Wednesday, September 27

Today I decided to go out into the world and experience art. I went to Kiasma to see the finalists for the Ars Fennica prize. Five finalists had their work on show but one of them had malfunctioned and so I only saw four. Three of them interested me.

Because I had come on my own and with no particular deadline, I sat and gave the two sound pieces the length of time they deserved. I enjoyed the space by Camille Norment. The notes tell us that “the installation at the exhibition consists of a pattern of architectonic seating structures and oscillating, tactile sound from resonating voices. Resonance occurs when objects or bodies vibrate at the same frequency. The form of the seating structures is based on fractals – geometrical shapes that repeat the same structure over and over again like an endless loop”.

I sat for about 45 minutes while school parties walked through, and old ladies sat for ten minutes or so. In all that time I failed to find a suitable way of photographing the space.

Later I sat for 30 minutes in the space created by Finnish artist Tuomas A. Laitinen, entitled The Earth is the Ear of the Bear. This included “ultrasound speakers attached to the metal sculptures project sound that appear to come simultaneously from multiple directions” and a shifting wall-sized projection in which “portrayed figures are shape-shifting mythical creatures that resemble life forms such as octopuses, praying mantises and humanoids”.

I enjoyed this and managed to photograph something that will remind me of what I saw.