Take good care of art

"More than anything else I must emphasise that caring for the collection is teamwork," says Marja Sakari, senior curator in Kiasma, and adds, "You must co-operate above all with conservators and exhibition technicians."

Marja Sakari explains the brass tacks of tending the collections. The bottom line is to ensure that the works are in a condition that allows them to be displayed for the public. Every time a collection exhibition is mounted, the collection is also maintained by, for example, mounting works on paper in frames or fixing parts in installations.

Hanging contemporary works differs quite a lot from the way old art is displayed, because contemporary art is different and often composed of many parts. A case in point is Markus Copper's huge whale, Archangel of Seven Seas, which incorporates electronic machinery that must function properly. Complex technology places tough demands on the display of works. It is not unlike switching on a machine in a factory; everything must work perfectly. This cannot be accomplished without special skills.

Works on the road

The Kiasma collection has about 9,000 works. Some of them are dormant, as it were, in storage, but in principle they too must be kept representable, in a sort of state of alert. For instance, there is currently a huge show of works from Kiasma's collection on exhibit in Vestfossen, Norway.

"It is a huge job to export such an exhibition. The works must first be taken from storage here to Kiasma for packing, and when the works are big it is no easy task to move them. The mere transport is quite a feat," Sakari says. Moreover, works are 'deposited' in the residences, reception facilities and offices of Finnish embassies, as it is "particularly important that great works of Finnish contemporary art are also seen abroad. They too are part of our collections and require maintenance from time to time," she says.

Shifting boundaries between the Ateneum Art Museum and Kiasma

The boundaries of contemporary art are always in flux. To prevent problems, the timing of Kiasma's collection is based on a zoning scheme, which allows works classifiable as Modernist art to be moved from Kiasma over to the Ateneum.

The boundary between the collections of the Ateneum Art Museum and Kiasma was last reviewed in the spring, with the result that works by artists who started their career before 1960 were moved to the Ateneum. Such revision may be necessary every ten years or so. Although it is significant for the maintenance of the collection, it does not affect display. For instance, the works by Kain Tapper that were recently moved to the Ateneum Art Museum will be exhibited in the autumn in Kiasma.

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