Jukola Päivi:
A true artist helps the world by revealing mystical truths
(A neon-light text by artist Bruce
Nauman)
Almost a year ago I stepped into Chydenia 414 in order to attend a course
I had chosen at HSEBA because of two particularly appealing words, International
and Darling. 'It's all marketing' was a topic I had never really
given a proper thought for. The professor made a first impression that
was almost too efficient and too energetic plus he was smiling all the
time (it is not that simple to lecture and smile at the same time), besides
it all appeared very natural for him. After having attended the class I
knew I had invested both in value and in growth, the difficulty was to
just to try to save all the data in my databank that kept on blinking out
of memory over the consecutive three weeks of the intensive course.
One can learn a great deal by reading and listening, however, there
are certain things one can observe only by looking. Prof. Darling does
not only talk about international marketing -he is international
marketing. Suddenly the simple letters have a bundle of meanings. His optimism
and the way he made us focus in the world rapidly changing around us, the
people, was something unique I had not experienced before in the academic
world.
The artists (I work as an artist and a practising architect in Helsinki)
are often described very open and enthusiastic for new ideas, for the old
ideas we have no time while we search for the new. Sometimes our eyes are
out of focus or we may overlook or not even see what is the most obvious.
Prof. Darling showed me different angles from which to observe the world
and how to sharpen my eye, and he still does whenever we meet. Moreover,
the unexpectedly rewarding course encouraged me to continue my studies
in the field of economics. It no longer seemed relevant to ignore the financial
issue, to discuss art work and scientific research, the future museums
(the conceptual idea of my Ph.D. work) only in terms of pure art and architecture,
Bôites d'Arts. The very first exercise of our corporate finance
class proved me I was on the right track: there is a method to solve which
gift to choose from a cereal box...and red herring is not a fish.
In the Japanese stroll garden the garden-artist has carefully chosen
each stone and the location for it the visitor is to follow. By each step
the visitor will discover the most beauty of the garden. Although the steps
seem to have been there was centuries, the light, the sounds or the odour
of green moss after the rainfall, the atmosphere is never equal. Every
once awhile the gardeners even create new paths. As soon as I found out
about John Darling's urban garden I encouraged my students at the Art Academy
and at the University of Industrial Arts to join me for a walk. We seldom
meet the gardener but whenever we do it is something special.
pjukola@uiah.fi
http://www.kuva.fi/projects/amti/pj.html
http://www.uiah.fi/projects/tilastudio/jukola.htm
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