Thursday, February 24, 2011
Black Roses
My birthday roses have turned black. It has crossed my mind... for a blessed end, maybe I should paint a series on death. The black roses would be my first theme. I can still do it, provided that I restrict any disturbing factors to a minimum. It is possible, because I am already a long way to shutting myself out.
Thinking about death is a philosophical act. It makes you eliminate the rubbish from your mind.
Photo: Airi A.
Identifiers: death, black roses
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Kaltio 1/2011
In its first issue in 2011, Kaltio published an article on my TV films that have some connection with Oulu. The text with its pictures and links to the YLE Living Archives provides an excellent viewpoint on the topic. The online version of the article can be read at http://www.kaltio.fi/index.php?page=taipaleenmaki111
Identifiers: Kaltio 1/2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Wäinö Aaltonen's Letter / Guggenheim Museum
Via her sister, Wäinö Aaltonen sent me a letter from his sickbed in 1966. He had read my writings in“Pohjoinen”, in which I criticised the prevailing art politics in our country. W.A. surely knew what he was talking about when he wrote that all the money awarded for art went into the benefit of foreign art. I'm not too familiar with the plan to establish a Guggenheim museum in Finland. It just seemed as mindless to me as the war in Afghanistan. “...there is a good reason to act in such a way that something is also awarded for the benefit of Finnish art.”
Identifiers: letter, Wäinö Aaltonen
Monday, February 14, 2011
From a Duckling to a Swan
Saara had set her goal in making it to the Finnish final of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011. She placed second which was an excellent achievement. She will be publishing her first album shortly. Success like this is important at the time of its publication.
Photo from the YLE video.
Identifiers: Eurovision Song Contest, Saara
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Saara's Song
As Saara's song will be competing in the Finnish Eurovision Song Contest final, I think I, as the grandfather, have the right or even the responsibility to say a few words about this wonderful girl. I drew a picture of Saara when she was twelve. I had functioned as Saara's chauffeur for a number of years, when she was taking piano lessons with Olga Maslak.
At seven she had asked me who Bach was, when I had informed her that a music maker by that name was my favourite composer. At the time when the drawing was made, she delighted me by playing fugues on our harmonium. I hoped she would become a pianist, she was so good at it right from the start. But her temperament wanted a different kind of music.
Your songs are not the right kind for public contests, I said. People want something more straightforward, something easier to understand. “But there are no other channels to make your works known”, Saara said.
Identifiers: Saara
I Am Thankful for the YLE Living Archives
Together with Jukka Lindfors, I have had the opportunity to compile an extensive collection of my TV films for the YLE Living Archives. These archives are doing a valuable job by showcasing films and programmes shown in the YLE TV channels over the decades.
I had a unique opportunity to make documentaries for TV2 for nearly three decades. I was watching and recording my views from a northern point of view, whether the themes were related to Vilho Lampi or Picasso, Oulu or Helsinki or, say, the Kenyan medicine man Father Mithui.
Identifiers: Living Archives
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