Tuula Arkio’s 5 x ARS

Tuula Arkio, General Director of the National Art Galleries, was interviewed by Kaija Kaitavuori, Educational Curator, Kiasma.

To date, there have been five ARS exhibitions since 1961. From the very beginning, the motive for these major contemporary art exhibitions has been to bring a selection of current contemporary art to Finland and give the Finnish art audience an opportunity to get to know trends in international art. In the first exhibition catalogue, this task was phrased thus: to bring to Finland "an exhibition, which would give a picture of the problems which interest our contemporary artists and present the achievements aspired to in our time by the questing and struggling art."

Tuula Arkio, General Director of the National Art Galleries, has been involved in every ARS exhibition save the first. Actually, Arkio’s most important life-work has been in the field of contemporary art. She has witnessed the change in the art field, which has taken place as international contacts have increased and the position of contemporary art has become stronger, and most of all, she has had a hand in it. The establishment of the Museum of Contemporary Art and the opening of Kiasma have in turn made the field of contemporary art in Finland what it is today.

“My ‘ARS career’ began in 1969, I was an assistant to the secretary. Leena Peltola (then Savolainen) was the secretary. I had recently graduated and had begun working in the Ateneum in autumn 1968. I helped with the arrangements, wrote letters – we did not have faxes or e-mail back then. Now it seems inconceivable that exhibitions like that were organised at a time, when fax machines did not even exist!
The difference to today was that the exhibition was collected largely from France, it came through Parisian galleries. Galleries were a central channel of acquiring art. The artists did not usually come here in person. Edward Kienholz was here and built his work for weeks. Indeed, the exhibition marked the beginning of his long relationship with Finland.

ARS 69 aroused much debate. The exhibition presented pop artists, such as Claes Oldenburg and César. The artists included famous contemporary names, the major league of the 1960s, though they were not known to the Finnish art audience. It was not realised at the time that Oldenburg was a big name.
The exhibition did not have a theme, instead, there were a lot of different artists. There was a lot of kinetic art. The Japanese stood out, they were clearly something of a find.

Jo Baer’s minimalist works were such that at the time I just looked at them and wondered what they were! Back then, there was no education in contemporary art, neither at the university, nor in museums. If you think about what one could see in Finland at the time, the exhibition certainly broadened horizons for me, too. Even later, ARS exhibitions have meant a dip into the world of contemporary art for me and inspired interest in the art of one’s own time.”

From home and away

The focus in ARS exhibitions has been on the epithets 'new' and 'current', and so each one of them has caused amazement and controversy, both in the press and among the audience. However, the trends and artists presented have – at least with hindsight – been well-known and respected in the art world, not randomly selected or a passing phase. This has sometimes led to criticism that the ARS exhibitions present safe art already picked by others. However, the target audience is the general art audience in Finland, not only those who have already seen it all, touring major international events and biennials professionally. The need for such wide presentations probably has not disappeared even now, although travelling and all kinds of cultural exchanges are on a totally different scale than at the time of the early ARS exhibitions.

“ARS 69 was still a very traditional art exhibition, it had a lot of bronze sculptures and paintings. ARS 74 was different, it was the realism exhibition, the first one with a theme. Realism was a strong trend back then, although just one part of the international art of the time. The works came here finished, most were paintings and prints.

I was the exhibition secretary, so I did not participate in creating the content of the exhibition. But the exhibition curators – or the commissioners as they were then called – travelled in Paris, London and New York, visiting local galleries. But you cannot really call that extensive travelling, it was more like a fine sample of something that had already been defined.

This exhibition was easier to put together, as only some artists fitted the theme. The secretary corresponded with the lenders, dealt with insurance, transport, the catalogue and all practical matters. We had one secretary in the whole museum and no assisting staff. With those resources, an exhibition like that was quite an achievement. The exhibition was on the second floor. There were no lifts and only one hot-water tap in the whole museum. When the crates arrived, all the doors were open to the outside, so it was cold, we worked with our hats and coats on. Personally, I have very special memories connected with the exhibition, it was very thrilling when we were opening the crates, everybody stood around to watch – it was like Christmas! There was a lot of excitement.

Thinking about it afterwards, ARS 74 was the least rewarding of the exhibitions as a whole, though there were fine individual artists. Unlike the previous ARS exhibition, this one also included Finns - it was clearly an art policy decision and well-founded, because realism was so strong here too. Esko Tirronen did well in the artist crowd, his part was impressive. There was also a section of committed art.”

An ARS for a new era

In 1983, the whole Ateneum building was at the disposal of the exhibition for the first time. Works were also placed outside the building.

“ARS 83 was completely different, times were different, too. Art was still largely handled through galleries even in the 1980s, but we thought about how to attract the artists we wanted to Finland, because a small country like Finland did not interest international galleries. I was the assistant commissioner, that is, I participated in planning the exhibition and selecting the artists. We then wrote ourselves to the artists we wanted to have in the exhibition. We really travelled a lot, went to see artists. One artist in England said that we were the first exhibition curators to actually come and visit the artist’s studio. Museums did not keep in contact with the artists, they only dealt with galleries and private collections. We met the artists and told them about the situation in Finland and this exhibition and so we got them interested. After an artist had promised to come, the practicalities were arranged through the galleries.

It was a time of new expansion for painting, neo-expressionism and transavantgarde ruled. One gallery-owner said ‘But you can’t have an exhibition without neo-expressionists and the others!’. We asked, ‘Why not?’ That was the moment when I realised what a good situation we have in Finland, because we are not dependent on the European or American art system and power structures, instead, we have the right and opportunity to choose whatever we want. Painting was naturally included, but only as one part of the exhibition. But arte povera, which was prominent in ARS 83, did not attract general acclaim until the late 1980s. The same with painters and minimalists: at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s they became gallery hits and were bought for collections. This ARS exhibition featured some quite exceptional choices!

ARS 83 did not have a theme. It endeavoured to present different artists. Installations and performances were included for the first time. There was conceptual art, there was painting. The old rooms of the University of Art and Design and the Fine Arts Academy had not yet been renovated, they had a dilapidated beauty and the artists had a free hand. For the first time, artists made completely new works for the space. An enormous number of artists were here on the spot building works, and we met many of them while travelling in Europe, the United States and the Nordic countries. For the first time, we also had works outside the building, though very close to it. They required a lot of work, for instance, a new concrete foundation had to be constructed for Bernard Kirschenbaum’s steel arc. This, as well as ARS 95, are sure to remain in my memory always, in particular the time when the exhibition was being built, all the excitement and working with the artists has meant a lot.

"Many people remember this exhibition, there were so many things to see that something always hit you, that was the richness of the exhibition. Wolfgang Laib’s work made of pollen was a great favourite with the audience. Likewise James Turrell’s work. The performances were top-class, everybody remembers Abramovic & Ulay, as well as Dieter Appelt. Joseph Beuys was here with a large group of works. Daniel Buren for the first time. Jannis Kounellis and Anselmo impressed. Joseph Kosuth did a work related to Finland (which was later bought). It was a pleasure to work with Richard Long. Serra, whom I admire greatly, exhibited five works. Mario Merz, Nam June Paik… My God, now when I look at this, we had all kinds of things here!”

ARS becomes established

ARS exhibitions have burst on a slightly different art scene each time. ARS 95 was the first ARS exhibition organised by the Museum of Contemporary Art. The field of contemporary art in Finland had changed from the previous exhibitions, there were galleries presenting international artists – though the depression of the early 1990s took some of them – museums had exhibitions of contemporary art and there were also other new activities and collectors.

“This ARS continued the spirit of the previous one. We had the entire Ateneum building at our disposal. In between, the building had been renovated and the museum had been housed elsewhere. The conditions were entirely different. This time there was no artistic committee, it was a pure curator exhibition.
The exhibition had loose themes, according to which it was displayed, so that it would be easier for visitors to get a general idea of what it was all about. But did it work? After all, each work of art should stand on it’s own, as well.

The exhibition was still characterised by the western conception of art, it dealt with Europe and the United States. At the time, there were already signs that a change was taking place, the Magiciens de la Terre exhibition having been held in Paris. We decided to stay with the traditional, but, in the foreword to the exhibition catalogue, we pointed out that it was a conscious choice.
There was a kind of workshop here during the three weeks before the opening. Now there was also a large section outdoors and several projects. They were a lot of work, involving earthmoving operations, permit applications and other things.”

A home in Kiasma

The ARS exhibitions have found a new home in the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, opened in 1998. The early ARS exhibitions deviated from other exhibition offerings of the time, and aroused much debate in their own time. In 2001, the ARS exhibitions have a history and a reputation.

“Now this global theme is in the air and you come across it everywhere – unlike two years ago, when we started working on this. Maybe it really is a sign that something is happening. I am interested in seeing whether the exhibition will answer the question of whether the third space exists, and is it conveyed to the audience. A big cultural change is taking place globally. It will also be interesting to see, now that Kiasma has been around for three years, how ARS will adapt to the fact that contemporary art has a continually operating museum dedicated to it.”

ARS 61
Organiser: Finnish Academy of Fine Art and the Artists' Association of Finland
Place: Ateneum, part of the exhibition was placed in museums in Turku, Tampere, Hämeenlinna and Jyväskylä
Chairman of the exhibition committee: Sakari Saarikivi
Patron: President Kekkonen
117 artists, 238 works
39,000 visitors, an all-time high
With the ARS 61 informalism, informal abstract art, which had made an impact in the Venice Biennale the previous year, conquered Finland. The exhibition presented art from Spain, France, Italy and Finland. Many works were bought to Finland after the exhibition.

ARS 69
Organiser: Ateneum Art Museum
Place: Ateneum, later Tampere Art Museum and Tampere Museum of Contemporary Art
Commissioners: E. J. Vehmas, Salme Sarajas-Korte
Patrons: President and Mrs Kekkonen
61 artists, 168 works
70,000 visitors, once again a record.

ARS 74
Organiser: Finnish Academy of Fine Art
Place: Ateneum
Commissioner: Salme Sarajas-Korte, assistant commissioner Leena Peltola
87 artists, 267 works
Patrons: President and Mrs Kekkonen
120,000 visitors

ARS 83
Organiser: Finnish Academy of Fine Art
Place: Ateneum
Commissioner: Leena Peltola, assistant commissioner: Tuula Arkio
Patron: Mrs Tellervo Koivisto
70 artists, 197 works and 17 videos and films from 26 artists and three performances
180,000 visitors

ARS 95
Organiser: Museum of Contemporary Art
Place: Ateneum
Curators: Tuula Arkio (Museum Director), Maaretta Jaukkuri and Asko Mäkelä (virtual reality)
90 artists, 168 works
140,000 visitors

ARS 01
Organiser: Museum of Contemporary Art
Place: Kiasma
Curators: Maaretta Jaukkuri, Patrik Nyberg, Jari-Pekka Vanhala, Tuula Arkio (General Director of the National Art Galleries), Virve Sutinen, Sanna Rekola (Kiasma Theatre)
73 artists, performance at the Kiasma Theatre