Riiko Sakkinen: text & publications

Die Welt

23. Mai 2008, 04:00 Uhr von Ulrich VON DÖLTZSCHEN

Ironische Aufarbeitung der "68er" in der neuen Galerie Bourouina

Am 2. Mai war ganz Berlin zum lärmenden Galerien-Wochenende auf den Beinen. Und ganz in aller Stille stellte sich eine neue Galerie vor, die von Amel Bourouina. Sie stammt aus Frankreich, war sechs Jahre am Centre Pompidou Kustodin für Dokumentarfilm. Als sie vor sechs Jahren nach Berlin kam, versuchte sie, diese Tätigkeit in irgendeiner Weise fortzusetzen, was aber nicht so recht gelang. Eine Galerie zu betreiben war eine alte Idee von ihr - und jetzt präsentiert sie in der ersten Ausstellung ihrer Galerie Arbeiten des Finnen Riiko Sakkinen, Jahrgang 1976. Titel der Schau: "Consommateur, applaudis, le spectacle est partout." Der Titel ist die Parodie eines Zitates von Guy Debord. Und die Eröffnung am 2. Mai ist natürlich bewusst gewählt: Am 2. Mai 1968 begannen die Unruhen in Paris.
Die Ausstellung ist eine satirische Auseinandersetzung mit den 68ern: was ist aus ihnen und ihren Ideen geworden? Der ganze erste Raum ist gelb getüncht. An den Wänden lehnen Parodien auf Demo-Transparente von damals: Nieder mit dem Wohlfahrtsstaat; Seid Realisten und verlangt mehr Cheeseburger. Und anderes. Die Titelgebende Losung lehnt so an der Wand, dass ein dahinter aufgemaltes Grinsendes Schwein mit Kochmütze sie scheinbar in den Klauen hält. Das Schwein heißt Dany - ach ja: Dany le Rouge, Cohn-Bendit.
Man sieht Objekte wie Sahne-Spray der Marke "Rebell" oder Molotow-Cocktails in Champagner-Flaschen: was der Revolutionär so konsumiert. Es gibt handgezeichnete Cartoons: eine Milchschnitte mit der Aufschrift 'Sarin', eine Matrjoschka mit der Sprechblase 'I love Porsche and Democracy', und Ähnliches. Sehr schön frech und glücklicherweise ein bisschen böse. Ein gelungener Einstieg. Preise von 600 bis 2000 Euro.

 

PensEyeView.com

Today's Feature: May 27th and 28th, 2007

One of the best parts about PensEyeView.com is getting to meet people from all over the world. Today’s feature finds home in Cervera de los Montes, a tiny village in the province of Toledo, Spain. Nestled in the woods of this small town is artist, Riiko Sakkinen, whose humorous take on art and pop culture has quickly put him on the map. Sakkinen has put on several solo shows in Europe and the United States since 1996. His work has been displayed at numerous group shows around the world and is included in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and Helsinki City Art Museum. His work has been called controversial, fascinating, genius and even hilarious…regardless you have to realize that Sakkinen is changing the way we think. His paintings show images of hamburgers, cocker spaniels, plastic polar bears, cocktails, to name a few, with sayings that make you realize how today’s advertisements can be interpreted in several different ways.

I have to say, I truly enjoyed getting to know Sakkinen; his work forces you to have an open mind about what exactly you look at on a daily basis. After you see his work, you’ll never look at a hamburger package, KFC and other pop culture favourites, the same ever again. Enjoy his XXQs.

XXQs: Riiko Sakkinen (The following interview took place on May 4, 2007)

How and when did you first get involved in art?

When I was a crawling, my mother hung Picasso postcards on my eye level.

Was there a certain event or moment when you realized that art was going to be your career?

When I was teenager, I wanted to change the world and be a guerrilla like Che Guevara. I entered the army when I was 18 to learn to fight but after three days I had to give back my AK-47 and I was sent back home. They thought I was insane. Maybe they were right. After this episode, I decided to be artist, though I don’t believe that art can really change the world.

You have shown paintings, objects, videos, actions, interventions, texts, and concepts. What is your preferred medium to work with?

Drawing is fast, direct and beautiful. But the galleries prefer big paintings. I think my real medium is the attitude. You should look the larger perspective of the oeuvre and not the single works.

Born in Helsinki and now living in Spain, when did you first come to the United States and how did growing up in Helsinki impact your work?

Helsinki is the safest place on the Earth and the most boring. I of course love it like I love my mother. I studied there and moved then to Spain – my wife is Spanish. Now I live in a tiny village (population 383). Maybe the bigger change was to move to countryside, not from one country to another. The first time I went to New York was when I had a show there three years ago. I think that in Europe my art in absurd and excessive but in America it’s more realistic. And in Japan it’s hyper-realistic.

What do you find to be a major difference in the US and the European art communities?

The galleries I worked with in New York didn’t let me show a drawing that had a text “Warm beds for wetbacks”. She said that she couldn’t show anything politically incorrect. I think this wouldn’t happen in Europe. Warm bed means a bed used in shifts and wetback is a Mexican immigrant. If you write a book where somebody says Heil Hitler nobody thinks that you are Nazi but in visual arts the work is seen often autobiographical. I don’t know why.

Describe your creative process.

I look for material in supermarkets and streets: snack, candy or ice-cream wrappings with nice mascots. I read the newspaper and collect slogans from demonstrations and prostitution advertisement. Then I go to the studio and do drawings mixing all that up.

What has been the hardest part for breaking into the art community?

I live in a total periphery that makes it a bit hard. Curators and galleries don’t come to the countryside.

Having travelled all over the world, which city has the best environment/appreciation for artists? Also, do you find one in particular place that works best for you?

If you think your career, you should live in New York, Berlin, London or Shanghai but I like to be in the countryside close to the nature that has nothing to do with my art. And I have a big house and studio, I know that many artists live and work in shabby places in the big cities. I want to be rich and famous but I don’t compromise, the family is the most important.

When you are not working, what can we find you doing?

Walking in the forest with my daughter and picking wild mushrooms or wild asparagus. Or watching football on TV. I support Real Madrid.

What is a normal day like for you?

I like every day to be the same. I hate adventures. I wake up around 7.30. My wife and daughter leave 8.00. I work in my second floor studio until 14.00. I cook lunch and we eat when my wife and daughter come back around 15.00. I read the newspaper until my daughter wakes up from siesta and then we go walking and play together. In the evening I work a little bit more before having dinner with my wife around 22.00. I go to bed 23.30.

Describe the feeling of seeing your work in a gallery for the first time?

A gallery found me in the street carrying a painting when I was 19. So I had a show in this small gallery in Helsinki. I was in hubris and thought that I was a big artist. I had no idea how much struggle there was ahead.

What is one thing people would be surprised to hear about you?

That I’m sometimes lazy.

A lot of artists listen to music while they work. Do you? And what are you listening to now?

I listen to the Finnish national radio on internet – talk shows about everything from agriculture to aeronautics and from politics to pop.

In your opinion, what other artist, right now is making the biggest impact on the art world?

At the moment, I like Misaki Kawai, Jani Leinonen, Michael Sailstorfer, Cecilia Stenbom, Judas Arrieta, Suzanne Dery, Alexandre da Cunha, Manuela Moscoso, Herman van Ingelgem, Mikko Ijäs, Mari Ishiwata, Anthony White and Erkka Nissinen.

If you could sit down for dinner with one artist, alive or deceased, who would it be? Why?

No doubt, Martin Kippenberger, my idol. Maybe with him it would be more heavy drinking than eating dinner. I’ve been blamed to copy his work but I think I’m just updating it.

How do you feel when people say they "don't get" modern art?

It’s natural, because art is difficult. I don’t get opera, cricket or quantum mechanics.

If we were to walk into your studio right now, what would we see?

A big painting with a super cute bunny biking and a text saying, “Cold War was cool”. People see now the times of the Cold War with nostalgia but when I was kid, I was all the time scared of the nuclear war. Then I have on the table a just finished series of replicas of used panties sold in Japanese sex shops. The dirt is acrylic color so you can see them in the context of painting.

Explain what you mean when you say, "I do drawings, but cannot draw. I do paintings, but cannot paint. I do other things, too, but cannot do that either. It is a tragedy, but tragedies are appreciated in Arts."

A tragedy is an event with a sad and unfortunate outcome. A Greek tragedy is a form of drama characterized by seriousness and dignity, and involving a great person whose downfall is brought about by either a character flaw or a conflict with some higher power such as the law, the gods, fate, or society.

How have all your friends and family reacted to your success?

The people in my village think that success is driving a BMW or having a swimming pool. I drive a small French car and dream of having a true Finnish sauna one day.

So, what is next for Riiko Sakkinen?

Now I go to cook some cute rabbit with vegetables for lunch. Then I pack, I fly tomorrow to Helsinki for an animal theme group show at Gallery Anhava.

 

MORE TOMATO KETCHUP AND MUSTARD GAS (MY VERY BEST FRIENDLY FIRE)

Tomato ketchup is a popular condiment. The basic ingredients in modern tomato ketchup are tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, salt, allspice, cloves, and cinnamon.

Mustard gas is a vesicant chemical warfare agent with the ability to form large blisters on exposed skin. In its pure form it is colorless, odorless, viscous liquids at room temperature. When used as warfare agents it is  usually yellow-brown in color and have an odor resembling mustard plants, garlic or horseradish.

Friendly fire is a term originally adopted by the United States military in reference to an attack on friendly forces by other friendly forces.

Shanty towns, marginal or informal settlements are units of irregular, low-cost dwellings, usually on lands belonging to third parties, and most often located in the periphery of the cities. These dwellings are often assembled in a patch-work fashion from pieces of plywood, corrugated metal, sheets of plastic, and any other material that will provide cover. Tetra Brik, carton packaging with a metal layer inside, for milk and other liquid products, is a popular material as thermal isolation material on interior walls.

Doghouse or a kennel is a small shed, often built in the shape of a little house, in which a dog is kept or can run into for shelter from the elements. The expression "in the doghouse" means to be in trouble; often used of a husband who is figuratively sent to the doghouse in the same way that a dog is removed from the human habitation.

Patriot is a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country, sometimes excessively.

Home is one’s own dwelling place, the house or structure in which one lives, also, one’s native land.

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A TRUE PATRIOT HATES SPAGHETTI (AND HAS NO HOME)

I make art out of everyday life, including special offers and car bombs, exotic cocktails and Molotov cocktails, cleaning the house and ethnic cleansing, fast food and Blitzkrieg.

I am interested in everyday conflicts, such as Big Mac vs. Döner Kebab, Human Rights vs. Our Economy, Your Economy vs. Our Economy, Real Madrid vs. Real World, David Beckham vs. Iberian Cured Ham, Ham vs. Hambre, Patria vs. Enemy, Patria vs. Patria.

I find my materials on tv news (demonstration banners demanding more freedom), flyers put under windscreen wipers (earn money without a job), advertisements in newspapers (blow job without a condom), and breakfast cereal boxes (chocolate super hero eats his children).

I do drawings, but cannot draw. I do paintings, but cannot paint. I do other things, too, but cannot do that either. It is a tragedy, but tragedies are appreciated in Arts.

I am happy because I like my job, says a prostitute's note in a telephone booth. I am happy, too.

Riiko Sakkinen, 2006

 

Riiko Sakkinen's Animated Animus

Riiko Sakkinen's art, whether painting, works-on-paper, or installation, is a deft amalgam of text/image interlocution culled from varied cultural sources including Finnish, Spanish, English, French German, Polish, Japanese, and Arabic. These disparate citations result not only from globalization and its rampant permeation, but experientially via Sakkinen's trans-cultural condition as a Finnish artist living in Spain.

Spain, however, is just one artistic point of departure since Sakkinen's art is infused from a myriad of cultural loci. He aesthetically forges the poly-cultural condition of globalization into a visual Tower of Babel. Sakkinen's compositions are spawned by schizoid semiotic configurations and a delirious visual vocabulary that give way to multivalent subject matter of a satirical, philosophical, political and critical orientation. Sometimes his work targets the immediate world-at-large: war, poverty, social disparity, and so forth. Yet Sakkinen never succumbs to didacticism or to what can been called political art. There are politics in his work, but he chooses not to be affiliated with any ideological camp since no one is innocent. Take, for example, his assisted readymade sculpture based on a box of detergent that one finds in any Spanish supermarket.

The box itself is named after Colon, the Spanish "discoverer" of the New World. Below the brand name is an announcement in Spanish that claims that one can achieve "impeccable whiteness" through its use. Though the whiteness refers to the degree that it can clean clothes and nothing more, its re-contextualization in the white cube of the gallery as well as Colon's invasion of the native Americas and subsequently by white Europeans adds other narrative layer to the work. Also folded into this conceptually astute "political" sculpture is a critique of Pop via the detergent box and its referencing of Andy Warhol's Brillo Soap Box. But Sakkinen's themes encompass much more than history, art history, and institutional critique. Often, Sakkinen makes his own work problematic to the degree that it may border on the politically incorrect. But any criticism of his work on these grounds is nothing but a case of the dog barking up the wrong tree; for this variant of his work serves more as mirror that engages the culture of complacency and the complacency of culture.

Regardless of the issues Sakkinen addresses in his work they are executed with an eclectic formal arsenal that includes ball point pen, felt pen, colored pencil, watercolor, hotel stationery, stickers and other commercial flotsam and jetsam, though in general Sakkinen owes a heavy aesthetic debt to animation. But his formal and conceptual methodology is distinguished from other artists or collectives such as Paper Rad, Dearraindrop, and Royal Art Lodge who have explored the medium of work-on-paper and have drawn attention to its importance as an independent art form.

Sakkinen's mainstay of work-on-paper is instantly recognizable but has an affinity with the sensibilities of Raymond Pettibon, Chris Johanson, Martin Kippenberger and even further a field to the psychodramas of Paul McCarthy. Sakkinen recasts Pettibon's graphic novel meets pathetic social quandary into a three-ring circus; and catapults Johanson's comic-book existentialism and slacker ethos to mythological and archetypal proportions. And Sakkinen riffs on and updates Kippenberger's playful though equally acerbic sense of the absurd.

Sakkinen's iconographic grab-bag plundered from the murky depths of the unconscious is akin to a phantasmagoric image bank that he tweaks with aplomb into rich, frenetic tableaus that explode with color, line, texture, word, image, and quotidian detritus. In short, Riiko Sakkinen is a visual artist whose aesthetic practice exudes elegance, refinement and sophistication well beyond his youthful demeanor; and because he often filters these through the abject, scatology and violence, we can analogously refer to his art in the way that André Breton had characterized Frida Kahlo's painting: "as bomb with ribbon tied around it." Careful: don't let it explode in your face.

Raúl Zamudio, NYC-based curator and critic

 

 

Framework Issue nr 6,

January 2007, features a large selection of full page reproductions of Riiko Sakkinen's drawings

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