"Conflicting emotions, and why not"
Art accommodates opinions and debate. The most loved artworks often also tend to be the most hated ones. Markus Copper's Archangel of Seven Seas is a good example of an artwork that attracts fervent admirers while other visitors find it absolutely appalling.
The idea of the Love Me or Leave Me exhibition is to display the most loved and hated works in the collection, in other words, the works that have evoked the most emotions. During the exhibition, visitors have been invited to write comments and post them on the noticeboard on the second floor landing. Several
thousand messages have already been left and more keep coming.
"THE TALKING HEAD WAS SILLY"
The messages on the noticeboard give an idea of the visitors' taste in art. One of the most commented works is Ken Feingold's Head. Other works inspiring many comments include Jiri Geller's Battle of the Worlds, which people have found funny and ingenious, particularly those who played it, and Pekka Jylhä's hare (Lantern Bearer).
The noticeboard is an entirely unofficial forum for the visitors to express their feelings, send greetings, make comments and ask questions. Other visitors can read the messages until the noticeboard is full.
"SMACK SMACK…LIFE IS JUST GREAT"
Most of the messages on the noticeboard are just blithe remarks of the sort Kilroy was here, ones you can imagine the nimblest youngsters would write while waiting for the more sluggish ones to come along. Children are an important visitor group in Kiasma – the first Finnish generation for whom contemporary art in a museum is a matter of course. Between the blithe remarks and jokes there is important information and feedback. School children say openly what pleases or irritates them. They also draw, tear and fold paper making full use of the forum.
The popularity of the noticeboard proves that people really want to leave their mark on the world. Contemporary art evokes emotions. The messages communicate the joy of insight and desire to share experiences. Some of them reveal con-fusion and irritation, while others contain bursts of anger and disappointment. The writers want to be heard.
"YOU MUST BE JOKING"
Irritation can also be interpreted as a positive reaction. At least it is a reaction. The purpose of a museum visit is not only to entertain and please the visitor. Many artworks also evoke thoughts, even provoke them. Contemplation activated by irritation is a key to a broader understanding of contemporary art. Conversations between a visitor and Kiasma's contact guide often begin when the visitor wishes to give negative feedback. But during the conversation, the visitor may suddenly realise something new about contemporary art or him or herself as a person encountering art.
The comments and questions collected during the Love Me or Leave Me exhibition provided material for four debate forums organised this autumn. In the debate 'Stupid Questions', experts and artists discuss key issues in contemporary art and the changing role of museums.
"NOW THIS IS ART"
Kiasma's foreign visitors have been par-ticularly fascinated by the noticeboard. You can see at a glance that Kiasma attracts visitors from all over the world. What motivates them to comment so enthusiastically can only be speculated; travelling perhaps increases the need to leave an imprint on the world. Tourists also seem to have more things at heart. Their messages are full of comments on both exhibitions and the Kiasma building. It is a real shame I do not understand Russian, Flemish, Chinese or the countless other languages, since the comments would reveal how Kiasma and its exhibitions are received by foreign visitors.
Some of the messages are meant for other visitors. There are also messages com-menting on other messages. The noticeboard does not serve the Museum only; sometimes an imaginative message can cause a brainwave in the head of a museum worker, another visitor or artist browsing the messages. The noticeboard has a life of its own.
Tina Cavén
