Croyview

Going to seaside and pondering meaning of Art and great wildness. What more could you ask for at the Tate St Ives. (The exhibition was on until 6 May 2024)

I stroke the yellow Dijou in wonder, trying to identify what material is used. Feels like polyester. But I wonder. More deeply I’m amazed I can touch the art, still waiting for someone to tell me off. But this part of the charm of the exhibition, being able to interact with one of the pieces.

On a bright, windy weekend day I trotted into Tate St Ives, pleased to have made after being distracted by the shops and the purchase of fluffy socks (thanks Joules). I was recommended the Outi Pieski exhibition as something to do in St Ives. I was even more pleased to be in time for the guided tour.

Rosey the guide, an artist herself had thrown herself into her research to enable us to understand some of the deeper questions and perspectives the artist and curator wanted us to ponder. My questions to you dear reader are very much based on the challenges posed by artist and beautifully articulated by the tour guide.

What is craft? What is art?

First question, what is craft? And what turns it into art? The artist uses traditional crafts of Saim and sometimes communities of women to make the pieces. Is Art? I will leave you to judge.

I have two thoughts; there is a piece in Tate Modern that is an empty glass, but the artist, Michael Craig called it an oak tree. And it was a tree because the artist said it was: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/sir-michael-craig-martin-955/michael-craig-martin-i-am-interested-language

That is what I love about modern art; the concept is as important as the actual piece.

The movie, Mona Lisa Speaks, also raised useful questions about defining Art: What is art? What makes it good or bad, and who decides?

In case you are wondering, good art elicits an emotional response and invites you into a different perspective.

What’s your new perspective?

The art showcases the Sami culture and worldview. The one I found most challenging is the idea presented in a picture is that a mountain could be an ancestor therefore a religious site. Sami as a way to try and maintain the digitnity of the space tried to get the mountain recognised as having Human Rights to stop the government from building a wind farm in the scared space. As Rosey mentioned, those mountains will still be here long after we’ve gone.

The art brings home and certainly challenged me with my western Christian perspective to take another look at the landscape, those great empty spaces I come across in Scotland or the wildness in Cornwall and Norfolk and sense the other, the scared.

The details

I loved that in most art there was extra. Ability to interact and touch some, a native hat underneath the picture, little figurines, or fringes added to frame the art using native craft. The three d look and feel of some of the art. I mean, why does art just have to be a picture?

Why go? Beautiful pieces, interesting combination of installation and pictures. What is your view? Is it art? Or craft?

To see what else is on at Tate St Ives click here: https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-st-ives