I have just got back to Manchester with a really bad hangover after the night of the event this has been my first chance to make a post. The day of the event went really quickly as I still had to get a few materials and continued to learn my script. I intended to do some promotional work with my cardboard cut-out however there just wasn’t the time to do it. I had to be at the gallery at 4pm to make sure all my props were ready for my slot and have a sound check. The event started with an artist talk at 6pm. The panel included the exhibiting artist Tiina Nevanpera, performance artist Tero Nauha and art critic Miika Luoto. I could not understand the talk as it was in Finnish although Anna kept filling me in on sections, which on occasions she found difficult to listen to. The impression I got was that there were a lot of long arty words used and referencing the process of art with divine inspiration, oh dear. It was an older crowd and I was a little bit worried if they would participate and get the humour. Tero performed shortly after the talk and he simply had a CD player that played the sound of a radio being tuned. He sat on a chair next to the table and proceeded to say yes, no, and other random noises to the beat of the sound. This was a durational performance that lasted around fifteen minutes. Personally I thought the piece was too long although I liked how it was an alternative take on the previous artist talk, talking genuine, unashamed nonsense. However a 45 minute talk and a durational performance later was a bit too much for the audience and half of them left.
Anna went outside on the street to drum up some business, I was also asked but could not focus on anything other than preparing for my performance. As I have previously said it did feel a little strange having people seated during the performance although it just made the piece more bazaar. There was a happy mistake when I asked for assistance on stage with the person held up the wrong name card, which I was trying to get everyone to repeat. One guy couldn’t understand me when I explained that I wanted him to throw confetti over me at the end of my dance and he simply threw the plastic pack on my head. I did manage to get most people up for the final countdown although I did have to explain how to operate a party popper. At the end as the party poppers went off and the balloons didn’t fall I then stay still for around 10 seconds. I could see people in front of me clearing a walkway for me to leave, although when I did eventually get up I got my cardboard cut-out and placed it in front of the stand. I then left making no eye contact on my way out. People were not sure if the performance had ended, gone wrong or if I was going to come back for an encore. It’s funny how people get emotionally involved with Miss Eventé, an invented character that nobody really knows.
We left the summer house on Wednesday although late on tuesday I did manage to realise my ‘follow the bear’ visual landmark. I did feel a little silly and questioned why I wanted to do it. Then I just had to go through with it after it took me two hours to make the sign and I did not want to leave the house with any regrets. Anna helped set up my costume, photographed and videoed the piece. Anna found my performance costume funny and thought I looked like I was directing people to free beer. It was strange having the box on my head and feeling the cars drive past me. I may have to send a picture of this to the beer makers, if Cindy Sherman can get sponsored by MAC make up then why not? It took a few hours to pack away and tidy up the house, then another six and a half hour drive back to Helsinki. I have since been preparing for The Evente and freaked myself out by watching the video documentation of it last night. It is very strange watching myself on video, it’s like looking at someone I don’t know. Today I have been re-watching the video and getting to know Miss Evente all over again. I felt much better after practising in the gallery and physically marking out my routine. The gallery event is going to be really busy and they are expecting around 200 people to come. This will be the biggest crowd I have performed to and I just hope everyone can see the piece. All galleries in Helsinki will be open until 10pm on Friday night and I would like to try and get to see some other work I will just have to see how the night unfolds.
Helsinki Festival, The Night of the Arts: http://www.helsinginjuhlaviikot.fi/en/taiteiden-yo
It’s a lovely sunny morning and I am working outside. I bought some colourful A4 card from the supermarket and started marking up grids, and cutting out letters for my ‘Follow the bear’ sign. Anna translated this into Finnish which reads ‘Seuraa karhua’. I wasn’t fully prepared for making a sign in the forest and I had to scavenge for something to stick the letters down. I managed to find a small amount of invisible tape and some blue tac. Anna has been working in the house on the computer researching and writing her proposal. Since being at the summer house we have spoken about our individual ways of working and how they compare. I am very structured generally starting my day writing, taking pictures and reflecting on ideas. I don’t like to over think what I’m doing too much as on the whole if I do the work isn’t very good. I guess this is why most artists I know have a number of ideas, projects on the go at once. I would rather compare my process of working to finding a rhythm and flow rather than a rigid structure. Anna saturates herself in reading, cooking, pottering around, making and doing in relation to the house. She tends to work towards fewer projects although they are larger in scale. Please follow this link to read Anna Puhakka’s blog:
http://believeinprocess.blogspot.com/
Anna had assumed that both our practices were similar when in fact they are very different. We haven’t managed to make any work together, although we did talk about making a music video. This will be quite challenging to do in one night after a few ciders. Both of us have immersed ourselves in our own individual work. This has made it difficult to make something together as when we are not working we like to relax in each others company. So far my text based sign is made and the bear-box-head is ready to go. I may use colourful bunting to wrap around my legs or simply wear black, holding the sign with one hand, pointing with the other wearing my bear-box on my head.
Woke up this morning with a swollen ankle my poor leg cant take the mosi bites. We decided to go and check out some second hand stores in Joensuu looking for random stuff that might inspire and some blue cloth for the The Evente stand. Last night instead of counting sheep I kept going over and over my performance script which is making me feel more prepared for Friday. I digress back to second hand shopping, there wasnt much in the first store and then we went to another which was oddly organised and displayed. I like how they have tried to make some effort with the display creating there own A4 poster of found logos, making the objects appear more authentic. In the Radley shop I am used to seeing cleanly displayed bags by design and colour, however this was a real mish mash approach. These are some of the random objects I bought:
International T-shirt
Glass banana
Polaroid case
Toy aeroplane
Ball type rubix cube
Button ring
Speak English tapes
I am fully loaded with ibuprofen and anti histemin tablets so feeling a little drowsy. Yesterday I managed to video the T.V cloth and on this occasion the weather was windy which created the desired effect. Ideally I would liked to have filmed this in widescreen however anna’s camera did not have this function. I am a little anoyed with myself as I should have brought my own equipment, although I wanted to travel light. If I want to turn myself into a human visual landmark I need to create a text based sign. I am just not feeling like it tonight and plan to wake up early in the morning to get this done as it is will be our last full day at the summer house.
Had a day off on saturday and visited a place called Koli. I imagined it to be a small town like Joensuu, although when we arrived it was very different. To get to the peak of Koli you have to climb some stairs or wait for the electric lift. Once we reach the top there is a hotel, musuem and tourist shops, in the winter it is a ski resort. The main attraction is the landscape a gigantic lake, there are a variety of walks around the forest which is a National Park. We take a short 3.5k walk and decide to take a detour down to the lake. A brisk walk turns into a steep decent and I wonder how we are going to get back up to the top. Eventually the lake comes into view through the trees and I soon realise that to get back we would have to climb back the way we came. A forty minute walk turns into a high impact climb. An hour and a half later we make it back. A few more stairs to the top and we get this amazing view. Not quite a hike but the closest I have ever done, but worth it.
We are due to leave on Wednesday and I still want to realise my last video of the T.V cloth and re-photograph the shoe cleaner with Anna’s high res camera. I intend to record the sound of the forest although this is difficult to do without the sound of the occassional passing car. To avoid this I will video early in the morning or late at night. Reflecting on my journey to the shops, getting lost on my way back I have been considering dressing myself up as a visual landmark. In performance wardrobe I would place myself at the fork in the road were I made the wrong turn. Could this remain a drawing? If I have the time I would like to actually do it. Miss Evente performs on Friday night so I need to re-hearse my script and dodgy dance routine. I am starting to get excited and a little nervous about my upcoming performance.
