24 hours with Pipilotti Rist

The Swiss-born superstar of media artPipilotti Rist visited Kiasma in May. She checked the premises for her upcoming exhibition Elixir and met with staff from Kiasma. The hectic 24-hour visit was hosted by Chief CuratorArja Miller.

TUESDAY, 19 MAY, 4 PM

Pipilotti Rist arrives in Kiasma straight from the airport and wants to get down to business right away. She is an imposing person, fast in her movements, darting this way and that, operating at high speed. Pipilotti has already donned her work clothes, elegant overalls in dark blue canvas. We quickly scan her schedule and move straight on to the galleries.

The artist’s first question is why we wanted her exhibition in Kiasma in the first place. And, also, why is it organised in cooperation with the Boijmans Van Beuningen museum from Rotterdam. She is very direct in both speech and action, and expects no less from others. I often find myself using the phrase ’to be honest’, especially when I have to speak about difficult or awkward things. When I start a sentence with this phrase, Pipilotti looks me straight in the eye and says: ’It’s always important to be direct’.

I tell her we have been wanting a major show of her work for a long time, but that the schedules have just never fitted before. Her exhibition in Stockholm a couple of years ago was an important experience for me personally. I went there with some female friends and we all felt a collective, bubbling joy. That’s a very rare thing, for art is always a very private experience. We reclined in the gallery, watching the works, holding hands and sharing our wonder at the lushness of the works. I am convinced that many people will be able to feel something at least as powerful in Kiasma.

Pipilotti Rist’s works are very site-specific. Although the initial idea was to bring Elixir to Kiasma in its original format, it will be revised to fit the spatial requirements of the building. The fifth floor in Kiasma is demanding and sweeping as an exhibition space. When Pipilotti inspects the venues, her works expand or shrink as the space demands.

TUESDAY, 19 MAY, 8.30 PM

It’s half past eight when we finally get down to dinner. Pipilotti reads the menu carefully and wants to know which of the dishes are organic. We end up recommending Arctic char. The conversation meanders; we talk about Finnish and Swiss society and their differences. I’m once again reminded of the peculiarity of Switzerland. The country produces rebel artists, even though the orderly German-speaking Swiss society is the very antithesis of the exuberance of Pipilotti’s art.

Because of the intensity of her personality, the artist is very interested in everything around her. She asks me about Helsinki and in particular about the films of Aki Kaurismäki; she is a fan. Pipilotti’s brother even has a bar named Helsinki in Zurich.

WEDNESDAY, 20 MAY, 9 AM

The next day we get down to the nitty-gritty. We check the places for texts in the gallery, the location of the shoe rack and where to hang the projectors. Their positioning and projection angles require precise calculations, and Kiasma’s technicians have their work cut out for them making plans and preparations. The artist was accompanied to Helsinki by her project manager Jo Dunkel and her technological sidekick Käthe Walser. Based on their reconnaissance the previous day, they had already discussed matters and now present their new plan.

Pipilotti is adamant that she wants to include her work Apple Tree Innocent on the Diamond Hill in the exhibition. She redesigned a version of the piece just for Kiasma, where instead of one tree there are several trees of different sizes and also branches. Pipilotti wishes to use the Finnish archetypal tree, the birch. The Park Division of the City of Helsinki has promised to help us find suitable trees. Trees that have died in winter or are marked for thinning are perfect for the purpose. Furthermore, birch is not particularly susceptible to wasps or other bugs, so conservators at Kiasma also consider it an excellent choice.

We are finally ready to go to lunch. Pipilotti takes a short break and dashes to the shops to buy Finnish Reino slippers as a souvenir.

WEDNESDAY, 20 MAY, 1 PM

After lunch, we talk about events around the exhibition and the guided tours and communications. There is a lot of material about Pipilotti’s work on Youtube, for example, and we watch it together. Although the artist generously shares her work online, she nevertheless prefers personal contacts. She does not want to be on Facebook, for example, because she already has pangs of conscience for not meeting enough with her friends.

When planning an exhibition, it is important that as many people as possible on the staff in Kiasma meet the artist. This allows things to be discussed face to face and many items can be accomplished in one go. Living artists make contemporary art special and interesting. All artists are not as generous and giving as Pipilotti Rist, however. I am genuinely happy to have met her again.

WEDNESDAY, 20 MAY, 4 PM

Return journey to Zurich begins.

Arja Miller’s thoughts were compiled by Piia Laita