Otto Karvonen
I’m a visual artist based in Helsinki, Finland. My artistic work consists
mainly of temporary performative actions and sculptural installations that
are situated in public space. I always plan my works for a specific place
and situation. The ideas for works often start from some small, everyday
observations, but the discoveries and discussions along the way may lead
the project on completely unexpected paths. The essential thing for the work
itself is how well it fits into the physical, social and political space
and time I have made it for. At the moment I’m working on themes such as
the social and cultural stratification of society, the relationship between
the public and the private space, and the complex networks of global dependencies.
I generally try to include humorous things in my work that might provoke positive
and even hopeful reactions in the audience. Of course there has to be a certain
measure of controversial questioning to make the encounter of art and public
more challenging and thought-provoking. This kind of encounter always leaves
a trace in memory that may come back to haunt the person even after many years.
The work can become a living myth or an urban legend that is passed on in all
sorts of stories. All the countless interpretations and conversations that
my works provoke are in fact an extremely important part of them.
working with time and space
My artistic work consists mainly of temporary performative actions and sculptural installations that are situated in public space. Art in public space is today the most important part of my work, with pieces made specifically for galleries or museums only coming in second. Of course I occasionally exhibit material relating to my work also in those venues, but they are nearly always accompanied by some event or something in the public space. Public space is a challenging, yet infinitely variable, inspiring and surprising environment for art. Works in the public space acquire new meanings every fleeting, random moment that they meet their audience. These encounters easily give rise to spontaneous interpretations and trigger interesting conversations.
I always plan my works for a specific place and situation, and I pay very close attention to the various aspects of the site, what it is like, what are the things that happen there, who are the people who use it and when. The demands that the site places on the work are very important in the initial stage; it is these and also the opportunities offered by them that help initiate the process and steer it.
themes and approaches
My works often have to do with certain social themes that I have been interested in for a long time, such as the social and cultural stratification of society, the relationship between the public and the private space, and the complex networks of global dependencies.
The ideas for works often start from some small, everyday observations, but the discoveries and discussions along the way may lead the project on completely unexpected paths. The essential thing for the work itself is how well it fits into the physical, social and political space and time I have made it for. The topics are already in that space; my task is to seize them, turn them around, mix them and return them to the space in new forms and combinations.
I generally try to include humorous things in my work that might provoke positive and even hopeful reactions in the audience. Of course there has to be a certain measure of controversial questioning so that I can prod the audience to examine their own attitudes and understanding in the light of my themes. Instead of trying to directly point out and define problems and defects, I try to study their complex causes and structures and my own share in them.
The encounter of art and public
My starting point is in ordinary, mundane experiences, and the works are often some kind of collages of everyday things. The power of my works in the public space derives usually from that infinitesimal moment when the passers-by register something different in their environment, but have not yet discovered an explanation for it. In that moment, they must form an opinion and explanation for the thing. Because that fleeting moment is usually too short for deep reflection, they must do so with spontaneous and emotional interpretations. These are usually the more interesting the more challenging and inexplicable the encounter with my work appears for the passer-by.
Of course the relationship between the work and the audience is not limited to the purely physical encounter, when the two are face to face. A thought-provoking encounter always leaves a trace in memory that may come back to haunt the person even after many years. I occasionally meet people who remember having stumbled upon some weird and inexplicable thing in their everyday life. After a moment it transpires that it had been one of my works. They have constructed their own interpretation of the thing they saw, and often the explanations are very imaginative and surprising. All the countless interpretations and conversations that my works provoke are in fact an extremely important part of them. The work can become a living myth or an urban legend that is passed on in all sorts of stories.