EMMA Magazine (pdf)

MAGAZINE
OF THE ESPOO
MUSEUM OF
MODERN ART
Autumn 2012

2 EMMA
Exhibitions + Contents
3 EDITORIAL
What does a museum
look like?
JAUME PLENSA La Llarga Nit, 2010. Jonty Wilde © Yorkshire Sculpture Park, UK. BRITTISH POSTER © The State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.
PER MANING Oscar, 1988. BUGS BUNNY Copyright © Warner Bros., Inc.
Jaume Plensa /
In the Midst of Dreams /
14.11.2012–27.1.2013
The World in a Suitcase /
Juhani Harri’s Assemblages /
11.11.2011-17.3.2013
Per Maning /
6.3.-9.6.2013
No Smoke, No Dirt, No Work /
Lithographic Posters from
Great Britain 1890–1940 /
14.11.2012–27.1.2013
The Saastamoinen Foundation
Art Collection /
Permanently
Bugs Bunny And Friends /
Animation Drawings from
The Warner Bros. Studios
1930–1960 / 6.3.–5.5.2013
4 JAUME PLENSA
Sculptor of light
and images
6 WORKS FROM
THE SAASTAMOINEN
FOUNDATION
ART COLLECTION
7 PUBLIC ART FROM
EMMA’S COLLECTIONS
8 NO SMOKE,
NO DIRT, NO WORK
Lithographic posters
from Great Britain
1890–1940
10 EXHIBITIONS
& CALENDAR
11 UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS
Publisher EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art / Editor-in-chief Pilvi Kalhama /
Production editor Inari Ranta / Editorial board Ari Karttunen, Päivi Karttunen, Nana
Salin, Hannele Savelainen, Liisa Smeds, Päivi Talasmaa / Image editor Ari Karttunen /
Graphic design and layout Dog Design / Printing house Lönnberg Painot Oy
THE MAGAZINE OF
ESPOO MUSEUM
OF MODERN ART
PRINT EDITION 25 000 / NEXT ISSUE MARCH 2013 / CHANGE OF ADDRESS, ORDERS (GRATIS)
AND FEEDBACK: INFO@EMMA.MUSEUM / CONTACT INFORMATION ON BACK COVER /
FRONT COVER JAUME PLENSA SITTING TATTOO XI, 2008. PHOTO: © JAUME PLENSA

EMMA 3
Editorial
What does
a museum
look like?
I hope that
experiences
of EMMA
will be impressive,
yet fresh and
substantial.
Since last spring, we here at
EMMA have given a great deal
of thought to what a museum
should look like to the outside
world. We created a new visual
image for the museum and a
new website, which has a fresh
look, an airier feel and more
images than before. The website
was launched in the summer. EMMA magazine
also has a new look. The purpose of the
changes is to communicate EMMA’s art content
more effectively than before.
The appearance that visitors perceive – often
even before coming to the museum – is extremely
important. It creates the first impression,
which is a subjective emotional state rather
than simply a fact based on visual information.
Therefore, creating a visual image is not about
imposing an image on the museum from the outside.
It is about the true essence of EMMA – the
experience that continues as the visitor enters
the exhibition through the lounge. The image involves
visual promises that must be kept.
I hope that experiences of EMMA will be impressive,
yet fresh and substantial. I hope visitors
feel that the museum is current, distinctive
and even bold at times. Our facilities alone communicate
these qualities through the interplay
of glass, concrete and architectonic dimensions,
creating a fascinating setting for modern classics
and contemporary art. Exhibitions breathe the
spirit and prestige of the museum, but they also
guide visitors on the road to discovery, exploration
and surprise.
Art in itself is strongly visual, but the experience
is not limited to visual perception. Our visual
perceptions affect us not only physically, but
also on the level of emotions and experiences.
Art offers experiences that shape our thinking,
ideas and values. The overall appearance of a
museum includes the full range of experiences,
from Facebook all the way to the dialogue between
works of art in the exhibition space. The
museum has experts for all of these aspects.
These elements constitute the museum’s attraction
– something that is included in EMMA’s
new strategy. When considering how various details
make EMMA look to our customers, we are
actually asking what the museum feels like. •
Pilvi Kalhama
Museum Director

4
TEXT / TIINA PENTTILÄ
JAUME PLENSA
This autumn, the space for changing
exhibitions at EMMA will
display In the Midst of Dreams
by Jaume Plensa (b. 1955 in
Barcelona), an award-winning
artist of international fame.
The installations of sculptures
from 2004 to 2012 constitute an
exhibition centred around light
and energy at the darkest time of the year.
Modern sculpture?
Plensa’s works can be described as astonishing
– in terms of scope, quality and distinctiveness.
His materials include steel, iron, bronze, brass,
alabaster, glass, plastic, resin, glass fibre, paper,
water, fire, light, darkness, sound, music, words
and texts. His works have been exhibited in museums
and galleries around the world. Plensa is also
known for his international public sculptures and
art projects. In addition, Plensa has designed sets
and costumes for opera and theatre productions.
For Plensa, sculpture is about the spirituality
of matter, interaction between mind and matter.
It is about transferring energy to objects. Time is
a more important concept than space for Plensa.
Time is individual and collective memory that
mirrors us all and the state of humanity. In this
respect, Plensa is a classical sculptor.
The exhibition is named after In the Midst of
Dreams (2009), an installation that reflects many
of the key characteristics of Plensa’s art. In his
works, large-scale heads, words, letters and light
give shape to intangible ideas. Using representative
and recognisable forms, usually human figures,
Plensa studies the universal themes of being
human: love, despair, memory and language.
Dialogue between light and shadows
Dialogue is essential to Plensa’s art. At the exhibition,
the visitor interacts with individual
works as well as installations of works.
In the exhibition, the visitor can experience
transitions into something new, something never
Many of my works
reflect the dualism
between body and
soul. My light works,
for example, have
a moving light inside
them. It could be
the soul we can never
find within the body.
Plensa, 2011

EMMA 5
MICHAEL BODYCOMB © GALERIE LELONG NEW YORK
Jaume Plensa: In the Midst of Dreams. The artist’s works were presented in Galerie Lelong New York in 2009.
seen before. How does it feel to walk through
Glückauf?, a curtain made of iron letters?
Elsewere, almost two meter high elongated girls’
faces made of alabaster make the visitor stop. The
experience is captivating. Smaller-scale sculptures
and installations of steel and bronze create
a new feel of space and time for the visitor.
The light travelling through sculptures made of
steel or iron letters creates lacy shadows around
the works – the sculptures are breathing. Soul,
body and shadows are inseparable. There is no
soul without a body, no body without shadows.
Letters are important in Plensa’s art. For him,
a letter is much like a cell with a cell memory.
Alone, letters are lifeless, but they come alive
when combined with other letters. The works
with resin surfaces have words written on the surface,
on the skin. Plensa believes that everything
we have experienced is written on our bodies in
transparent ink. Only those closest to us – friends
and loved ones – are able to read our experiences.
Universal beauty
Plensa differs from many contemporary artists in
that he reveals the beauty of human beings instead
of violence and horror. One of his key purposes is
to invite people to listen to themselves and find
their own words again. According to Plensa, we
try too much to live up to impressions and images,
without understanding our shadow. The most dangerous
mistake in life is to lose close contact with
our shadow. These moments in shadows and light
can be experienced at EMMA this autumn. •
Jaume Plensa / In the Midst of Dreams /
14 November 2012 to 27 January 2013

6 EMMA
Works from the Saastamoinen
Foundation Art Collection
TEXT / PÄIVI KARTTUNEN
PHOTOS / ARI KARTTUNEN, EMMA
NANNA HÄNNINEN
Sunset on Skyscraper in New York. 2010.
Chromogenic photographic print.
80 x 100 cm ed. 1/5
Nanna Hänninen’s multiple exposure of skyscrapers
in New York creates an abstract image. The work is
based on the time the artist spent at the Mazzano
Romano residential studio in 2001. It was in this small
town near Rome where she followed news about
the collapse of the World Trade Center.
LEENA LUOSTARINEN
Golden Lute. 2012.
Oil on canvas. 100 x 80 cm
Golden Lute, a painting by Leena Luostarinen, was
inspired by the artist’s travel experiences in the East.
The face of the woman playing the lute is peaceful.
Her hands move like swans, and the colour of her skirt
is captivating. Her pale hands and face lend an Eastern
feel of light to the picture. Golden Lute offers a rich and
vibrant yet wistful taste of life. This painting makes music!
LEENA NIO
Jungle Book I. 2011.
Oil on canvas. 220 x 260 cm
Jungle Book I, a painting by Leena Nio, is based
on overlapping images. It both teases and pleases
the eye: background or surface? Neither – a space.
Through a striped surface painted freehand, the viewer
sees a large animal and is taken on a journey into
the transparent and dreamlike world of Jungle Book,
a painting exploring space in a fascinating way.

EMMA 7
TEXT / TARJA TALVITIE
PHOTOS / ARI KARTTUNEN, EMMA
PUBLIC ART
FROM
EMMA’S
COLLECTIONS
A
project of many years is nearing
its completion: Pekka Kauhanen
(b. 1954) is showing a
final “dress” that only needs
the finishing touches before it
becomes part of Apparition,
the winning work of an environmental
art competition in
Espoo. The first three of the
five “dresses” appeared on lamp posts in the centre
of Espoo in 2008. The work is about five wise
virgins, the last two of which will appear in the
Espoo streetscape in November 2012.
The journey from an idea to a completed
work is long and varied. The idea finds form in
a sketch, which is followed by a model made of
polystyrene and plaster. The model is used to
make moulds for casting metal. The final stages
are grinding, polishing and patination.
Kauhanen, a sculptor from Espoo, has collaborated
with caster Arto Hyyryläinen for a
long time. Together, they choose the metals for
each work, based on multiple factors. Apparition
is a combination of aluminium and aluminium
bronze, which makes the work light but durable.
“An artwork made in this manner is guaranteed to
last for 500 years at the least,” says Kauhanen. •
Pekka Kauhanen and the last of five wise virgins.
Apparition in the Kirkkosilta Park in the centre of Espoo.

8 EMMA
TEXT / HANNELE SAVELAINEN
PHOTO / © THE STATE PUSHKIN MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, MOSCOW
NO SMOKE
NO DIRT
NO WORK
Lithographic posters
from Great Britain
1890–1940
The exhibition presents 100 fascinating
British posters from
the time when the modern
poster was born and became
a visible part of public spaces.
It offers diverse insights
into poster art as a product of
modern consumer society – a
phenomenon that seamlessly
combines art and design with social change,
propaganda, commercialism and humour.
The British posters are from the Pushkin State
Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, as is Irina
Nikiforova, the curator of the exhibition.
The exhibition has three themes: the birth
and rise of British poster art from the 1890s to
Charles Cromble: Electric heating. No Smoke,
No Dirt, No Work. 1913. Lithography.

EMMA 9
the 1930s, public transport posters in London
and Shell posters from the 1930s.
Propaganda, electric radiators and
other phenomena of modern life
From the 1890s to the 1930s
Great Britain became the leader in poster art in
the early twentieth century. This was due to the
high standard of printing technology and the development
of commercial advertising as well as
readily available markets and advertising agencies.
At the same time, new art institutes produced
diversely skilled artists who were able to create
modern posters in which texts and images were
seamlessly integrated with clear surfaces and outlines.
Advertising became a form of art, and those
creating commercial art were regarded as artists.
Posters were used to advertise theatre performances,
books, magazines and a diversity of new
British posters in Moscow
The years of the revolution inspired people in Russia to
collect Western posters in the 1920s. The first Western
lithographic posters were acquired by the State
Museum of New Western Art in 1926 from an exhibition
of Western revolutionary art in Moscow. Russians
continued to collect foreign posters in the 1930s. In 1948,
Stalin closed down the State Museum of New Western
Art, and more than 2,000 lithographic posters were secretly
rushed to the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts.
From a post of the Royal Mail
to a modern poster
In the English language, the word “poster” originally
referred to a “post” – a concise written message
delivered by the Royal Mail around England. Developed
over centuries, this concise and often pithy form of communication
was reflected in the clear, slogan-like and
often humorous expression in modern British posters.
The development of lithography, a new printing
method, made large and inexpensive proof runs
possible in the mid-nineteenth century. By the end
of the nineteenth century, highly reproducible
colour posters had developed into a form of art
and an important part of the streetscape.
products designed for modern life, from electric
radiators to cigarettes. The satire and parody in
the posters strongly reflects the centuries-long
British cartoon tradition.
Eye-catchers at underground stations
Public transport in London from the 1900s to the 1930s
From the early 1900s on, posters were used to
increase the popularity of public transport and
particularly underground railways in London.
Top artists from Britain and abroad were hired
to design a campaign after the different kinds of
public transport had been merged into a single
company in 1933.
Among others, Edward McKnight Kauffer,
John Frederick Banting, Austin Cooper and
Edward Wadsworth created bold and experimental
posters for the campaign. They were
avant-gardists who had developed their work in
the spirit of Cubism, Futurism and Surrealism.
Many of their posters have become classics of
British art and advertisement design.
Public transport posters were placed in underground
stations. The posters were used to
advertise sights, museums, historical sites and
events in London as well as the London Underground,
which enabled people to get around in
the city. A common symbol and a consistent typographic
style were created for public transport
posters in the 1910s.
“All people prefer Shell – tourists,
shopkeepers, judges, sailors…”
1930s
Created by top artists, the Shell poster campaign
from the 1930s remains one of the absolute
highlights of the history of advertising art.
The Dutch-British oil company Shell launched
its first poster campaign in the 1920s. A new era
began in the 1930s, when Shell invited progressive
artists to design a poster campaign. These
artists included the surrealists Paul Nash,
Graham Sutherland and Tristam Hillier as well
as Edward McKnight Kauffer, who was known
as “the Picasso of advertisement design”.
The new poster campaign featured two
themes. The first advertised Shell subtly by associating
English nature and sights to the company’s
reliability. The second theme created
an image of Shell as the choice of people of all
professions: from actors to sailors, all people
“prefer Shell”. •

10 EMMA
Exhibitions & Calendar
EVENTS
www.emma.museum/
en/tapahtumat
MUSIC IN EMMA!
Sat 5.1.2013
Spanish rhythm and
light in middle of Finnish
winter! Come and enjoy
vibrant music surrounded
by powerful sculptures of
Jaume Plensa. Included in
the admission fee.
S-CUSTOMER-OWNER DAY
Sun 2.12.2012 with S-Card
8 € (normal charge 10 €).
WORKSHOPS
www.emma.museum/
en/tyopajat
FOR ADULT AND COMPANY
GROUPS
ART SPARKLES
Have fun making art with
a bit of inspiration from
bubbly and bites.
FOR CHILDREN
OVER 4 YEARS
CHILDREN’S
WORKSHOP INVITATIONS
Celebrating birthdays or
creating art with friends.
GUIDED TOURS
www.emma.museum/
en/opastukset
ART QUARTER, WIRKKALA
ART QUARTER, ART HOUR,
ART BRIDGE
GUIDED TOURS
FOR CHILDREN
CHILDREN’S HOUR and
CHILDREN’S QUARTER
RESERVATIONS
Mon-Fri 9–12 am,
tel. (09) 8163 0493
www.emma.museum/
en/book-guided-tour
ACCESSIBILITY
EMMA is very accessible.
For additional information:
www.emma.museum/
info/saavutettavuus
Changes possible.
14 November 2012 to 27 January 2013
Jaume Plensa /
In The Midst of Dreams
Read more page 4.
14 November 2012 to 27 January 2013
No Smoke,
No Dirt, No Work /
Litographic Posters from
Great Britain 1890-1940 /
Posters from the Pushkin
Museum Collection
Read more page 8.
11 November 2011 to 17 March 2013
The World in a Box /
Assemblage by Juhani Harri
Juhani Harri’s (1939-2003) assemblages. Objects worn
by time and weather, found in flea markets, litterbins
and nature form the “palette” from which Harri builds
his nostalgic tales.
Permanently
The Saastamoinen
Foundation Art Collection
With its nearly 500 works, the Saastamoinen
Foundation Collection fills half of EMMA’s total
exhibition space. The current hanging, Red, consists
primarily of contemporary works that revel in
the myriad hues of red. They span the entire field
of visual arts, from video and photographic art to
painting and sculpture.
Get more
out of art!

EMMA 11
Upcoming exhibitions
6 March to 5 May 2013
Bugs Bunny
And Friends /
Animation Drawings
from The Warner Bros.
Studios 1930–1960
This exhibition for the entire family features familiar
characters: Bugs Bunny, Tweety and Sylvester, Woody
Woodpecker, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam,
Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner and many others.
Previously, these treasures of an American collector
have been exhibited at the Museum of Modern
Art in New York, among other places. In Europe,
the exhibition has only been seen at the National
Museum of Cinema in Turin before this.
The exhibition is an excellent illustration of how
demanding and time-consuming animations were
to produce before the digital era.
6 March to 9 June 2013
Per Maning
Next spring, EMMA will exhibit photographs and
videos by Per Maning (b. 1943), an internationally
renowned Norwegian artist. Above all, he is
known for his black-and-white images of animals:
dogs, cows, horses, pigs and monkeys. His photographs
of seals were exhibited at the Venice
Biennale in 1995, which marked an international
breakthrough for the artist.
For Maning, people and animals are equal,
each representing their species. This enables nonverbal
communication between the photographer,
the object and the viewer. Maning has also studied
himself, represented by actor Nils Sletta in Selfportrait
(1997–98), a series of photographs.
Previously, his works have been exhibited twice in
Finland: in an exhibition at the photographic gallery
Hippolyte in 1999 and as part of the exhibition “Animal,
Anima, Animus” at the Pori Art Museum in 1998.
Bugs Bunny & company are coming to EMMA in spring 2013.
Copyright © Warner Bros., Inc.
Per Maning’s art deals with the central questions of humanity,
identity and otherness. His work takes part in contemporary
art’s ongoing discussion on the relationship between
humans and other species. Per Maning: Cow, 1989-93.

Veranda
video
Gallery
JUHANI HARRI
11.11.2011-17.3.2013
Agora
stairs
JAUME PLENSA
14.11.2012-27.1.2013
Saastamoinen
Foundation Art Collection
Passage
RED
Salon
elevator
EMMA Shop
Ilme
workshop
NO SMOKE,
NO DIRT, NO WORK
14.11.2012-27.1.2013
EMMA
BOX 6661, FI-02070 ESPOON KAUPUNKI
WEEGEE, AHERTAJANTIE 5, TAPIOLA
+358 (0)9 8165 7512
WWW.EMMA.MUSEUM
OPEN
TUE, THU, FRI 11–18
WED 11–20, FOR FREE 18–20
SAT, SUN 11–17
BOOK A GUIDED TOUR
MON-FRI 9-12
+358 (0)9 8163 0493
WWW.EMMA.MUSEUM/EN
TICKETS
WEEGEE TICKET 10/8 €
(THE WHOLE BUILDING = 5 MUSEUMS)
WITH S-CARD 9 €
VISITORS UNDER 18 AND OVER 70
ARE ADMITTED FREE
BUSES
FROM HELSINKI KAMPPI BUS TERMINAL: 106, 110
BUSES IN ESPOO: 15, 18, 18Z
WWW.HSL.FI
THE WEEGEE EXHIBITION CENTRE
FIVE MUSEUMS, GALLERY,
MUSEUM SHOPS, SIS.DELI + CAFÉ,
CONFERENCE ROOMS
+358 (0)9 8163 1818
BECOME A FAN OF EMMA