Eero Yli-Vakkuri
Morality is an application of sustainable law and governance practices. No stress on infra. #ॐ
A lady at a coffee shop asked me and Jussi to hangout with their puppy while we had tea so that dog would get familiarized with men. She was brave to ask and the dog was nice too. A nice exchange, we got to pet a dog in exange for manifesting a gender publicly.
Cuentos Patrióticos (1997) Francis Alÿs. Artist forms a self-organising assembly with sheep. The assemblies uniformity can be verified from its geometry and pace. It starts to dispense after the shepard releases their leash. In the process the sheeps solidarity to each other, sence of routine-established-security and alliance to men is tested.
Someone Explains How Poland Uses Clams To Control Its Water Supply And It’s Pretty Crazy (2020) Judita K. The title is self-explanatory. Here is a link to an article on the matter in Polish (with super pictures). In short: If the clams close their shells it is a sign that there is something wrong with the water. Their hulls are attached with sensors which measure their movement. Selected animals serve the water company for three months after which they are released. The article is illustrated woth pictures of a film called Fat Kathy / Gruba Kaśka (2019) Julia Pełka.
Listening to The Strangeness of Dub (2019) Edward George. Music history merged with philosophy! In episode ‘Oh, Slavery Days!’ George links the tones of solos played by Don Drummond, philosophy related to memory and liberation with the living history of Atlantic slave trade.
Folk who don’t work with crafts to sustain themselves underline a belief that mastery is a process were an artisan develops an intuitive relationship to materials they use. In practice the artisan is in a relationship with their tools and only trough them with the materials they use for their craft. The maintenance of tools (such as a furnace) takes up a considerable chunk of labor efforts. Ultimately a craft is a process where tools are maintained and made. The proper placement of tools around a workspace is most important. #ॐ
I’m having trouble finding performance art venues which list their events online in a sensible fashion. Grace Exhibition Space has a newish site but the schedule of events they offer is messy (found the exhibition spacey on Broadway yesterday but it was closed). Panoply Performance Laboratory seems interesting but I can’t figure out if there are events in the space or is it primarily for projects. I’ve signed up to multiple email lists but they seem to be quiet (perhaps people are on vacations). Eyebeam is the most promising email list I’ve signed up for so far.
Having trouble communicating to Helsinki. Signal app is not 100% reliable in a non-roaming/wifi setting (this was the case during our trip to Brussels too) and I can’t send SMSs abroad from my US phone. I’m now getting regular SMS messages to my Finnish number (Signal messages come delayed) and using my US number with an alternative Signal installation. Also installed Wire on my US phone (which provides nice setup options for multiple devices).
Received my ISCP (International Studio & Curatorial Program) studio keys and got a short introduction to the facilities. The building has three floors and two gallery spaces. The room I was given is incredible. It’s a +20m² space with a 5m high ceiling. I found some basic tools (there is a soldering station for Synth DIY kits!) and a computer & scanner/printer. I’ll take my computer and other tech to the studio today. This is the first studio I’ve worked in. All of the art schools I’ve studied in have been poor or in the process of being shut down, so I learned to work in cafeterias or at home and to perform in public spaces. I don’t know what to do with all of the space I now have at my disposal. I’m thinking about making a mural.
Olli was at the ISCP before me and I brought a bike from him. He left it at my studio and I rode it home. I feel like a rock star – Driving around Brooklyn on my cool new bike!
What would a public park look like if it was built from the perspective of bees? (2018) by Regine. An overview of Erik Sjödin project with bees. He’s approach reminds me of the species-sensitive-design concept. The Political Beekeeper’s Library seems like an interesting archive. It “looks at books where parallels are drawn between how bees and humans are socially and politically organised”.
The shelter explores what a public park would look like if it was built from the perspective of the wildlife that use the park alongside the humans.
Increased biodiversity in parks in the form of flowering plants, buzzing bees and chirping birds etc can provide aesthetic pleasure to park residents and be relevant besides from the intrinsic value nonhuman life has. Biodiversity doesn’t have to conflict with human interests.
An artist in Helsinki who’s active on twitter has been writing a critical commentary of art-life, culture institutions and exhibitions for a half a year now. The blog is called Hampaat (teeth) and it’s an interesting albeit a tad cynical source for local art-news and art-thought. The most recent post is called YOUR COLLEAGUES ARE THE PROBLEM. The text feels like it’s very critical towards someone but that person is not identified… Which makes me paranoid (am I part of the problem? *laughs nervously*). The author identifies the figure of the “reputation avatar” (derived from the work of Gloria Origgi, a podcast about her book online) and tries to pinpoint moments were artists work primarily to maintain their reputation. I often engage with work to merely to maintain my reputation (but I don’t think it’s a bad thing).
The criticism of art mirroring our times (as a justification for the lack of critical thought and practice in art) is something I agree with. Elaborate media-artworks which I’ve seen recently (most of which are related to AIs) should be read as blatant celebration of media technology, innovation and capitalism (and not it’s critique). A hammer cannot be critical of a hammer #ॐ. The artist status should not be used as an excuse from ethical concerns: When artist use AIs they have the opportunity to be just as unethical as the übers and googles of the world.
The author is also critical of the recent trend of “melding art with science” and claims that “the situation of art as a site of knowledge is rotten at the core”. I agree to an extent. Artist are sometimes portrayed more pure hearted then they are. There seems to be consensus that artist would use science for the good of people if only given the chance. Which is not true – Artist are not healers. The text also makes me ask that why would anyone want to learn about Barad from an artist who reads Barad (if they can learn from Barad herself)? And to ask that in what circumstances is learning from an artist about Barad (instead of Barad herself) more efficient/better/smarter?
I’ve liked the THREE QUESTIONS TO PEOPLE DOING EXHIBITIONS UNDER CAPITALISM best so far.
Pietari shared a gruesome story from Amsterdam Dutch rewilding experiment sparks backlash as thousands of animals starve. A case-study for understanding the intersections of cross species solidarity and post-humanistic theory.
Read a speech written by Päivi as “a man with a moustache which looks like the moustache of Kyösti Kallio” at the RaivioBumann (Raivio & Daniel Bumann) Hiljainen vieras / Silent Guest event. The performance was a part of Patsastellaan: Parties for Public Sculpture series organized by James Prevett (Taideyliopisto). The role of being just an actor/speaker felt nice.. I wasn’t as nervous as when I perform my own material.
Bought a Bastl Dude mixer for the upcoming Childrens Techno workshop (Teknomuskari) in Turku (NPTurku covers the expenses!). The mixer can also be used in Brussels next month. Made a website for our upcoming show wheredoyouwanttogofromhere.com. The Brussel gig is causing a lot of stress.. The recent attacks in Barcelona and Turku are adding to the mix. Working with horses is stressful, working with people is stressful and working in public spaces is stressful. To top it off, we are drafting strong arguments concerning the changing nature of public space (in relation to recent attacks) and framing climate change as a weaponized method of colonial dominance.
The booklist we’ve selected as our framework requires intensive learning. We are studying classics like Foucault, new material from Butler, new materialism/anthropocene inspired texts, the history of horses in European cities, re-reading Hribal and Eyal Weizman’s theories concerning the Arab Spring (The Roundabout Revolutions, Critical Spatial Practice 6, 2015). Majority of the text deal with infrastructure and how urban structures serve as authors of the modern self-regulating subjectivity. The texts (even the history of the horses) are centered around the concept of public assembly and examining how the concept of “the people” is build and used.
I guess part of the stress is caused by the indoctrination of these texts. Changing is stressful.. And I guess developing as an artist requires constant change.