Exclusive Animals in the Gym

Gym equipment cast from aluminium and bronze is inspired by different animals: hawks, cows, lions, turtles, rams, etc. These ancient animal symbols that are replete with different meanings have now been placed in a new context as a part of a luxurious gym that might have been copied from an exclusive private club or the homes of the nouveau riche. Silver, bronze- and gold-coloured weights are set off by benches covered with tiger skins, black velvet and decorative flooring. And, of course, large mirrors that are part of the basic equipment of every gym. The work in question is a gym installation by the Swedish Norwegian artists Vanna Bowles and Robert Johansson entitled Thin Shell of the Body (2004) and it is displayed in Room X until 5 March.

A gym instructor – FAF Personal Trainer - will be present to instruct in the use of weights at weekends. The work brings a physical dimension to the exhibition experience and while you are pushing yourself to the limit and sweating, you can enjoy the extraordinary beauty of the equipment and maybe consider your own attitude towards your body and existing beauty ideals.

Bowles and Johansson have examined sports and games as public spectacles and as a part of the cult of the body. In 2002, they arranged an impressive boxing match in which they boxed each other in front of a large audience in Oslo’s Kunsternes Hus. In another performance, Testomony (2003), they invited Norway’s three strongest men to demonstrate their weightlifting ability. In Mera Kropp performance (2004), they collaborated with a group of children, who dressed in protective gear and played living paintbrushes in tune to rhythmic gymnastics.

ARS in Collaboration with Academy of Fine Arts

Room X situated on the third floor in the middle of the ARS exhibition offers a changing exhibition space for projects and events of shorter duration. During the ARS exhibition, the space is mostly reserved for collaboration projects with the Academy of Fine Arts. These projects are realised as different workshops. The audience can also follow the workshops and see the end results.

“Collaboration with Kiasma is a unique opportunity for the Academy of Fine Arts to develop higher education in fine arts in the context of an international exhibition. One of the aims of ARS 06 is transparency and dialogue – to give rise to a discussion that is inspired by art and continues outside the context of individual works or the exhibition. We hope that workshop projects of the Academy of Fine Arts are a part of this discussion”, says Professor Mika Hannula.

Art Taxi and Art as a Gift bring art to homes The workshop of the Department of Media Studies (Time Based Art) and sculpting students of the Academy of Fine Arts is based on the discussion about availability of art and meetings between artists and new audiences, in which the artist is an active participant and seeks direct interaction with his spectators. The students work on the idea of art as a gift and produce their works in ARS 06 or around town. The idea is to set up an ‘art taxi’ that functions like a pizza taxi, and delivers a work of art and an artist to customers when they get a sudden craving for art. During the workshop, the works are displayed in Room X and the menu will be distributed also outside the museum. The menu includes information on the ingredients of the work of art ordered, duration and spices affecting the enjoyment of the work. The menu includes paintings, sculptures, audio and video works and performances.

Students’ Blind Date is a workshop and exhibition of the results by Nordic and Baltic art students. It is the first meeting and the first joint exhibition project of over 40 students. Even though the students have prepared for the project, they arrive on the scene as if on a blind date. Students participate in joint lectures, discussions and group work. They have two weeks to construct an exhibition. It is not merely a question of an exhibition but stepping into a situation where you are forced to think in a new and fresh way about what you want as an artist, why and how – and how this relates to the needs and wishes of your neighbour.

CAMP Lab examines challenges of artistic work. The workshop of the Departments of Painting and Printmaking deals with becoming inspired by the exhibition, being influenced, getting ideas rolling, opening new avenues for discussion and commenting. The subject chosen for the workshop is the individual’s perspective on the theme of good and evil. The theme will also be considered through the concept of identity, by analysing the problem of consciousness and manifestation of good and evil in a critical light. The workshop adorned with a Camp theme functions as a laboratory, in which the participants personally face the question of identity, artistry, and the means of self-expression and stylising. Camp Lab culminates in an artistic workshop activities and a subsequent exhibition instructed by Erik Snedsbol and Jukka Korkeila.

International art students’ Collaboration workshop concentrates on collaboration in contemporary art as opposed to creations of individual geniuses somewhere in a darkened corner. Each student collaborates with a person of their choice. Not with each other but with an unknown outsider. International institutions of higher education in art are networking and seeking meaningful and fruitful means of co-operation in the context of international exhibitions. The project in Helsinki is a continuation of the Lost in Translation workshop that was part of the 9th Istanbul Biennial in 2005.

Changing projects in Room X