Susan Philipsz
dal 11/3/2010 al 10/4/2010
Segnalato da
11/3/2010
Susan Philipsz
Helsinki Central Railway Station, Helsinki
The IHME Project 2010 is the new sound installation When Day Closes designed by artist Susan Philipsz for the Helsinki Central Railway Station. In the work the artist performs unaccompanied The Song of My Heart, composed by Jean Sibelius to a poem by Aleksis Kivi. The IHME Project is exhibited in the Central Hall of the Railway Station and it can be heard from 3 pm to 11 pm every day.
The IHME Project 2010 is the new sound installation When Day Closes designed by artist Susan Philipsz for the Helsinki Central Railway Station. In the work the artist performs unaccompanied ‘The Song of My Heart´ (Sydämeni laulu) composed by Jean Sibelius to a poem by Aleksis Kivi. The IHME Project is exhibited in the Central Hall of the Railway Station during 12 March-11 April 2010 and it can be heard from 3 pm to 11 pm every day.
Scottish artist Susan Philipsz (born 1965), who lives in Berlin, is a sculptor by education. She is interested in the spatial and sculpture-like qualities of sound. The psychological effects of song, and how songs can awake direct emotions and memories, are also among the main premises of her artistic work.
Philipsz is interested in the themes of loss and longing in the Finnish 19th century Tuonela lullabies. The song accompanies people from one place and state of mind to another as they pass through the railway station.
"I have chosen Song of My Heart (Sydämeni laulu) by Aleksis Kivi, the author of the first novel in the Finnish language, set to music by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. I appropriate this familiar Finnish tune by situating it in the very public context of the South Hall of Helsinki´s Central Railway Station, designed by Eliel Saarinen. My rendition of Song of My Heart utilises the high vaulted ellipsoid ceiling of the Main Hall of Helsinki´s Central Railway Station. By projecting sound upwards, into the domed ceiling the sound travels around the curve, falling on the other side, creating a ‘whispering gallery´ effect. In this project I want to contrast the intimacy of the lullaby with the bustle and movement of the most traversed public building in Finland, where over 200,000 people pass through every day", tells Susan Philipsz.
The IHME Project will open on Thursday, 11 March. On the same day a public event will be held in which curator Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev discusses with Susan Philipsz her work in general and her newly opened artwork in particular. Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev is currently preparing the documenta 13 exhibition that will take place in Kassel, Germany in 2012.
The event is on 11 March at 5 pm, VR Auditorium, Rautatienkatu1, Helsinki. The entrance to the auditorium is on the right-hand side of the station entrance on Rautatientori.
The IHME Days, a discussion forum on contemporary art and society, are being held for the second time on March 26-28, 2010, at the Old Student House in Helsinki, Finland.
In the spirit of Susan Philipsz's IHME Project, this year's themes are sound as art work and art in public space. The programme begins on Friday with a series of lectures discussing sound in art. Participating in the discussion are among others artist and researcher Petri Kuljuntausta (Helsinki), artist Carl Michael von Hausswolff (Stockholm) and sound designer Jim McKee (San Francisco).
Saturday's presentations offer perspectives on Susan Philipsz's art and her IHME Project. This includes Lynne Cooke, formerly curator of Dia Art Foundation and currently chief curator at the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, who will talk about Philipsz's art in the context of her contemporaries and the sound-art scene.
The IHME workshops begin on Friday with YLE Radio Atelier's Sound Workshop, followed by Sari Kaasinen's Lullaby Workshop and Mieskuoro Huutajat's Shouting Workshop on Saturday. On Sunday a workshop produced by Pixelache gives children an opportunity to construct electronic instruments.
Sunday's theme is art in public space. This year's international keynote speaker is Mary Jane Jacob (USA). The theme is carried on in the IHME Marathon, which introduces Finnish contemporary artists and engages them in discussion. The evening ends with The Trial, in which topical issues are discussed using the trial format.
For the full programme please visit: http://www.ihme2010.fi
Contact: Pro Arte Foundation Finland
Kalevankatu 4, 2nd floor
00100 Helsinki
Finland
Tel.+358 (0)9-4289 9778
Fax. +358 9 2783388
E-mail: info@proartefoundation.fi
Opening 12 March 2010
Helsinki Central Railway Station
The project can be heard from 3 pm to 11 pm every day