schaffaf and Thomas Weski), Berlin 2012; – Timing – On the Temporal Dimension of Exhibiting (ed. with Rike Frank, Benjamin Meyer-Krahmer, Jörn Schafaff, and Thomas Weski), Berlin 2014; – Hospitality – Hosting Relations in Exhibitions, (ed. with Benjamin Meyer-Krahmer), Berlin (about to come out in January 2016).

The public lecture will be preceded by a reading group of prof von Bismarck’s earlier texts, to be taking place on Wednesday, December 9th at 4PM at the Centre for Contemporary Art Estonia, please register rebeka@cca.ee.
Beatrice von Bismarck will also be holding a seminar at the Institute of Art History on December 18th, 10 AM, room 104. For participation please email ingrid.ruudi@artun.ee

WIP – Work in Progress
27.11. – 13.12.2015 in Y Gallery (Jakobi 1, Tartu)

The title of the exhibition, from one hand, refers to the glam and elitism of movie industry – this is also supported by the spatial design (red carpet, red curtains). From the other hand it speaks of the controversy between completeness and finality in the context of the digital era. Animation as digital file is open to endless aftertreatment and changes – it is up to every animator to decide, when a new piece emerges from initial material, and when it is the case of correction of an old project.
The exhibition „Work in Progress“ is mostly comprised of works by artists who graduated the animation MA studies of Estonian Art Academy in the summer of 2015. Exposed are films, objects and materials that reflect the work process. In the context of art gallery raw materials, sketches and single frames have the effect of independent and completed works, although by nature they are subject to a greater whole. „Work in Progress“ gives an overview of the diversity of animation techniques and their emergence through personal differences. The exhibition is followed by workshops that enable the audience to see the making of animation films and try the most common animation techniques.
Ülo Pikkov has referred to the rituality of film watching in the spatial context of a movie theatre, where certain actions (focusing on the screen, following the plot, switching oneself out of everyday life, etc) are performed. Besides entertainment, a movie theatre plays great role in socializing and strengthening common values that are confirmed by the emotions that have been commonly experienced by the audience (Ülo Pikkov, Animasoofia. Tallinn: Eesti Kunstiakadeemia, 2010, p 147-148.). The gallery space, like also movie theatre, gives a time-space form to the experience of artworks, which also has a ritual dimension, while it still remains as something personal.
The animation films exposed in the show have been produced in several different techniques and created by artists, who have very different life experience and worldview:
Teemu Hotti, Kreeta Kanger-Käeri, Ülo Pikkov, Sven-Tõnis Puskar, Lilli-Krõõt Repnau, Francesco Rosso , Ave Taavet, Liis Viira.
The exhibition is opened in 27.11. at 7 PM
Opening hours Wed-Fri: 12-19, Sat-Sun: 12-17

Exhibition opening 12.11.2015 klo 18:00-20:00
12.11.-5.12.2015, Kallio Kunsthalle, Toinen linja 31, Helsinki
“My grandmother lived in a war zone in Lugansk Oblast in eastern Ukraine and she wasn’t safe there anymore. Since she is sick and needs care, my parents decided to bring her to Estonia to live with them. I have been documenting my grandmother’s life for about a year. While at first I was interested in the changes she would make in her new room, over time my focus changed. I tried to connect with her through the photos I was taking because I speak neither Ukrainian nor Russian. As I observed my grandmother, I realized she was not happy in her new home and that being with her family did not ease her longing for her real home where she had lived almost her whole life. I saw how her new surroundings seemed strange and uncomfortable to her and how she felt like she didn’t belong here. She spends her days watching TV, hoping to hear news that will allow her to finally go back home.”
Alissa Nirgi (b. 1993) is an Estonian visual artist living and working in Tallinn.
Curating: Laura Toots
Graphic design: Maria Muuk
Technical team: Reimo Võsa-Tangsoo, Kaspar Kiinvald
We would like to thank: Terje Nirgi, Sergei Randvere, Liina Siib, Marge Monko, Mari Armei, Anu Tehver, Fidelia Regina Randmäe

Supporters: EAA Photography Department, Lehe brewery, Megaluumen, Warm North, Espak, ArtPrint, Jaanihanso cider, Itek electronics
Daily exhibition visit inquiries from Elokolo (< 15 m left) Doors open daily 9-15 Information: www.kalliokunsthalle.fi Inquiries: info@kalliokunsthalle.fi Hotline 24h: 050 5975806 Address: Kallio Kunsthalle Taidehalli Toinen linja 31 00530 Helsinki Finland

The I year MA students of the Fine Art faculty will open an exhibition at the Estonian Museum of Contemporary Art on November 20th. The exhibition is titled PIND/SURFACE and it was born under the instruction of Anders Härm during his course.
Participants: Jenny Katri Helena Grönholm, Madlen Hirtentreu, Liisa Jugapuu, Anna Kaarma, Katrina Kolk, Eva-Lotta Künnap, Giulia Landonio, Keiu Maasik, Triin Marts, Johanna Greta Mölder, Johan Hendrik Pajupuu, Ann Pajuväli, Diana Paškovitš, Mari-Liis Rebane, Karl Saks, Karl-Erik Talvet, Margot Õunapuu

The exhibition opening will take place on November 20th, 2015 at 6 pm. All are welcome!
Open till Nov 23rd, 2015

Piibe Piirma’s PhD dissertation is an art-based research, that is focusing on her artistic experience by collaborating different Science labs in Estonia and explores hybrid art and theories of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary art forms, bioart and citizen science.

Piirma’s dissertation is mainly based on her personal new media art practice and curatorial work (2012–2015). Her theoretical study deals with a variety of hybrid art forms, art&science collaborations of Estonian and internationally known artists, and inter- and transdisciplinary studies of in general. Piibe Piirma’s art-based research consists the analyses of her solo exhibitions “Hybrid Practices”, “Hybrid Practice – from General to Specific” and curatorial work of the international exhibition “Rhizope” and related conference “Art and Science – Hybrid Art and Interdisciplinary Research” (EAA 2014).

The objective of Piibe Piirma’s dissertation is to utilise theoretical and practical approaches to seek answers to questions pertaining to co-functioning of different disciplines (art and science). The term is used in this dissertation for artwork in which the two of them, art and science, meet is “hybrid art”. Although new and exciting directions far exceed the established genre definitions and evaluation criteria permit, she holds that the phrase “hybrid art” is the best characterisation of artwork that transcends the boundaries of different and at ostensibly incompatible disciplines. How science impacts art or vice versa becomes clearer through practical examples of art and collective initiatives, which are described in the various chapters and sections of this dissertation.

The defense event will be in English. 



Please find the PhD thesis from the Academic Library of EAA (Estonia pst 7, III floor) and HERE: https://drive.google.com/a/artun.ee/file/d/0B5zWAWhayOJUSHQ0aEsza0JCdWc/view

Additional info: www.piibepiirma.com

On the 20th November Tartmus opens an exhibition about Estonian contemporary photography in the period 1991—2015. The exhibition From Explosion to Expanse is the first such large-scale exhibition focusing on contemporary camera-based art, and follows the evolution of photography into one of the most prominent and versatile mediums in Estonian art since the beginning of the nineties. Exhibition will be open until 28.02.2016.
Most global success stories of contemporary art are nowadays linked to photography and photographic education; camera-based work has advantage because of its contemporary, potent visual language. When making an overview of the last 25 years the aim, therefore, is to sketch a picture of camera-based art as a contemporary medium and its most important themes, while using the works of 45 artists as examples. The most significant themes are memory and the creation of memories, the creation and study of social and sexual roles, photography as a medium which carries political charge, and photography as a construer and presenter of the visual and aesthetic world.
In all the works the artist and the camera are active participants and self-conscious meddlers. „Contemporary photographic art is primarily related to people’s identities and self-presentation in social and political context. When creating an image, the artist ought to be bold and precise, because the photographic image has an ability to influence our perception of reality which seems ordinary, or how we imagine our ideals,“ explains curator Anneli Porri.
The period of 20-odd years covered by the exhibition has seen huge changes take place in both art and society. The beginning of the 1990s can be compared to an explosion: a sharp transition in public life brought with it rapid developments in unexpected directions also in art, including changes in the way exhibitions were organised and curated. Exiled from the art halls and galleries until then, photography was quickest to react to these changes and became the herald of a new aesthetic, restorer of discarded memories, mirror to the new society. Expanse, by contrast, is primarily a metaphor for the broadened horizons of our contemporary art scene, equal opportunities, and contemporary art’s global reach, which is now open to any artist.
„As a museum of art and an institution of memory we have a task to draw attention to significant shifts in the art scene, and the 1995 Saaremaa biennal Fabrique d’Histoire was something which undoubtedly caused one such shift. We decided to celebrate that spectacular event which in mid-nineties’ Estonia had an incredible scope, and which powerfully brought contemporary art in its modern sense to Estonia’s art scene, using predominantly the medium of photography. We would now like to offer the public an overview of what has been happening in photographic art in the last 20 years,“ Rael Artel clarifies.
The exhibition will be accompanied by an exhibition publication containing interviews and essays; it is edited by Anneli Porri and designed by Jaan Evart. Annika Toots writes about photography as a medium of memory; an interview with Eve Kiiler provides emotional and factual background for the artists and the context of the works in the last 30 years. Marge Monko and Hanno Soans talk about photography and the author’s position in contemporary photography.
Various lectures and study programmes for different age groups will be taking place at Tartu Art Museum during the exhibition.
Artists: Avangard (Sandra Jõgeva & Margus Tamm), DeStudio (Herkki-Erich Merila & Peeter Laurits), Dénes Farkas, F.F.F.F. (Kristi Paap, Kaire Rannik, Berit Teeäär, Ketli Tiitsar, Maria Valdma), JIM (Johannes Säre, Iti Connor, Maido Juss), Toomas Kalve, Eve Kiiler, Mari-Leen Kiipli, Paul Kuimet, Laura Kuusk, Mari Laanemets, Marco Laimre, Peeter Laurits, Ly Lestberg, Peeter Linnap & Jaanus Nõgisto, Arne Maasik, Herkki-Erich Merila & Arbo Tammiksaar, Marge Monko, Tanja Muravskaja, Krista Mölder, Katja Novitskova, Taavi Piibemann & Toomas Thetloff, Birgit Püve, Mark Raidpere, Piia Ruber, Piret Räni, Jaanus Samma & Alo Paistik, Liina Siib, Tiit Sokk, Andres Tali, Peeter Tooming & Carl Sarap, Laura Toots, Mare Tralla, Anna-Stina Treumund, Anu Vahtra & Na Kim, Tarvo Hanno Varres, Sigrid Viir, Mart Viljus, Toomas Volkmann, Reimo Võsa-Tangsoo.
Curator: Anneli Porri.
The exhibition was designed by Neeme Külm, the exhibition publication by Jaan Evart. The exhibition publication was produced in co-operation with Liilia Buschmann, Indrek Grigor, Eve Kiiler, Katrin Kivimaa, Andrus Laansalu, Marge Monko, Sten Ojavee, Erik Prozes, Vahur Puik, Rebeka Põldsam, Hanno Soans, Jaak Tomberg, Annika Toots, Marie Vellevoog, and edited by Anneli Porri.
Exhibition team: Marika Agu, Nele Ambos, Karl Feigenbaum, Urmo Teekivi, Kristel Sibul, Sten Ojavee, Julia Polujanenkova.
The exhibition is part of the main programme of Tallinn Photomonth 2015.
We are grateful for the support of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Outset Estonia, Art Museum of Estonia, Contemporary Art Museum Estonia, Photo Museum of the Tallinn City Museum, TV 3, Karin Karindi, Margus Punab, Tiina Põllu, Temnikova & Kasela Gallery, the Council of Gambling Tax, and all the supporters of the Hooandja campaign for Tallinn Photomonth 2015.
Repro: Mari-Leen Kiipli. The School of Dreams. Colour transparent in light box, 80 x 90 cm, 2015. Courtesy of the Artist
Further information:
Sten Ojavee
Coordinator of Exhibition´s Department
Tartmus
sten@tartmus.ee

Kansase University metal and jewellwery professor Jon Robert Havener will give an open lecture about his works on Monday, November 16, 2015 at 6 pm.
The lecture will be held in English at the Estonian Academy of Arts, room 221 (Estonia pst 7, II floor). All who are interested, are welcome!
Jon Havener studied silver and goldsmithing at the Cleveland Art Institute in Cleveland, graduating with a B.F.A. in 1973; he got an M.F.A. in metalsmithing in 1975 at the Cranbrook Art Academy Bloomfield Hills, Mich. He has taught metalsmithing and jewelry in the design department at the University of Kansas since 1977.
Jon’s work with holloware in the early 1980s has evolved into smithed and fabricated sculpture that has been exhibited nationally in galleries and competitive exhibitions.
His work is included in various public collections: The City of Lawrence, Kan.; The City of Manhattan, Kan.; Florida A & M University; The University of Nebraska, Omaha; The United States Comptroller of Currency, Kansas City, Mo.; and the Boatman’s Bank, Clayton, Mo. His work is also featured in several private collections, notably commissioned fountains, and works on the wall.
Jon has received several awards and grants for his work, including the Regional Award in Sculpture from the Mid-American Art Allliance and The National Endowment for the Arts in 1985, five research awards from the University of Kansas, and the 1998 Kansas Artists Fellowship in Sculpture.
Jon says his work has evolved from an interest in antiquity and ancient metalwork, and frequently utilizes armor forms. “I enjoy manipulating metal into complex structures that evoke a sense of drama and history,” he says. “My sculptures are often highly gestural, expressing a turbulent energy through growth-like movements.”
https://art.ku.edu/jon-havener