Self-portraits. Poses and Diagnoses
Location: 4th floor, B-wing
The starting point of the exhibition is the traditional portrait of the artist with a brush. The other themes arise from the desire for presentability. A separate subdivision was born from works that spring out of the idea of analogy and repetition. Although Paul Burman and Johannes Saal may have felt greater interest in the changing conditions and tempers of the self because of the heightened sensitivity caused by their illnesses, the designation “maniac” doesn’t necessarily arise from illness or unhealthy egocentricity. In several cases it is, rather, derived from the extreme amount of work and time sacrificed to art. Henn Roode and Ülo Sooster, who began portraying themselves in a prison camp in Siberia, are the champions of the self-portrait genre in earlier Estonian art; their devotion was hard to compete with. What often characterises the choices of artists from different time periods is that the self is used above all as the handiest model, or as a tool, either to keep in shape or to perform uncomfortable actions. Nevertheless, the contemporary world knows a considerable amount about artists whose entire oeuvre could be reduced to a self-portrait. In this context, a video from Ene-Liis Semper is displayed along with the classics.
The stipulated theme space “Conceptual Self-portrait” assembles works that approach the concept of self-portrait from an unconventional angle. In many cases, an interest in the self is distanced here and mixed or subordinated to a different subject. Often the self-image is transformed from a motif into a medium.
The section “Self-portrait with Mother” is the trauma room of the exhibition. Added to the self-exposures of contemporary artists, a mute dialogue is offered by a painting from Otto Zoege von Manteuffel from the middle of the 19th century. The painting conveys an atmosphere of heavy silence. In the context of painful works, instead of the Biedermeier family idyll, a sense of companionship begins to emerge, within which tension is created out of unspoken fears and oppressions.
The exhibited works come from the collections of the Art Museum of Estonia, the Tartu Art Museum, the Tallinn Art Hall Foundation, the Vaal Gallery, private collections and from the artists.
Artists:
Peet Aren, Jüri Arrak, Irina Bržeska, Paul Burman, Kari Bie Erenurm, Franz Karl Eduard Gebhardt, Helmi Herman, Oskar Hoffmann, Saskia Kasemaa, Jüri Kass, Ilmar Kimm, Tiiu Kirsipuu, Linda Kits-Mägi, Kaarel Kurismaa, Endel Kõks, Mati Kütt, Ilmar Laaban, Leonhard Lapin, Valerian Loik, Otto Zoege von Manteuffel, Olav Maran, Raul Meel, Marge Monko, Maarit Murka, Marko Mäetamm, Reinhold von Möller, Roman Nyman, Edvard Oja, Jüri Okas, Priit Pärn, Mark Raidpere, Felix Randel, Henn Roode, Nikolai Root, Sirje Runge, Johannes Saal, Ene-Liis Semper, Ivan Sokolov, Ülo Sooster, Olga Terri, Jaan Toomik, Riho Unt, Aleksander Uurits, Richard Uutmaa, Ado Vabbe, Toomas Vint, Hardi Volmer, Johannes Võerahansu etc.
Curator: Kädi Talvoja
Designers: Liisi Eelmaa, Maret Kukkur
We thank:
Allfilm, Nukufilm
