Hirshhorn Presents “Black Box: Risto-Pekka Blom”

Photo caption: Still from “Kurdrjavka [Little Ball of Fur]”, 2013. © Risto-Pekka Blom

April 21, 2015

April 27–Aug. 9
Finnish Artist Combines “Shreds” Videos and Dada

Media artist Risto-Pekka Blom (Finnish, b. 1970, Mikkeli; lives and works in Tampere) is featured in the newest exhibition in the Black Box space at the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. The exhibition consists of a single work, “Kurdrjavka [Little Ball of Fur]” (2013). It is the first U.S. museum presentation of the artist’s work.

On the surface, Blom’s video is a slyly unassuming homage to Laika (aka Kurdrjavka), who in November 1957, as the canine passenger of the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2, became the first animal to orbit the Earth. Although never intended to survive the voyage, the animal perished prematurely, a day or two into the flight, a fact that was suppressed for decades.

The short work focuses on a collage of archival footage shot in 1957, much of it from Finnish state holdings. Opening, closing and cityscape footage was shot by the artist in 2013 in Tampere.

With segments devoted to typical ceremonies for political leaders and government functionaries, this cine-poem is also a critique of the pomp and hypocrisy of officialdom. “In his juxtaposition of images, Blom employs the absurdist strategies developed by dada artists a century ago,” said Hirshhorn curator Kelly Gordon, who has organized the Black Box series since it was inaugurated in 2005. “But his sound editing draws on YouTube ‘Shreds’ videos, in which an invented soundtrack is synced with extant footage to subversive effect.”

Blom’s somber voiceover initiates the tone of his soulful narration: “Four hundred thousand kilometers per hour/in an expanding universe/in the cosmic noise of celebratory speeches/with an eye always blackened by a punch.” “Kurdrjavka” draws together fragments of sound and image to evoke broader notions of nostalgia—and its various forms, sublime and ridiculous, heartwarming and heartrending.

For more information about the artist, the exhibition and the Black Box series, which presents moving-image works by emerging and established artists, visit hirshhorn.si.edu/collection/black-box-series.

About the Hirshhorn
Now celebrating its 40th anniversary, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is the Smithsonian Institution’s museum of international modern and contemporary art. With nearly 12,000 paintings, sculptures, photographs, mixed-media installations, works on paper and new media works, its holdings encompass one of the leading collections of postwar American and European art. The Hirshhorn presents diverse exhibitions and offers an array of public programs that explore modern and contemporary art. Located at Independence Avenue and Seventh Street S.W., the museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25). Admission to the galleries and special programs is free. For more information about exhibitions and events, visit hirshhorn.si.edu. Follow the Hirshhorn on Facebook at facebook.com/hirshhorn, on Twitter at twitter.com/hirshhorn, on Tumblr at hirshhorn.tumblr.com and on Instagram at instagram.com/hirshhorn. Or sign up for the museum’s eBlasts at hirshhorn.si.edu/collection/social-media. To request accessibility services, contact Kristy Maruca at marucak@si.edu or (202) 633-2796, preferably two weeks in advance.

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