Finnish Celebrities Tracking Traces

Brimming with pithy remarks and outrageous associations, the Celebrity Audio Guide has celebrities giving you their interpretations on contemporary art. The idiosyncratic and knowledgeable audio tracks can be downloaded for free at the Kiasma website.

The celebrities commenting on the Tracking Traces... collection exhibition are Remu Aaltonen, musician, Lenita Airisto, the grand old lady of Finnish business, Dome Karukoski, film director, and Maria Veitola, journalist. Director of Kiasma Berndt Arell talks about the works in Swedish, all the other tracks are in Finnish. Each interpretation is unique, shot through with the speaker’s personality, background and professional knowledge.

The Celeb Guide gives you not only the views and opinions on art of the celebrities, but also details and reminiscences from their private life, such as when Remu Aaltonen looks at Marja Kanervo’sThe First Sketch that consists of impressions of the artist’s back, he is reminded of the time he spent in jail and of black fingerprint ink. The celebrities even seem to have a shared favourite, Jiri Geller’sThe Big Time. The vibes from the work inspired no less than four different interpretations of the piece.

The Celeb Guide by the fabulous five is a complement to the museum’s ’official’ audio guide, downloadable at Kiasma’s website, which sheds light on the works in Finnish, Swedish and English. The online audio selection also includes Children’s Kiasma Radio with recordings and photos that introduce the viewer to interesting secrets of the Kiasma building itself.

The entertaining audio guides also contain a wealth of additional information, they point out things and details and invite listeners to make their own personal interpretations. The audio tracks are an easy way to make art part of everyday life on a mobile phone, MP3 player or computer. Although all audio guide tracks can be listened online, the best way to enjoy them is right here in Kiasma. Why not download a personal selection of audio guide tracks (why not download them all!) onto the phone in your pocket and come to Kiasma to track traces.

Reetta Haarajoki
The writer is a tour guide in Kiasma