Harku 1975: Objects, Concepts
In December 1975, a small group of young artists and scientists organised the art event Harku 1975 at the Harku Institute of Experimental Biology near Tallinn. Among the participating artists were Leonhard Lapin, Sirje Runge and Raul Meel, while the scientists were represented by Tõnu Karu, then a junior researcher at the Institute of Cybernetics of the Academy of Sciences. The event caused a scandal among official circles because an unexpectedly large number of young artists attended, and its atmosphere resembled that of a rock concert.
Marking the 50th anniversary of this legendary event, the current exhibition in Kumu’s project space aims to reconstruct Harku 1975 piece by piece. It brings together works from the collections of the Art Museum of Estonia and the Tartu Art Museum, as well as from several Estonian private collections, including works long thought lost or destroyed.
Artworks displayed
Gallery
Curator Liisa Kaljula on the Exhibition:
The event had received official permission from the Artists’ Association as a meeting of young artists and scientists. However, in addition to the approved seminar day, an exhibition was also arranged in the main hall of the Harku Manor. The event has since entered the history of Estonian art as the last unofficial art exhibition of the Soviet period, and marked the transition from pop art to conceptual art. It also stands as the first multimedia event in Estonian art history: combining a concert by Sven Grünberg’s progressive rock ensemble Mess with Kaarel Kurismaa’s kinetic sculptures.
The exhibition featured a group of young artists with architectural, design and technical backgrounds. Sirje Runge, Silvi Virkepuu, Silver Vahtre and Villu Järmut were students of the Department of Design at the Estonian State Art Institute. Leonhard Lapin, Jüri Okas and Jaan Ollik had graduated from the Department of Architecture, and Raul Meel from the Department of Electrical Engineering at the Tallinn University of Technology. In addition, Illimar Paul (a graphic artist), Kaarel Kurismaa (an installation artist) and Toomas Kall (a cartoonist) also took part.
The exhibition at Harku Manor differed strikingly from the official exhibitions of the time. The graphic works of Lapin, Meel and Okas explored serial production and industrial aesthetics. Kall presented conceptual drawings from plans for the Sõprus Cinema. Runge’s large-scale openable and closable painting altar invaded the exhibition space, and Kurismaa’s kinetic objects moved and emitted sounds. Outdoors, Jüri Okas’s installation changed according to the viewer’s movements, while the graphic objects of Järmut and Ollik hung freely from the ceiling or unfolded on the floor, encouraging a new kind of relationship between artworks and the audience.
At the seminar held at the closing of the exhibition, Lapin delivered a presentation on objective art, Karu gave a slide lecture on breast cancer and astrophysics, comparing them with contemporary art, and the physicist Tiit Kändler spoke about the “two cultures” – the humanitarian and the technocratic – challenging the myth of their complete separation.
Artists: Sven Grünberg, Villu Järmut, Toomas Kall, Kaarel Kurismaa, Leonhard Lapin, Raul Meel, Jüri Okas, Jaan Ollik, Illimar Paul, Sirje Runge, Silver Vahtre and Silvi Virkepuu
Curator: Liisa Kaljula
Coordinator: Anastassia Langinen
Conservators: Isabel Aaso-Zahradnikova, Kärt Lend and Kaisa-Piia Pedajas
Exhibition designer and installation manager: Villu Plink
Graphic design: Kätlin Tischler-Süld
Exhibition team: Andres Amos, Tanel Asmer, Heldur Hammer, Siim Hiis, Mari-Liis Krautmann, Annegret Kriisa, Maria Lota Lumiste, Helen Melesk, Aleksander Meresaar, Madli Mihkelson, Kadri Mägi, Johann Põldra, Tiina Randus, Brigita Reinert, Kaidi Saavan, Laura Tahk, Elnara Taidre, Allan Talu and Uve Untera
We thank: Anders Anderson, Sven Grünberg, Sirje Helme, Villu Järmut, Toomas Kall, Reigo Kuivjõgi, Mari Kurismaa, Jüri Okas, Jaan Ollik, Illimar Paul, Marek Pihlak, Kristjan Pomm, Silver Vahtre, Piret Virkepuu, Allee Gallery, Haus Gallery, Tartu Art Museum, Vaal Gallery and private collections