Theme
The radical percent
Percent art will bring wellbeing, travellers and new ideas to the campus, says Art Coordinator Outi Turpeinen. Text: Minna Hölttä Photo: Jaakko Kahilaniemi
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he grand ceremonial staircase is a challenging space for contemporary art: there’s little wall space, lots of wood and nature intrudes from the wall-to-ceiling windows. Perhaps that’s why it feels like, at first glance, that Color Space–Color Lensing Blind is in a strange place. It’s colourful and made with acrylics, a material that is often used in, for example, lighted advertising signs. Art Coordinator Outi Turpeinen stands on the landing and says the piece is the handiwork of Hans-Christian Berg. “This space called for something big and powerful, a sharp contrast.” Berg’s work is one of the first art acquisitions made by Aalto University on the basis of the percent principle, a model that is gaining popularity around the world under which about one percent of a construction project’s budget will be spent on art. It is also a part of a Finnish government spearhead project, which aims to make art an aspect of the everyday lives of as many Finns as possible. Aalto is the first – and so far the only – Finnish university to make a commitment to observe the principle in all of its construction projects, from new buildings to renovations. The decision to commit to the percent principle was made last spring by Aalto’s then President Tuula Teeri following an initiative by Vice President and Dean of the School Arts, Design and Architecture Anna Valtonen. Dipoli, which was just renovated to serve as the university’s new main build18 / AALTO UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE 21
ing, was a natural choice for a pilot project. Outi Turpeinen cooperated with Valtonen to find suitable, interesting artists for it. All of the selected artworks are made by Aalto graduates who have already achieved success in their careers. The three largest works were made specifically for Dipoli. Berg used acrylics in his piece, while Renata Jakowleff made her sparkly work Blue out of glass and Inni Pärnänen bent plywood to make the flowers in her piece Keto. “I felt it was important to bring tangible materials here to counteract the everpresent digitalisation,” Turpeinen says.
Challenging good taste
The glowing pink and orange, yellow and green, blue and violet strokes of Berg’s acrylic piece mimic the vertical lines of the window frames and the large pine trees beyond. Turpeinen mentions that the artist also picked the bright colours of his work from the nature of Finland. “Hans-Christian lives in the countryside and works a lot with colour and light. He, like the other artists, was enormously inspired by Dipoli’s architecture and its Radical Nature art concept.” The art concept is like a thread that unites the collection’s pieces. Turpeinen