Nordic Postmodernism

Alvar Gullichsen's work Raba Hiff® Dr. Yes™ is a part of Kiasma's third large collection display, Nordic Post-modernism. It highlights different aspects of the art of the 1980s and early 1990s.

In its day, postmodernism raised questions about the historicism of art, the drawing of boundaries between high and low culture, the subjectivity of the artist, and the definition of identity and gender. The choice of works reflects four central themes; high & low - the unholy couple of art, sexuality - genres, multiple historical layers - fragmentation, and 'Death of the artist' - anonymous art, which this era brought with it, and which still figure prominently in Nordic visual arts.

The status and inherent value of artworks was called into question, as was the context of displaying art, the whole field of art with its galleries, museums and art periodicals. At the same time in the 1980s the popular imagery mediated by comics and the rock music world reappeared in art. This gave the field of conventional visual arts a welcome boost and introduced a reforming spirit. Although the irony was not completely toothless, the works most of all convey humour and the sense of being fun to do.

With postmodernism, the bases of art were looked for outside the world of art: in urban life and milieu, industrially produced objects, moving images, sound, the uniqueness of natural materials, the transience of works of art, recycled materials, and so forth. Installations allowed the viewers to undergo an art experience in three-dimensional space, to sense the work in full around themselves: sounds, lights, and often abundance of materials broadened the tradition of looking in the experiental direction. The pieces were not worked into finished objects; rather, there was a desire to see them as communication or a process between the artist and his or her audience, as events with no distinct beginning or end. The works, especially performances and environmental art, also required the audience to be active and open-minded enough to begin co-operation with the work of art or the artist. If they so wished, artists could turn their irony towards the structures of the art establishment, explore the boundaries between good and bad taste and express strong opinions about the state of society, its hierarchies and taboos.