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20160405

Post Ihme-days. Waiting for my talks to come online on their youtube and depressurising from the busy weekend by watching Tron Legacy and playing techno. The KP3 can only play 7s long samples which makes it limited as a sampler.

We got organized with Antti, Pietari ja Timo and formed a study circle where we’ll read “In the Flow” by Boris Groys. I’ve read the intro and first chapter (and build by talk for Ihme-days on that basis).

Called artist Jorma Puranen and interviewed him about a vinyl cover he made 1974. The cover shows the Record Singers group. He was excited to talk about his involvement and confirmed majority of details I had heard about the cover. The way he spoke was inspirational and I also learned how he got to study in Pentti Kaskipuros class. Kaskipuro is a key figure in the post-postmodern movement in Finland. Self-educated but traditional, crafty but spiritual. I had the pleasure to meet him a couple of times.

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20160402

If everyone laughing in a room is being paid to laugh, is the one who payed for the laught truly laughing? Is he faking the laughs? #ॐ

Learning the KP3 ropes. As expected I’m pushing heavy with the effects. It’s such a thrill to use.

Visited the Ihme-days again. The Ihme-festival crew celebrated Kateřina Šedás “Tram-Buskers Tour” with a two hour long talk. She was interviewed by Hamza Walker who made a solid presentation. Unfortunately he was a big fan of Šedás work and his analysis wasn’t critical.

After hearing Šedá I had a revelation: The “Tram-Buskers Tour” is a passive aggressive artwork. It was portrayed as a positive and low-key experience but behind the smiles audiences and buskers were used as mere resource for a top-down artwork. She takes people through the ropes whether they want it or not. This sort of hostility to normativity is welcome but feels insulting when it’s served with a fake smile. I like my violence raw.

Šedá has compiled her post-soviet dissillusion and angst into an authoritarian artist practice, aiming crackdown hypocritical social structures. This approach works when her projects target western-capital-metropolitan areas, or when she works “to give a voice” to small villages she has worked in. But in the Helsinki context her work is colonial.

Instead of altering what we believe to be possible, she made us doubt our believes. She comes off as a bully.

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20160331

Got the Artsi museum writing gig. I’ll make a 5 500 character text about Record Singers -group (1973– ) for an upcoming vinyl exhibition catalogue. The museum is planning to show the “Record Singers: ¾ – Johdanto ryhmän esitystaiteelliseen toimintaan.” documentary I made 2012. The writing fee is moderate but there is a fee for writing.

Making c-cassettes for the Ihme-days demo, preparing a 20min speak, baking and having a band rehearsal with Pietari.

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20160330

Tampere Sokos Hotel Torni is has kitschy interior decor. They’ve combined raw concrete, naive illustrations of trains and pastel color panels shaped like the silhouette of the city. There is an ongoing art exhibition in the lobbies. The Tampere Artist Association has organized a selling event. Rooms are fitted with prints customers can buy. This room has one by Janne Laine. I have to ask if he’s had sales.

Working on a grant proposal for the Arts Promotion Center Finland. I calculated I have a 2-6% chance of getting a grant. My chances are further lowered as I got a 5 month project grant (8000€ -Insurance ~1200€ expenses) last year. They have a “fairness policy” which aims to distribute the funds evenly. The same artist is not likely to receive funding on consecutive years – No matter how good the project is and how well it has been received. This feels silly. When you get a project rolling they should push it further, but they cut your funding instead.

I’m re-using an old proposal we made for the Trans-Horse project. The Art Promotion Center guides applicants to apply for 1, 3 or 5 year projects. Which is why I’m making a 5 year project plan. I can apply for 1 and 3 year funding with the same paper.

What toggles how the brain samples information? Some data is clearly overdubbed and other re-written.

I think spam is a radar system of a sorts. It’s send through networks in intervals and where the areas where data gets clogged indicate the outlines of protected computer networks.