Is Fashion! really about fashion?

Now I have seen three times the fashion photo exhibition Fashion! Modefotografi genom tiderna in the Fotografiska in Stockholm.

First time I was a little bit disappointed, thought that the show was a mishmash selection from the German Camera Work Gallery´s collection, picturing the history of fashion photos, designers and celebrities.

Next time I wanted to concentrate in some favourites I admired at the first time. For example Irving Penn´s lovely Café in Lima, Jean Patchett, 1948. Notice that look in the woman´s eyes, see her pearls and her right foot shoe, hanging on her toes. A moment perfectly captured: real life, real woman, real beauty.

And now, at last, I started to think what a good fashion photo is all about. It is not just a picture of clothes – you can see the clothes far better pictured in catalogues or store windows. I think that good fashion photos should have a crack to let the reality in, they should give you inspiration and indicate a secret you can reach by knowing your strengths and weaknesses. They should be tempting and irritating at the same time. Just look at the Paolo Roversi´s dreamlike pictures. Or Ellen von Unwerth´s Couples Breathless, Paris, 1992. Or Marc Jacobs by Mikael Jansson, mockingly made-up and dressed as a woman.

Anyway – if you want to see the exhibition and find out  what to think about it yourself, you have better to hurry. It closes on 9th January 2011.

Welcome to enjoy a real slapstick comedy!

What happens when two well-known artists Saikki and Honksu, Pirkko Saisio and Pirjo Honkasalo, buy a mahogany boat and spend their summers not only travelling in it but mostly repairing it?

The owner-seller of the boat, Mr. Ilola, was weeping when the new happy owners left in their new (read old) boat. Later the happy owners realised that Mr. Ilola was not sad but, true to his name, weeping from joy.

This anecdote tells a lot what Lokikirja (The Logbook) is all about. It is a story about friendship, positive attitude and hunger for adventures. It is a tasty book to enjoy especially during these dark, stormy, snowy winter nights sitting comfortably at home, perhaps sipping a glass of Scotch whisky.

The publisher of this handwritten, illustrated diary is Siltala Kustannus. Pay 28 euros, and it is yours.

This door will close soon, don´t miss it

If you want to see the fine exhibition by sculptor Heimo Suntio tomorrow is your last chance.

I would have missed it without the Anu Uimonen´s text in today´s Helsingin Sanomat – thanks again for the newspaper´s last minute art critic policy.

I am at a loss for the words. The only thing I can say is that I loved Heimo´s works, their dreamlike qualities peppered with a twinkle in the eye.

Above is a detail from Ovi, a combination of a door, bronze and video (2010); beneath the bronze sculpture Alpit, minä ja se (2010).

But go and see yourself. The address is Forum Box, Ruoholahdenranta 3 a, and it is open only four hours  from 12-4 pm.

 

Tero Saarinen was here!

There is magic and magic. There is the power which uses mysterious, even frightening forces, and the power of funny tricks, performed as an entertainment.

And then there is Tero Saarinen.

Behind this gentle smile is a crystal clear talent of the dancer-choreographer-artist who is now world-famous and travels with his company around the planet Earth probably more than the satellites.

During this week we were lucky to see Tero in Finland and lucky to see something new: the pre-premiere of his new work with the working title Blossom & Decay at the Espoo Cultural Centre´s Louhi Hall.

How was it? The most unbelievable moments of pure poetry of the movement and human emotions. There was the dim light of intimacy, the desperate attempts to be free and at the same time to stay in connection with the warmth of a human body – and did I really see the tears in the dancers´s eyes?

Come and see it yourself: the official premiere will be in Helsinki next Autumn.

 

Photos © Paula Hietaranta

Kira and the colours of life

Photo © Paula Hietaranta 

 Our sweet Kira Gluschkoff opened yesterday evening her Everyone is Art photo collection at Luova gallery. The colourful pictures of the Finnish women who have fighted against the breast cancer and tell their encouraging stories are a part of the campaign Pink Ribbon for Breast Cancer, ordered and supported in Finland by Samsung.
The women pictured here are veiled in colourful tulles with the objects or symbols that helped them during the painful process. Here you see one which is Kira´s favorite, too: Anneli Jäätteenmäki in a pose that reminds us from Libyan Sibyl by Michelangelo, showing the vulnerability of flesh and the strength of mind at the same time.
You can see the photographs at Luova until the Christmas 2010. The exhibition is open from Tuesday Friday from 11-18, on Saturdays and  Sundays from 11-16. The address is Albertinkatu 16, Helsinki 12.
But where do the pictures go after that? Would it be a good idea to give them to the hospitals all around Finland to bring hope to the women coming there for breast cancer treatments?

An easy way to Tokyo

Heikki Valkama, the editor-in-chief of the Finnish travel magazine Mondo, is the man who has a considerable knowledge of Japan and luckily does not keep the lid on it.

Now Heikki has written a travel guide Mondo matkaopas Tokio with Siru Valleala. Together they are telling you more than you need to know about this amazing city.

In some cases it is wise to avoid the places recommended by the travel guides – it might be disappointing to meet only your own neighbours at the destination. But this time there is no need to worry: Tokyo is such a huge place that you are likely to be able to enjoy it in the Japanese way with the help of this informative, tasty book.

If you cannot visit Tokyo now or in the nearest future, the next best thing to do is to read this book and watch the DVD Lost In Translation. With this combination you are almost there.

Enron – the new name for greed

On stage Rauno Ahonen, Antti Laukkarinen, Sami Uotila, Sauli Suonpää, Tommi Rantamäki, Mika Räinä and Eero Aho. Photo © Charlotte Estman-Wennström.

A play about an American energy company, it´s rise and fall - how interesting can that be? My expectations were not very high when I went to the theatre, but luckily I was wrong. Enron, a play by Lucy Prebble in Helsingin Kaupunginteatteri is more than a brilliant play well staged: it is surgery.

The phenomenal success story turned foul is such an amazing example how a few greedy men managed to betray millions of people by selling nothing – at it´s heyday Enron was America´s seventh largest company employing over 20 000 staff in 40 countries, built on a lie.

On the stage we see now the drama of it made extremely well. The actors, the stage setting, the rhythm, the visual suprises – everything is running like a clockwork. A very bloody clockwork. Case closed. Or is it?

Beauty for all senses

Tilda Swinton as Emma Recchi in I Am Love, directed by Luca Guadagnino.

I have seen a lot of movies lately, both good and not so good. But yesterday I had a real movie experience: I Am Love (Rakkautta italialaisittain), a film that is a magnificent combination of emotion, lust and beauty. It awakes your senses, it runs fluently and shimmeringly like honey. You can almost taste it, smell it, sink into it.

The story itself is as artificial as the Italian pompous architecture of 30´s, but the shine of Tilda Swinton and the beauty of the photography makes seeing it worthwhile.

Tilda´s clothes by Jil Sander show the idea of quality and design at it´s best: how sensual is the fashion when it gently caresses a woman´s perfect body.

And Tilda – next I´d love to see her in the role of Wallis Simpson...

Marimekko in full bloom

The flower wholesale market in Sörnäinen last night was chilly but a heartwarming place to see the flowery clothes of Marimekko´s spring-summer collection 2011. After CEO Mika Ihamuotila had welcomed the guests the star of the evening was Mika Piirainen who at last could show his talent in a whole fashion show. It was lovely to see how that shy guy has got a great amount of self-esteem and a smile of joyful easiness. They are to be seen in the strong lines and tasty colours of his must-have clothes which make you wish that the summer would be here soon. Has perhaps his Golden Hanger 2010 Award given him more confidence? The evening was a success, and as it always is, so tempting that the invitees are boldly inviting even half a dozen of their friends!

Sunshine for sale

Did you know that there is a ”hidden” shop in the heart of Helsinki? At the corner of Postitalo, opposite the Sokos department store stands a glass cubicle full of Finnish designs by Com-pa-ny, combining tradition, quality and wit. And at last the talent of Aamu Song and Johan Olin got the acknowledgement it fully deserves: this year´s State Award for Design. Congratulations!

I have been collecting small penguins for ages, and now I think becoming one myself by bying their funny penguin outfit...

Salakauppa is open from Wednesday to Friday from 2-7 pm, Saturday from 12 am-6 pm.

How do you want to be remembered?

That question entered to my mind on Tuesday in the Östasiatiska museet in Stockholm. The exhibition of China´s Terracotta Army in the dark tunnels beneath the museum is impressive, beautiful and saddening at the same time. So much talent, hard work and suffering of the artist workers was needed to make sure that the eternal life of the Qin Shi Huangdi, First Emperor of China, would be as safe and valuable as possible.

Now we know that we do not need material objects to help and serve us after our death. At least I like to think that the most comforting thing to follow you when you die would be not the suffering but the loving thoughts of your beloved ones.

Who is afraid of Louise Neri

What to think about a woman who says that she appreciates conversation and then talks about herself 90 minutes? Well, Louise Neri, the director of International Affairs in the worlds´s biggest privately owned art gallery Gagosian New York, certainly has had an interesting life worth of sharing. That became clear when she gave a speech on the role of the commercial galleries on today´s art world and market at The Aalto University School of Art and Design in Hämeentie on Monday.

It became also clear that if you want be succesful in the international art scene to be lucky is not enough. You have to be a hard-working, iron-willed, multi-talented, knife-sharp, no-bullshit-lady samurai. And to understand that to be a world famous media person you must create your own person to a piece of art!

A look at the shoes (and feet)

Embroidered women´s silk boots for bounded feet, Qing, 1700-1800-century, 14 x 13 cm (China National Silk Museum, Hangzhou. EMMA Museum, Espoo) and Aki Choklat for Lahtiset, size 40.

Lately I have been thinking a lot of women´s shoes and feet.

It started with Mirja Tervos´s book Huimaavat korot, a study about designer shoes, seen from the floor perspective of a seller in an expensive shoe salon in New York. There the shoes mean a lot to the ego and even more to the wallet. And a lot of suffering, too, because the high heels are extremely cruel to the anatomy of feet. Why are modern women willing to destroy their health for vanity?

From that point of view it was interesting to see a parallel study: a documentary Footbinding – The Search for the Three Inch Golden Lotus by Yue-Qing Yang. The over thousand year old tradition of footbinding was banned in China in 1911 but practiced to the 1930s. Why? There are many reasons but one of them is that was regarded to be a valuable asset to get the girl married – even now Chinese men interviewed in this film think that tiny feet make a girl more desirable. The film is a part of the new exhibition 100% Silk – Story of Chinese Silk that opened on Tuesday in EMMA, Espoo Museum of Modern Art.

Then a completely different look at the shoe and binding I saw on Wednesday in Helsinki when the Finnish felt boot factory Huopaliike Lahtinen showed some examples of Aki Choklat´s felt shoe design. These boots with orange straps are kind to feet and look smart as well. They are even comforting to look at.

Alzheimer and the artist

It is a comedy and it is a tragedy. It is comforting and frightening at the same time. And it is called life. It is amazing how much you can tell by drawing a comic book that at the end is not so comic any more.
Ryppyjä (Wrinkles, WSOY 2010) by a Spanish author Paco Roca tells beautifully what growing old can mean in the Western society. It is a book than can perhaps learn us to appreciate those moments with our beloved ones before it is too late, before they disappear to the world where memories are the only reality.

From Nummela with love

Saving the world is not easy. It is more difficult than eating an elephant. But do you know how to succeed in it? Bite by bite.
The designer Seija Lukkala has been working hard since 2003 to make the world better. Her Globe Hope Ltd. is perhaps the most well-known Finnish ecological design company with the lovely slogan ”The world does not suffer from the lack of material but the lack of mind”.
The idea of giving a new life to used materials and products by transforming them to clothes and accessories – and selling them, too - has not always been so easy but now the future looks bright. The demand for the sustainable design is growing as we are more and more aware of the significance of our decisions.
In May Globe Hope arrived in Helsinki and opened it´s first shop in Lasipalatsi building. Just drop in and see yourself. Even the interior is old: the old furnitures of Nokia rubber boot factory! You find there also the funny Secco products – the company was recently bought by Globe Hope.
Opening times are Mo-Fr from 10 am to 8 pm, Sat from 10 am to 6 pm.

When small becomes truly monumental

Pentti Sammallahti: Helsinki Finland, 1983.

Yesterday evening we met a happy man in the Finnish Museum of Photography. He was wearing a white shirt stained with red wine, smoking cigars, chatting with people. And smiling. He was Pentti Sammallahti, and this was his big night: the exhibition opening of his life´s work. A selection of hundreds of photographs. Nowadays, when the photography fashion seems to favour the size of the pictures instead of the content, it is a relief to see Pentti´s honest work full of love and deep respect. Most of his photographs are tiny and reveal their secret only to a good eyesight, so take a magnifying glass with you or do – as somebody told me the master himself sometimes does: put two Tiimari glasses at the same time on your nose.
The exhibition is open until 27.2.2011 in Cable Factory, Tallberginkatu 1 G.

Reusing rocks

Our new lamp comes from a friend who had her home fully renovated and noticed after that she had things she didn´t need any more. – Today we have a flea market with the difference that all things are for free. Come and get what you want, she invited. My choice was this lamp. It does not only lighten our home but also keeps the nice gesture in mind. Thank you so much, dear Ms C!

A new light in the cellar

Creativity is something you cannot buy, borrow or steal. You either have it or haven´t. One of the truly creative spirits in Finland is the designer Hanna Sarén. The world may praise her, kick her but at the end you have to love her: her imagination and her wonderful sense of quality, beauty and lovely humour.
Now after some silent months the multi-talented couple Jussi Tiilikka-Hanna Sarén has started a new project that is more than shoes, clothes and accessories. It is a new publishing platform called The Broadsheet offering you design news, opinions, interviews and products to buy. You find it in http://hannasaren.net
And of course Hanna is designing clothes and shoes as well. More to follow...
The address of the new studio/showroom/workplace is Korkeavuorenkatu 2 b cellar, 00140 Helsinki. Just for your information: it you wanna visit it, is open from Mondays to Fridays at 11 am to 4 pm.

Brand new church art

The Weeping Women of Jerusalem by Kuutti Lavonen.

It is not common that something good comes from the bad. When an arsonist destroyed in September 1997 the roof and the interior of St. Olaf’s medieval church in Tyrvää, who would have believed that the church would be reopened twelve years later fully reconstructed and perhaps more impressive than ever. The paintings in the church are made by two artists, Kuutti Lavonen and Osmo Rauhala. Those artists have never exactly been my favourites, but in this church their work is really touching. And the famous shingle roof, carved by hand after the 1748 original design by Antti Piimänen, is so beautiful it almost takes your breath away. The amazing amount of 32 810 aspen shingles cover the roof like a black lace.
If you want to see the church this year, you have better to hurry. The church is open to the public in September only on Sundays from 11 am to 6 pm. Then it will be hibernating until the next summer.

Light Mapping walk in Helsinki

Oma maa mansikka by Jukka Lehtinen, Pikkuparlamentti.

Last night I took part in the first Light Mapping walk in Helsinki, an illuminating tour nicely guided by an outdoor lighting expert, architect Marjut Kauppinen. It helped us to see the city in a different light and showed the details otherwise hidden in the darkness. One of the beautiful sights was the huge steel statue Oma maa mansikka by Jukka Lehtinen, impressively lighted in front of Little Parliament house.

The walk went from Museum of Natural History to Diana Park. It was a surprise to see how many different colours the streetlights have and also the darkness of the city: most of the city light comes from the official buildings, hotels, shops, stores and restaurants. Does nobody live in the centre anymore?

Wicked is wicked is w...

Maria Ylipää and Anna-Maija Tuokko, photo Tapio Vanhatalo.

The famous musical Wicked had last night it´s premiere in Helsingin Kaupunginteatteri. And what did we experience? Three hours of total waste of sparkling talent, energy and green body paint. The story of a different friendship and different values was hidden somewhere, and I did not understand which is the target audience. I certainly would like to get something from a musical, even to be moved somehow. Not like the couple sitting next to me: they moved themselves out from the theatre during the intermission and I don´t blame them.

Anna is back in town

Anna Ruohonen, our own Parisian designer with the lovely curly hair, has arrived in Helsinki with her new autumn-winter 2010-11 collection, which is, as always, a happy marriage of design and quality. If your favorite fashion colours are black or beige, go to Uudenmaankatu 4-6, inner inner courtyard. There is Anna´s new concept store since April. It is open from Tuesday to Friday at 12-16 and on Saturdays from 11 to 15. Men and women are welcome!

Daniel, the magician of the Finnish fashion scene

Photo © Paula Hietaranta  

The safest way to create something original in fashion is not to look at the current nor coming trends but at your own mind and heart. Our adorable Daniel Palillo was today attending a discussion panel at the fashion trade fair Finnish Catwalk at Wanha Satama and was asked what kind of clothes he is designing. – Those I like myself, he said. Needless to say that they are huge, hugely crazy and make everybody happy, too!

Beggars among us

Photo © Paula Hietaranta

There certainly is a long tradition of begging in Finland. Just look at those old men standing in front or inside of our old churches, waiting to get some coins. OK, they are made of wood, but beggars anyway. So why are we now so sensitive to see beggars in our streets? Would they be more acceptable if they would be begging in front of the churches instead of the department stores?

Tongue-in-cheek art in Stockholm

The giant bronze sculpture by Swedish artist Dan Wolgers got at last a home in front of the new photography museum in Stockholm. Stockholm Konst and Ports of Stockholm decided to place it outside of Fotografiska instead of central Stadsgården. The name of the sculpture is Torso, and it is said to represent in true Dadaistic spirit the artist´s self-portrait and a woman’s womb. Well, the more you know about Dan Wolgers and his work, the more interesting it gets. His imagination, the provocative productivity and the selling power reminds me somehow of – of – of course of our dear Jani Leinonen...

Catwalk beauties

If you want to see something breathtakingly beautiful go to Perniö where Kaija Rosma is exhibiting her new collection of small fashionable sculptures. Each of those white ladies is a wonder of effortless grace and elegance. If you are quick, you might even buy one – there are still some left!
The exhibition is open until 15.8. from Thursday to Sunday at 12-18. Address is Perniön taidetalo Pyynpivo, Perniöntie 1841.

Veijo Rönkkönen´s weird friends

A visit to Parikkalan patsaspuisto in eastern Finland is an experience you will never forget. You either love it or hate it, a tepid in-between feeling is simply not possible. Veijo Rönkkönen, a self-taught artist, made in his lifetime about 500 concrete sculptures, some of them grinning with real dentures, and placed them around his cottage in Parikkala. They are an amazing bunch of people, plants and animals, full of humour and deep respect for life. The statues have never been exhibited nor did want to travel. If you want to see this famous garden, go there quickly. The artist died in March, and nobody seems ready to keep his inheritance alive. The plants are already almost swallowing the smallest statues...
Rönkkösen patsaspuisto, Kuutostie 611, Koitsanlahti, Parikkala.

Photos © Paula Hietaranta

Annie Got Her Gun

Annie Leibovitz: Brother Philip and My Father,1988.

The modern Annie sharpshooter is of course Annie Leibovitz who has now a big exhibition A Photographer's Life 1990–2005 in the new Fotografiska museum in Stockholm. Most of her celebrity portraits are so well-known and polished that they seem a little bit dull. Her personal work – family, friends, landscapes - is the jewel of this exhibition. The most impressive picture was the prolonged one of dead Susan Sontag dressed in a fashionable gown she was buried in. It reminded me of the sarcophagi we see in old churches, a monument to honour life and death.
The last day to see Annie´s pictures in Fotografiska, Stadsgårdshamnen 22, quite close to the Viking Line boat terminal, is Sunday 12th September.

One of the pleasures

of a warm summer evening is leaving Helsinki by ship. Strolling on the deck, looking at the horizon, eating a watermelon slice, taking pictures, smoking a cigarette, enjoyig the lovely breeze...

Cold rain, sweet pain, rocky roads and happy moments!

Photo © Paula Hietaranta

This smiling couple dit it! Two years ago Kaisa and Christoffer Leka bicycled all way through Europe from Porvoo to Nice, and now we couch potatoes can read how all the thousands of kilometres went both in reality and in mind, in rain and shine. The brand new Tour d´Europe - The Yoga of Road Cycling is a lovely comic book, hilariously funny and deeply touching at the same time. ”When Leka takes off his shoes, Kaisa takes off her feet.”
Buy the book at http://www.pitkamies.net/ or directly from Kaisa kaisa@kaisaleka.net. It costs 20 euros + mailing 5 euros.
After reading this book you are surely hungry for more. Only wait - soon Kaisa and Leka are going to bicycle round Iceland. Let´s hope the volcanoes understand stay silent...

Even a flower knows how to benefit from the sun

Photo © Paula Hietaranta 

Yesterday afternoon American professor Barbara L. Fredrickson, the author of the book Positivity, was giving a lecture on the power of positive emotions at Aalto University in Otaniemi.
Positivity surely is something we Finns need desperately and the event showed to be so attractive that the organizers had to get a bigger auditorium than planned.
In one hour we got quite many lab-tested tools how to transform our life to an emotionally better state for example by Loving Kindness meditation. The miracle does not happen overnight but in 6-8 weeks you should see some results.
”Increase your daily diet of positive emotions and you will become a better version of yourself”, Barbara says. Feel free to score how you are doing by taking a daily test on her website www.positivityratio.com for two weeks!

Welcome to the new open-air portrait gallery

Until September the Lilla Teatern building in Yrjönkatu street is under renovation and surrounded by a fence which normally would have attracted to graffiti artists like honey to bees.
Yes, it did now, too, but this time graffiti artist Jani Tolin worked with kids from Helsinki Upper Secondary School of Visual Arts to decorate the fence with a lovely portrait gallery of Lillan´s most famous actors, writers and directors. There you can see for example Birgitta Ulfsson bigger than life, but wait – isn´t she bigger than life on stage as well?
Photo © Paula Hietaranta

How to fall in love with a radio

Photo © Paula Hietaranta

Go to Design Forum Finland, Erottajankatu 7 (open Mon-Fri 10 am – 7 pm, Sat 10 am – 6 pm, Sun noon - 5 pm).

Go through the shop without looking at the tempting Kakkugalleria cakes to the very end of the next room until you face the wall with text aivan!.

Turn.

There on the table is - no, I´m sorry, not the radio, but the picture of the radio I fell in love instantly with – even if I do listen to the radio pretty seldom. (But it is an another story.) Mikael Silvanto, one of The Young Designer of the Year 2010 prize winners and a member of design collective Aivan! is the proud father of this new amazing piece, that until the autumn is only a prototype, not a product – even if it has already been widely published in international design magazines as Wallpaper and Viewpoint. He got the idea to his AM/FM radio 08 from a digital calliper. It is beautiful, visual, clean, funny, and simple to tune.

”Even my grandmother can use it”, Mikael says.

Now you can wear Marimekko from head to toe

The Marimekko fashion show in Esplanadi park means always (the first time it was exactly 50 years ago!) the beginning of the Finnish summer. It brings summer to our wardrobes, too. On sunny Wednesday afternoon this week there was a huge amount of color and happiness (and accessory mess, not so nice), cute little dresses for every body and age, and the new Mari shoes by Julia Lundsten... The prints were beautiful, and even the old Unikko (Poppy) looked fresh, which was really amazing. It shows that the designer Maija Isola was a genius and that it is possible to create something with a lasting value. But back to basics. Sheets are meant for the bed, not to be worn. We want quality clothes which make us happy, confident and good-looking. I am sure that Mr. Marimekko Mika Ihamuotila gets a generous amount of advice how to direct Marimekko so one opinion more doesn´t hurt. I would like to see a slim luxury collection of Jokatyttö silk shirts and also more generous Jokatäti cotton shirts in their lovely Piccolo stripe combinations.

Do we really need more things just for decoration?

I must say that I was not too happy when I saw Vitriini collection, the new glass/wood/aluminum boxes by Anu Penttinen in Iittala Pohjois-Esplanadi shop in Helsinki. Tiny colorful storage boxes for tiny things - what is the idea? Ok, they might be nice presents to people who have everything, but are they really something we need? Please, Iittala, let´s return to those days when the idea of good and lasting design was to produce things which made our each day not only more beautiful but also solved some daily problems! Where is for example your glass or ceramic butter box with the lid? Kaj Franck did design one 53 years ago, where did it go?

I have seen red!

No, I am not angry. I visited EMMA. EMMA is not only a woman´s name, it is also the name of Espoo Museum of Modern Art. The refreshing new exhibition Red is based on the colour red and comes from the Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection. You can stay there forever - for example watching a video of a child putting on red shirt...

All the details you need to visit Emma are found on the web page:

http://www.emma.museum/index.php

Santeri Tuori: Punainen paita, 2003. Mediataide, video 4 min 28 s.