US anthropologist-collector Rolan Paul Firnhaber’s Dance of Death collection is on display in Kemi. The collection, which is important from an art-historical point of view, includes rare dance of death prints.
Kemi Art Museum’s exhibition year opens on the last weekend in January with the Dance of Death exhibition.
The artists were initially united by the fact that they had all made art on the theme of death, which gave the group its name. The title of the exhibition comes from the Dance of Death collection.
– After all, the dance of death was a very common theme in the Middle Ages. This skeleton theme has been brought into a very human context. Here you can find political and humorous works, and of course also very serious works,” says Ulla Remes, artist Ulla Remes of the Immortals artist group.
Each in their own way on death
On the other hand, the Immortals artist group deals with death through several perspectives. The works present death through, among other things, pop art and humor.
For example, in the works of Jouko Alapartanen, there is a skeleton using a leaf blower, and in another work, a hearse is a central part.
– The corpse cart came along perhaps through art history as a philosophical outcome. Religion and the perspective of science have been discussed in art for a long time. I thought I would take a philosophical point of view and present the hearse as a question to people, says Alapartanen.
In her own words, Anna-Maija Rissanen deals with death through mysticism and the flow of life. He wants to bring comfort to the viewer with his works.
– The works do not reflect fear, anxiety or sadness, but rather a natural part of life. Even more of these provide comfort and peace of mind.
Tuomas Korkalo, who received the Lapland Art Prize last year, deals with death as a lonely character in his comic-like works.
– In my works, death appears as a somewhat tragic figure, i.e. somewhat abandoned and lonely. Society has somehow distanced itself from the inevitable. It’s as if death has moved to institutions.
The exhibition of the artist group The Immortals is on display at the Kemi Art Museum until March 25.
*You can discuss the topic* *with Yle ID* *28.1. until 11 pm*