NÄKEMINEN – SEEING
One of the three inaugural exhibitions of the Museum of Contemporary Art is being held outside Helsinki, signaling the museum’s intention not to restrict its activities to a single location.
The Pori Art Museum was a natural choice as a venue due to its pioneering role in presenting international and domestic contemporary art in Finland. With this exhibition, the Museum of Contemporary Art acknowledges the national significance of Pori’s cultural contributions.
Titled “Näkeminen” (Seeing), the exhibition features works by eleven Finnish artists from the younger generation:
Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Teuri and Goa Haarla, Heini Hölttä, Jussi Kivi, Pentti Koskinen, Harri Larjosto, Mox Mäkelä, Jussi Niva, Marjatta Oja and Vertti Teräsvuori
The exhibition explores photography as one of many mediums or techniques in visual arts without adhering to a specific thematic focus. Each artist employs photography in distinct ways, connecting it to traditional fine art practices or photography’s own traditions. Photography also plays a crucial role in the broader evolution of contemporary art, challenging conventional notions of the aesthetic art object.
Photography and video can document performance pieces based on sound, light, and movement or make accessible works that typically resist conventional exhibition spaces. Today, it is increasingly challenging and often unnecessary to separate photography from other forms of visual expression.
This exhibition demonstrates the pervasiveness of photography in Finnish contemporary art, particularly among generations raised in a media-rich environment. Photography and video are now natural tools for exploring visual narratives, critiquing conventions, and demystifying familiar subjects.
The exhibition is accompanied by a trilingual catalog (Finnish-Swedish-English) featuring artist profiles and an essay by Minna Tarkka, titled:
“Näkemiin: valokuvan hyvästit todellisuudelle” / “See You: photography’s farewell to reality”
The essay offers a theoretical examination of photography’s role in art and interprets each participating artist’s relationship to the medium. The catalog is available for purchase at the Ateneum bookstore and the Pori Art Museum.
Translated with ChatGPT