Friday, October 4, 2013

You can only kill what shouldn’t be there

This photograph somehow captures my feelings right now.

(Posting title is from the poem the weather is hot on the back of my watch by Charles Bukowski.)

5 comments:

Martina said...

Interesting combination of a cctv camera and art.

I wonder if the statue is shielding herself from harm (or the sun?) or waving away the passers-by ...

Juha Haataja said...

I have seen this statue a number of times, but never have looked closely enough to know the title or the artist. Here I suddenly saw a possible interpretation to the statue, but it is probably far from the original intention.

I tried to google for info but didn't find anything. Well, I found a photo of another statue nearby, "Wise mouse", but this one I have never seen in person:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7969182@N08/600959006/

Juha Haataja said...

Well, I looked further, and in a guide to Helsinki I found this statue. The title is "Sunrise" and the idea is to show a young girl looking at the rising sun, shielding her eyes. The artist, Wäinö Aaltonen (1894-1966), was said to be "a nationalist icon", and "noted for monumental figures and busts portraying citizens of Finland".

Here is another view of the same statue, showing a rather different feeling than in my photograh:

http://www.taidemuseo.fi/suomi/veisto/veistossivu.html?id=246

Martina said...

I definitely prefer the Wise Mouse to the girl. Mostly perhaps because in sculptures I prefer harsh edges, not smooth roundings. And the mouse made me smile, the girl not.
But yes, this is a matter of taste, nothing more.
In my opinion your interpretation of the statue is much better than the other photo you linked to. There is more context with the cctv camera and the doves, more life.
I also feel the placing of the "Sunrise" statue is not that perfect with the huge buidling's wall in the back. You might tell your city fathers, ;-). And have a nice weekend!

Juha Haataja said...

This statue is in front of the Bank of Finland Security Printing House - the statue was commissioned by the Bank of Finland in 1956. I agree that this is not a place where a statue fits well. I guess the building was designed to impress with its security.