ART-TRIBUTE:ARS 17 Hello World!-Part III

The ARS exhibitions are a series of major surveys of international contemporary art, organised since 1961. In total, the exhibitions have had more than half a million visitors, presenting work by about 600 artists or groups. “ARS17: Hello World!” is the 9th exhibition in the series, and the fourth to be held in Kiasma, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, Finland (Part I, Part II)

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art Archive

ARS17 includes over 50 artists in three programs: ARS17 the main exhibition, ARS17 + Online Art a newly launched platform to present works online, to extend the experience beyond the museum walls and ARS17 at Kiasma Theatre, exploring the issues of digital transformation on the present and future of live art, including guest performances and four Finnish premieres. The exhibition “ARS17: Hello World!” is a survey of contemporary art focusing on the global digital revolution and its impact on our culture and economy, as well as human identity and behaviour. The exhibition brings together 35 artists from 13 countries representing three generations, from the ‘60s to the ‘80s. Many of the artists featured in the exhibition are post-internet millennials, who are digital natives more or less from the moment they are born. For them, the physical and virtual worlds are inseparable components of the same merged reality. In their world, digital technology is not an end itself, but a tool for creating, sharing and experiencing. The investigated theme is the digital revolution, though not from a technology-driven perspective, but rather from a human-interest angle, focusing on behaviours, feelings, desires and communities. In our daily lives, digital services and platforms have become tools for connecting people and for delivering streamlined, personalized services. Meanwhile, our consumer habits, relationships and personal interests have become more public and visible than ever before. The internet has become a state of mind, both on a personal and collective level. The themes include human relationship with animate objects, technology and energy production, the connection between the physical and virtual worlds; self-image as shaped by social media; and where we are headed in the future, whether in the direction of techno-utopias or frightening dystopian visions. Some of the works depict the internet as the great collective unconscious of our time. The exhibition also highlights the new aesthetics of the digital age and the experimental use of brand aesthetics in the post-capitalist era. The ARS17+ Online Art is a collection of online art that can be enjoyed anytime, anywhere, via personal mobile device if the user so desires. Some of the pieces in the online collection add an extra dimension to an accompanying physical work in the exhibition.

Info: Curator: ARS17: Dr. Leevi Haapala, Curatorial Team: Marja Sakari, Kati Kivinen, Patrik Nyberg and Jari-Pekka Vanhala, ARS17+ Online Art:  Arja Miller, Eija Aarnio and Milja Liimatainen, Selected Commissioned works: Attilia Fattori Franchini, Theatre’s Program: Mikael Aaltonen, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Mannerheiminaukio 2, Helsinki, Duration: 31/3/17-14/1/18, Days & Hours:  Tue & Sun 10:00-17:00, Wed-Fri 10:00-20:30, Sat 10:00-18:00, www.kiasma.fi & http://arsplus.kiasma.fi