Pia Lindman
28 Nov - 14 Dec 2008
PIA LINDMAN
"Herr Puntila-spiritual journeys"
28th November – 14th December 2008, Studio 2
Opening Thursday, 27th November 2008, from 7 pm
Pia Lindman’s creative work belongs to the tradition of minimalist performance and collective art, with a particular focus on the inherent performative aspect
of art production. Starting out from site-specific conventions and customs, Lindman investigates social, political and economic conditions.
Lindman describes her latest project, “Herr Puntila – spiritual journeys”, as a “participatory performance, video and drawings which relate to drinking, Wuolijoki and Brecht” and makes the visitors into protagonists and the most important component of the work.
The starting point for the project is the well-known play “Herr Puntila und sein Knecht Matti”, which Bertolt Brecht wrote together with the eminent Finnish dramatist Hella Wuolijoki in 1940, while exiled in Finland. It is about the rich, powerful but mean farmer Puntila, who treats his fellow human beings terribly and bullies them when sober. However, when he is drunk and faced by the majestic beauty of nature, he lapses into an almost ecstatic state of “spiritual cognition” and love for his fellow men. The play has many diverse aspects, but Lindman is interested in the specific Finnish drinking culture, considered remarkable even in Finland, which aims for a loss of control through intoxication - as the basic prerequisite for extreme stimulation that can lead, e.g. when simultaneously confronted by the beauty and sublime quality of nature, to an almost shamanic experience.
"Herr Puntila-spiritual journeys"
28th November – 14th December 2008, Studio 2
Opening Thursday, 27th November 2008, from 7 pm
Pia Lindman’s creative work belongs to the tradition of minimalist performance and collective art, with a particular focus on the inherent performative aspect
of art production. Starting out from site-specific conventions and customs, Lindman investigates social, political and economic conditions.
Lindman describes her latest project, “Herr Puntila – spiritual journeys”, as a “participatory performance, video and drawings which relate to drinking, Wuolijoki and Brecht” and makes the visitors into protagonists and the most important component of the work.
The starting point for the project is the well-known play “Herr Puntila und sein Knecht Matti”, which Bertolt Brecht wrote together with the eminent Finnish dramatist Hella Wuolijoki in 1940, while exiled in Finland. It is about the rich, powerful but mean farmer Puntila, who treats his fellow human beings terribly and bullies them when sober. However, when he is drunk and faced by the majestic beauty of nature, he lapses into an almost ecstatic state of “spiritual cognition” and love for his fellow men. The play has many diverse aspects, but Lindman is interested in the specific Finnish drinking culture, considered remarkable even in Finland, which aims for a loss of control through intoxication - as the basic prerequisite for extreme stimulation that can lead, e.g. when simultaneously confronted by the beauty and sublime quality of nature, to an almost shamanic experience.