“dArLiNg, HaVe yOu aLrEaDy dEcIdEd wHiCh oNe tO BuY?”¹  

The above question was commonly heard during a piano-opera concert in an exhibition opening in Aatos recently. Therefore not surprisingly, the exhibition being formed here is meant to be built entirely out of spatially oriented artworks that cannot be sold in the traditional sense. The lack of the red stickers already creates a tension in this specific space ~ the described highly middle-classed art viewers are used to decorative paintings accompanied with inspirational quote-like nametags, to potentially furnish their fireplace rooms or to comply with certain gaze and capital endeavors connected to it. 

Not only locally, the above deciphered is obviously not commonly supported ~ the exhibitions aim to challenge this kind of views towards art and as well over the hill conceptualism. A seemingly arrogant statement like this is in itself extremely conceptual and there is no escape from the linguistic gaze per se, as it is vital for the real². Basically by acknowledging this we are pretending to be above sense, as conceptuality is parallelized with it. Of course in reality the presence of conceptuality ((not only) in art) is highly problematic, even though it is now commonly treated and quite unambiguously overcome in the popular theory of contemporary art³. Instead of such definite conquering, we should antitheistically overstand⁴ the big picture. Mere empty, advertised emotionality  ̶h̶a̶s̶ ̶b̶e̶c̶o̶m̶e is the tired monster it  o̶n̶c̶e̶  oppose ̶d̶ s. 

    “How the fuck do you know who you are, unless you are told over and over?⁵

Not only in a sense, sense as a socio-historical life- ̶d̶e̶f̶i̶n̶i̶n̶g̶-suppressing idea is at the end loaded with tophat android pig energy†, likewise art. Art is a privilege ~ so hardcorely that it can “overcome” concepts like mentioned and call itself free ~ while concurrently destining itself solely to the free and being the hostile worm of l'art pour l'art⁶, which it routinely opposes in public. That said, punk was never dead but too alive ~ “the dead know nothing; / they have no further reward, / and even their name is forgotten.”⁷. However, the pretentious spirit present in the ideology is fertile to keep in mind when dealing with the allegedly serious visions realized with and within art – to honor certain lowbroe-antirational-bitchiness⁸. 

    “Memorize the face before you black out 

(Memorize the face before you black out)”⁹

⟳ If performativity, the privileged, more mature twin of pretentiosity is taken to the center with processual, performative gestures towards the given social and spatial circumstances, it is likely that confluences and mutual learning are achieved. However, it is required to include the ugly, untalented and honest sibling in the play.

⟳⟳ In the historical sense, both pretentiosity and virtual refer to something fantasized. The age of cat videos has transformed the meaning of meaning and made it evident that the real has been replaced with something realer¹⁰ ~ making us ostensibly free to sculpt the image for the gaze to realize. 

 In the postmodern sense, our selves in the technological virtual are based on traces of reality, which attempt to fulfill themselves via fantasy. In the sense of the present time of 2pac and ABBA holograms, it is obvious that an imaginary event can bec̶o̶m̶e̶ (f)actual ~ art has as well recently realized this¹¹ as an opposition to belief¹². Realizing fantasy is in the center of the anxiety of contemporaneity.

⟳⟳⟳ The present has sensitized our dreams of electric sheep¹³; in r̸̨̢̨̢̖̪̱̗͈̝͈̤͓̮̻͍̉̏ͅȩ̷̡̨̪͔̘͕̩̦̝̤͖̥͕̠͉̣͎͈̰̯̠̹̼̀͂͒͝ạ̵̧̧̢̼̰̮̮̻̲͈̣̯͈̗͙̖̥͖̬̘́̎͑̈̎̀͐̿̀̑̈̈́́̉̑̈̍̓̿̀̕̕̕̕͠ͅͅͅļ̶̛̤͕͇̞̰̖̯͕̬̰̟̞̦̮̥͖̜̿̌̈͜͠ͅí̴̢̡̦̼̙͔͔̔͋̾͊̿͠͝t̷̨̨̛̙̹͈̙̭͙͉͓͖͈͎͓̗̩͖̪̼̗͖̝̗̙͑͌̈́̌̋̓̀̅̅͗̈́̊̿͛͒͂͊̌͘̚͠ͅy̴̡̰̬̪̳̯̦̆̌̌̈́̅̿̽̍͊͗͝͝, the question was (there, but) never here. Certain forester Sepe and office worker Valtteri had a similar idea about a lifetime ago¹⁴. Their summer mission was oriented with an idea of freedom: they went for a car trip with a quest to kidnap the sheep of the pigs† and slow-cook them in earth ovens in the wilderness of Kainuu(?). Their repeated and sometimes planned act becomes almost a ritual, even though the men seem to acknowledge its meaninglessness since the beginning of their journey ~ the only purpose present is the symbolic compulsivity of their actions ~ the becoming itself and intoxicated talks about snatch. 

Nevertheless, the duo realizes that abandoning the gaze together is the only way to achieve the freedom they once desired: they found themselves being groundhogs and their endeavor the rat race itself. Their pretentiosity had  ̶s̶u̶d̶d̶e̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶g̶a̶i̶n̶e̶d̶ a meaning, while their overstanding was  ̶t̶r̶a̶n̶s̶f̶o̶r̶m̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶o̶ understanding. 

As they quit, it is (self-)evident that we are not revealed what happens next. The duo becomes one and the direct absence of the gaze makes such linearity irrelevant. By committing only to each other, they assume that they would not be chained to relativity  ~ nevertheless, time will  ̶ ̶(̶p̶r̶o̶b̶a̶b̶l̶y̶)̶  (̶n̶e̶v̶e̶r̶)̶  not (yet) let them go; the hell¹⁵ is (we are) still here, awake and aware, even though the relatively untouched wilderness there could disguise them  ̶f̶o̶r̶e̶v̶e̶r̶   ̶⟳̶  

        “Watch out when walking in the woods ~ someone might be hating on you. (someone might be hating on you) Someone might hate you. (someone might hate you) I would like everything to be amazing. (I would like everything to be amazing) Amazing. (amazing) 

I would like everything to be amazing. (I would like everything to be amazing) I would like everything to be amazing. (I would like everything to be amazing) 

                        Amazing. (amazing) 

Amazing. (amazing) 

Amazing. (amazing)”¹⁶

                            - Jonne Väisänen



_______________________________
1 Summer exhibition 2019, Aatos

2 Derrida on language/reality
3 Michal Novotny, Emo-Romantic Turn. 2018.
4 jah rastafari

5 Dxxxa D “Meikä haluais että kaikki ois mahtavaa”. 2013.

6 Nietzsche’s central idiom against ‘art forart’s sake’

7 Ecclesiastes 9:5

8 (Epä-älyllisantirationaalisvittumainen) Originally a critical concept towards the tradition of continental philosophy and the “Punk Akademia” by Esa Saarinen (Jälkisanat. Sianhoito-opas. 1987), but definitely works betterasa compliment in our context – however it sounds better in Finnish

9 Dxxxa D “Meikä haluais että kaikki ois mahtavaa”. 2013

10 Brian Massumi, Realer than Real: The Simulacrum According to Deleuzeand Guattari. 1986.

11 Documentation as the artwork – today crystallized in the tradition of off-site – seealso Boris Groys, Going Public. 2011.

12 Read: tradition

— simultaneously read: made obvious

13 Philip K. Dick. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. 1968.

14 Veikko Huovinen, Lampaansyöjät (Sheep Eaters) 1970 ~ Usually falsely seen asa mere comment towards the male gazeand overall “modernization”↓

15 Sartre’s synonym for the gaze

16 Dxxxa D “Meikä haluais että kaikki ois mahtavaa”. 2013.