Job description: knowing art

The most common question asked of Kiasma guides is "Why is this art?" Then, firmly in second position is the question "Why is this on display in Kiasma?"

Kiasma has two curators, a collections curator and an exhibitions curator. The collections curator is in charge of collections and their enhancement. The exhibitions curator plans and is responsible for the overall management of the changing exhibitions. Both are involved in making decisions on the acquisition of new works for the collections. Marja Sakari has just begun work as the exhibitions curator, having previously served as Kiasma's collections curator. It is therefore her job to think of answers to those questions that occupy the minds of museum visitors.

What does a curator do?

"A curator follows art, the production of artists and events in the field of arts. I should know what the hot topics in the art world are, and be familiar with current phenomena, both in Finnish and international fields of art. Such knowledge is basic material, not only for the planning of exhibitions but also for making decisions on the acquisition of collections. An important part of the job of a curator is to visit exhibitions and look for interesting works of art."

How do you become a Chief Curator, is your own background typical of the field?

"I am a Doctor of Art History. The study of art history is definitely quite typical of the field. But my work experience is perhaps not so typical, as its scale has been quite extensive. While I was studying, I worked as an exhibitions secretary in a gallery, then I was employed by an art-related organisation. I taught art history both at university and at the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts, and worked as a researcher in the Central Art Archives of the Finnish National Gallery and later at the Academy of Finland.  

"My extensive knowledge of the art world and its protagonists has been of great benefit to me. In this work, I've co-operated with many different people and organisations - of course preliminary planning, writing out lists and pondering exhibition themes are jobs that are often done alone, but finally putting an exhibition together demands large-scale teamwork involving many kinds of professional skills."

What do you think are the best things about your job?

"The fact that I am working with living artists. Although exhibition construction processes might be similar, their content is usually so different - you have to find out about different kinds of things, and you get to learn new things all the time. In how many jobs can you always be creating something new?
What's also great about Kiasma is the community spirit. Having got used to a certain loneliness when working as a researcher, the fact that here things are done together, in co-operation, is really productive. My colleagues are definitely one of the good things about my job."

What is the difference between studying art, which somebody has already defined as art, and deciding yourself whether something is art or even good art?

"Well, of course there is a difference, although my own field of study particularly included concept art, which constantly makes you consider what art can actually be. In concept art, the end result is not necessarily a physical object - a mere disappearing process is art. Through my research work, I have dealt with disappearing processes or processes whose limits cannot be defined, just like now in exhibition planning processes. The study of contemporary art generally differs from the study of older art pretty much. Works of art are linked to some reference framework, and a concrete object, which has a creator, is not as important as it was in older art.

As a researcher of art history, you've studied existing art and art previously defined as art. In your work as Chief Curator, you are in a position in which you must decide, sometimes merely on the basis of a concept document, whether something is art or not.

"Of course it is always an adventure to select the work of an artist based on his or her idea. You never know exactly what end result to expect, and mutual trust is necessary. A project might begin with artists coming to tell me about their ideas. First of all, you have to have faith that the creators will possess the skill to execute their ideas well. You also have to trust that the idea, when executed, will also be interesting. In such a situation, it's good to know about the earlier works of the artists and their way of working - is it probable that they will make the end result interesting? It also helps when you know the art world well enough to be able to compare an idea to others that are out there - is the idea actually interesting? You also have to know the artists, what kind of work they generally do, and what themes they are currently working with, to help in selecting work. Most exhibitions in Kiasma, however, consist of existing works, which have previously been on display somewhere else.

When you look at the works brought before you, what do you pay attention to, what are the processes upon which you can decide that something is not only art but good art?

"Most importantly, encountering contemporary art requires you to look and see without prejudice - your senses and mind should be open and receptive, and you should be ready really to see what you are looking at. Of course, looking, seeing and understanding can get quite tangled up. Contemporary art is conceptual, so very often a work will set off thought processes, might throw a question at me, as the viewer, which activates a thought process. Perhaps the hallmark of a good work is that it causes reactions on many levels. It might make you think about many things - and also create pure pleasure. Aesthetic pleasure, beauty is an essential part of visual art. In addition to aestheticism, intellectualism often plays a key role in contemporary art - a good work has the ability to create insights in its viewers.

"Good contemporary art helps us to understand something fundamental about our world, or raises a question about something, shows things from a different perspective or makes us think about familiar things in a different light. Or then in the intrinsic quality of a work, how it is actually created, there is something new and thought-provoking. Visual language cannot necessarily be made verbal. Visual experience is important; it is something that can be physically experienced here and now. Art only happens in and through the viewer. The more knowledge I have of art, the more I project my own self into a work. I am perhaps able to draw more from it, to get more out of it. Contemporary art is a continuum, not a series of individual works, so the more knowledge I have of this continuum, the better I can relate the works to their contexts. In contemporary art, works may comment on other works or ideas of other artists, and if I don't know what art-related topic the work in question is alluding to, I might completely misunderstand it." 

Is power a burden? After all, you have to make decisions on whose work will perhaps still be interesting in decades to come - what if you make the wrong assessment?

"It's a great responsibility. Sure, we at Kiasma are also gate-keepers of the art world - we form a kind of screen, which, once artists have passed through, gives them more credibility, both at home and internationally. That is a difficult question, but I believe that nowadays the world is so open that the responsibility for preserving art for future generations does not merely rest on the shoulders of a handful of individuals."

What are the guidelines for Kiasma's exhibitions, is Kiasma a national or international museum?

"This year, we have a very interesting range of exhibitions on display: some of them present classics of contemporary art, and some approach the most topical contemporary art in a thematic way. I also hope that young artists will make a name for themselves in our exhibitions. The guidelines by which Kiasma is progressing and will continue to progress are precisely these: international classics of contemporary art, topical and thematically constructed exhibitions, and new art that is only now being created.

"The role of Kiasma is two-fold. Kiasma's most important job is to support Finnish art, and to acquire, preserve and display significant domestic contemporary art. On the other hand, it is also our job to display in Finland internationally significant art, to bring interesting art here for people to see. Kiasma is an internationally renowned national gallery, which is also tasked with ensuring that Finnish art is seen abroad." 

-Milla Unkila