GLORIOUS COLOURS AND NEW DISCOVERIES

It was only a week after the Fjords when I left for Helsinki. This had been planned for months and I was looking forward to seeing close friends again. It is the Designer Year in Finland - the same we had visited with Laurent and Jerome in Turkey two years ago. What I had seen in Istanbul had not been remarkable - or rather, should I say, «bitty» as there were a few good things and other creations which were not to our liking. Was Helsinki to be the same? 

«She» had her autumn dress on for me and the colours were magic. Some trees seemed to be half red, half yellow and yet still quite green. I had not seen this before, not even in Canada or New Jersey where the colours are renowned for their glory. The wild fruit and mushrooms were everywhere - to the extent that I said «perhaps we should start a stall on the market place.....?» So many greens, so many colours - this was design in itself.

Another country to come later in the week....

From the Kitchen

Yellow skies

Growing wine at home in Finland!

And you can eat it too

From the woods

Our first outing was to see the retrospective of Helene Schjerfbeck’s work. I knew her name and had seen one or two of her portraits in an exhibition in Paris. It was the 150th anniversary of the birth of one of the most important and recognized artists in the entire Nordic region. 1862-1946. She surprised many of her period by travelling and working in Paris and other European countries. No names of European artists were mentioned. Leon Bonnat was her teacher in Paris but hardly a well known painter.  What I like about her work is that she proclaimed in the early 30’s that she didn’t want to be an "ist "-" impressionist", "futurist" .....she has an incredible pallet and was modern in her approach for her period. Two major love affairs but both went wrong. One in France with an Englishman but to this day, no-one knows who he was. The other in her home country and that was a catastrophe too. This comes out in her self portraits at the end of her life where she was painting from memory for many of her themes but many of her self portraits were tragic and as if painting a death mask.

Self portraits

Dancing shoes 1882

Portrait the year before she died

After El Greco

Self portrait

We saw two major events for the Design year. One, the photography with a few graphic works was pretty mediocre to our tastes and neither Helena nor I wanted to stay on. However, there was a more interesting side in that pavilion with lego and a children’s set up to build as much as you wanted to....I don’t have to tell you who the fans were, do I? 

Just for fun - a wooden figure

Lego

Fathers everywhere

A Taiwanese centre caught our eye. Impressive china tea pots and cups which unfortunately were not for sale. Or perhaps fortunately? 


The following day at «More Every Day Discoveries» there was much to discover. Fascinating too as we discovered Icons from many countries - local creations and most of them I could not have placed. Perhaps the Fiat car from Italy? But England?

Very uninteresting entry to halls....

Turkish toothbrushes on glass

Wearing this?(England)

Or this from Finland?

Exercise in the pool - from France

Invented by an English woman

The next generation of "oldies".......

Who will be able to sit down in the street....

A few marvelous finds like the clip on to glass toothbrush invention from Turkey. Or these work out aqua gym sets from France. The pole in the street which could be used as a little seat...but no-one will be wearing the jumper from the UK or the dress from Finland. And if you see a parent wandering around this way.....here there was a lot to see and each country presented did have quite a lot to offer. My different cameras had by now run out of juice....

After Helena, I did not try

but there was one last shot of a so called design seat in the street.....

Coming home, Helena said  "how about the Kuma?" Where was that? In Estonia - Tallinn. So you knew that this was the capital of Estonia? 500 000 inhabitants? Not too far from the Finish coast? You are better than I am. My knowledge of Estonia is high tech as I do remember that it was the first country to allow voting for the parliamentary elections by Internet in 2007 and renowned for it’s H.T. environment and knowledge.

It was a fast trip over by hydrofoil in the morning but the sea was a little choppy. We arrived in brilliant sunshine and took the tramway to the museum. As a member of the European Union, euros were in place and yet the whole atmosphere seemed oldy worldy - until we got to the museum which was very modern. Not unlike a Guggenheim design either. 

Kuma entrance

A semi-circular building

Closer in

The permanent exhibitions take us through from the Estonian art of the 18th century to 1991. The temporary exhibition which we saw «Difficult Choices» 1945-1991 introduced Estonian art from the Soviet period. A difficult period indeed and this art had the ability to overview and express disapproval or sympathy recording these changes. All the schools we know in Europe are there - Modernism, Pop Art, Hyperrealism etc. Many times I said, «oh that has a Mondrian Influence, a Cubic, A Munch, A Dubuffet ....and yet, each painting had its own character and perhaps these artists with their unpronounceable names had only been influenced by paintings in books after all. 

Valve Janov 1921-2003

Valve Janov 1921-2003

Henn Roode

Nikolai Kormanson 1929 - Budapest

Märt Laarman 1896-1979

Maart Laarman ?

 A few interesting bits and pieces from the Permanent collection too.....

Riho Kuld - 1(936) Scuba Diver

Karl Pärsimägi

Karl Pärsimägi 1902-1942

Karl Pärsimägi

Chair Installation - Old tyres

It's a delightful medieval city. A mixture of styles, castles, restaurants and cafés.....

Kadriorg Palace now a museum

Finish Embassy with apple tree

Australian Restaurant

A flower market

The ramparts lit up

 and at one moment, I was glad of the Iphone. Our return ferry had been canceled due to rough seas and this is when the Hi-Tech development did not work very well. The number we were to ring - never answered. Helena knew at least that I was asked to hang on...and the input on the computer at the ticket station was back in the dark ages...

We upgraded to get home

but we got back on an ordinary and very comfortable ferry even if we were at home at 2am the following morning!


Each moment was different, each discovery, interesting and being in such an environment with close friends

Tytti

and Tytti who I will «dog sit» if my friends would like to get away for a week.