Article in art- journal SIRP (2009-04-30)
MAARIT MURKA installation „0,43” in ArtDepoo and videos in SooSoo Gallery
Maarit Murka has inspired the work of Robert Rauschenberg „Deleted drawing of De Kooning”. This must precisely be called work, as together with Willem de Krooning she chose a picture in mixed media and it took a month long work, until the paper was more-or-less clean. As also Rauschenberg Maarit Murka started with the deleting of her own work. She decided to do it in eating method, as the artist has to live from art. Series of paintings and videos „0.43“, that are available for visitors in ArtDepoo and SooSoo gallery, was first premiered in Helsinki Korjamo gallery three months ago. Additionally have come paintings of breathalysers and video „Kiss“.
Maarit Murka has a tendency to think far ahead. For example when she is no longer able to read the street signs without glasses, she thinks of going blind. And being a teetotaller, she is afraid of being drunk. While eating her own painting she is afraid of getting poisoned and later goes to see doctor and gives a blood test. Were the nuclear physicists, who built the nuclear bomb afraid of a mass destruction weapon or were they just curious? Either way, the idea of deleting a picture lead Murka to an idea of what would happen to a picture when she would turn off her senses one by one. The first painting – a self-portrait painted in home studio is a standard painting, painted in a usual way. This was followed by experiments: she painted with her nose closed, ears plugged, even in the dark. Though, the last experiment should be done again, as a couple of works were done before it and the memory of the hand started to compensate for the limited vision. So, picture by picture, Maarit Murka put all her senses to test in a creative process. Although such a goal was not set, she proved that people sense the world and create art as a physical and mental whole. If you influence one part, the entire result changes. A piece of art has been done with the goal to find „what do artists have, that we „normal“ people don’t have?“, as the text besides the painting explained. Something along the lines of a 6th sense? Spiritual?
Art science offers much more possibilities than does conventional dry scientific science. A dangerously non-scientific result was received by Maarit Murka by suppressing the sense of balance and also all other senses by using alcohol, so that the breathalyser showed 0,43. In this painting we can’t see the gloominess that is so characteristic of Murka, she is smiling through an impressionistic mist, as much as impressionism can be possible in a black-and-white painting. Is it that for Murka the breathalyser is also a mentalyser? As already told, as a snack she used one of her paintings, when she licked the oil paint off a freshly painted canvas. The movement of the tongue gives the painting texture like the petals of a chrysanthemum. Video shows the process itself. Maarit Murka also has companions of taste, for example Ani K. from the Republic of Thailand has painted Mahatma Ghandi on a cross and Osama bin Laden in a cave by sticking his tongue in paint, the video is also visible on YouTube. When googleing paint licking you can only get to pages about safety and porn – maybe Murka is the first in the world to do something like that. If you ask two people to shake hands for five minutes, then usually they estimate the time to be longer, but exchanging kisses always takes less time. Maybe one of the kissers had eaten garlic and the other licked paint. And as we already mentioned exchanges, then we cannot leave unmentioned the exchange auction held in Tamm gallery, curate by Maarit Murka. This is an auction where pictures are not bought and sold for money but exchanged with each other. Why can’t a piece of art be measured by a TV? Politicians offer themselves on advertisement posts, carrying signs „exchange“. An elementary demand for every science is finding the right equivalent.
Andri Ksenofontov
journalist
Article in art- journal „Sirp“ on 30.04.2009 by Andri Ksenofontov (in Estonian)
Maarit Murkat on inspireerinud Robert Rauschenbergi töö „De Kooningi kustutatud joonis”. Just nimelt töö, sest koos Willem de Kooningiga valis ta välja ühe segatehnikas pildi, nii et selle kallal andis kuu aega nokitseda, kuni paber sai enam-vähem puhtaks. Nagu Rauschenberg alustas Maarit Murka omaenese töö kustutamisest. Ta otsustas teha seda söömismeetodil, kuna kunstnik peab elama kunstist. Maali- ja videoseeria „0,43”, mida saab vaadata ArtDepoo ja SooSoo galeriis, oli esmakordselt kolm kuud tagasi Helsingis Korjamo galeriis väljas. Lisaks on tulnud maalid alkomeetritest ja video „Kiss” („Suudlus”).
Maarit Murkal on kalduvus kaugele ette mõelda. Näiteks, kui tänavasilte enam ilma prillideta lugeda ei näe, mõtleb ta pimedaksjäämise peale. Ning täiskarsklasena pelgab ta purjus olekut. Oma maali süües kardab ta mürgitust ja käib pärastpoole arsti juures vereproovi andmas. Kas tuumafüüsikuid, kes ehitasid aatomipommi, ajendas hirm massihävitusrelva ees või uudishimu? Nii või teisiti, idee pildi kustutamisest viis Maarit Murka mõttele, mis juhtub pildiga siis, kui oma meeled ühe- või mitmekaupa välja lülitada. Esimene pilt, autoportree kodustuudios, on standardne, maalitud tavalisel viisil. Sellele järgnesid eksperimendid: ta maalis nina kinni, tropid kõrvas, isegi pimedas. Tõsi, viimast katset tuleks korrata, sest paar tööd oli juba enne tehtud ning käe mälu hakkas piiratud nägemist kompenseerima. Niimoodi, pilt-pildilt, on Maarit Murka kõik oma meeled loomingulises protsessis proovile pannud. Otseselt sellist ülesannet püstitamata tõestas ta enda näitel, et inimene tajub maailma ja loob kunsti kui kehaline ja hingeline tervik. Kui mõjutada ühte osa, muutub kogu tulemus. On isegi töö, kus otsitakse seda, „mis kunstnikel on, mida aga meil, „normaalsetel” inimestel, ei ole?”, nagu selgitab tekst pildi kõrval. Midagi seitsmenda meele kanti? Spirituaalset?
Kunstiteaduses on palju rohkem võimalusi valla kui harjumuspärases kuivas teaduslikus teaduses. Ohtlikult ebateadusliku tulemuse sai Maarit Murka tasakaalumeelt ja kõiki teisigi meeli napsuga summutades, nii et alkomeeter näitas 0,43. Selles töös on täiesti kadunud talle üldomane süngus, ta naeratab läbi impressionistliku vine, kuivõrd impressionism must-valges maalis üldse võimalik on. Kas siis Maarit Murka puhul toimib alkomeeter nagu vaimumeeter? Nagu juba öeldud, sakusmendiks sai üks ta oma töödest, kui ta värskelt maalitud lõuendilt õlivärvi lakkus. Keelelöögid annavad pildile faktuuri nagu krüsanteemi kroonlehed või vaklade vaenuköis. Video kujutab protsessi ennast. Igatahes Maarit Murkal on maitsekaaslasi, näiteks Ani K. Tai kuningriigist on maalinud keelt värvi sisse kastes Mahatma Gandhit ristil ja Osama bin Ladenit koopas, mida saab ka YouTube’ist vaadata. Ent värvi äralakkumist guugeldades satub ohutustehnika ja porno lehekülgedele, mille poolest Maarit Murka ongi äkki kunstimaailmas esimene. SooSoo galeriis võib vaadata videoeksperimente ajatajuga. Kui paluda kahel inimesel viie minuti jooksul kätt suruda, läheb aeg millegipärast alati üle, ent musivahetus kestis antud katseisikute puhul hoopis lühemat aega. Võib-olla oli üks suudleja küüslauku söönud ja teine värvi lakkunud. Kui juba vahetustest rääkida, ei saa mööda minna Tammi galerii vahetusoksjonist, mida kureerib Maarit Murka. Nimelt ei osteta seal pilte raha eest, vaid vahetatakse üksteise vastu. Miks ei võiks kunstiteost televiisoriga mõõta? Poliitikud pakuvad reklaamitulpadel lausa iseennast, kandes silti „vahetus”. Iga teaduse elementaarne nõue on õige ekvivalendi leidmine.
Andri Ksenofontov