33 years ago I wrote the article “Spatial
Poetry” (journal Looming 4/1986).
Rereading it now, many things seem to
be the same – after all, the character and
essence of spaces change slowly. Perhaps I
have changed myself. The article contains
a lot of intellectual analysis, quotations
from philosophers and poets. Today, my
experience of life has given me the chance
to directly contact the genius loci, and the
opinions of the great and the good are no
longer that important. In the following, I
will try to characterise spatial experiences
from recent travels.
Havana
In winter 2018/2019 my wife and I visited
Cuba for the first time. The energy
I immediately perceived was warm and
mild. It seemed like a sweet dream, dancing,
colourful, free, merry and childish.
It is said that the spirits of a place, even
Mother Earth, are childish, with a mind
of a 12-year-old or so. You can truly feel
the presence of spirits in Cuba.
The mainstream
media depicts the situation in Cuba
as poor, miserable, unhappy and sad. But
it is not so – people have dignity, they are
jolly, and what’s most important – free in
their heart. Just as we were in the Soviet
era and in the 1990s. Shops are empty, but
people are well dressed – the black market
operates faultlessly.
Havana’s grand classicist
and Art Deco architecture is pleasantly
careless – a bit crumbling, (still) allowing
access to all courtyards and rooms,
Cuban music everywhere, smells of rum
and cigars.
There are seven remarkable
luxury hotels, where people can go and
see the rooms, stair halls, atriums and roof
balconies. Piranesi-style room, rhythms
of light, complicated stairs and an abundance
of roof balconies (open pools, bars,
roof gardens) together with enchanting
city views make an unforgettable spatial
impression. We are fascinated by innumerable
colonnades lining the streets.
Sometimes the arcades with curved arches
recall Giorgio de Chirico’s paintings.
Vilen Künnapu. Somewhere in Cuba. Acrylic on canvas, 2019
In
reality, Havana resembles a strange time
machine – mainly American cars from the
1940s – 1960s, pink, yellow, blue, lilac and
red. People are not dependent on Internet,
which hardly exists. Facebook is replaced
by communication, dance, rum, coffee and
domino. Visiting art galleries and museum,
dance parties and markets you can capture
a magical perception of life, a mixture
of life patterns of Native Americans,
black and Spanish peoples. And all this is
primarily expressed in Salsa – a timeless
dance style, enjoyed by both young and old. This is pure magic. At a local dance
party in a small town we sense its timeless
power and miracle – there in no time, no
socialism-capitalism, not even men and
women – instead, there is a kind of new
spatial-poetical dimension where we all
exist. It is like a dream.
In Cuba we perceive
the closeness of the sea. The undulating
and rumbling Atlantic Ocean in the
north, the peaceful and grand Caribbean
Sea in the south. The tropical flora in the
middle part of the elongated island forms
the background of the settlement, empty
roads are the blood vessels and the small
towns with lakes and rivers constitute the
vital organs.
Music is coming from every
single pub, hotel and restaurant, however
small. Musicians and dancers are the cooks,
waitresses, dish-washers and their close
relatives. Revolution has drowned in the
dense brances of palm trees, Guantanamera
songs, dry riverbeds and cloudless sky.
Vilen Künnapu. Havana. Acrylic on canvas, 2019
Vilen Künnapu. Havana Malecon. Acrylic on canvas, 2019
St Petersburg
I had not been to St Petersburg for a long
time. In Leningrad during school and once
when I was a student at the art institute.
And now when the journal Projektbaltija
invited me to contribute, as a writer, lecturer
and member of the jury, I have been
there several times in a row. The first
impression is always the freshest. I remember
coming out of my hotel and feeling
a warm and happy gust of energy. Some
bearded actors were standing near the theatre,
and I stopped to observe them. They
smiled and waved. Disco music and merry
shrieks emanated from a children’s café, the
shop selling erotic underwear had a sign
saying: “Forbidden to under 15-year-olds“.
However, a boy was just emerging, hardly
12, probably the only client at the moment.
A marvellous old woman was selling strawberries
on the corner. I asked where they
were from, and she said Serbia. And where
are you from, she wanted to know. Estonia
– she was clearly astonished. Estonia has
become a distant land. Inhabitants of St
Petersburg are very fond of us. They know
the names of Tallinn streets, singers, architects,
sculptors. Anne Veski and Jaak Joala
are still like divinities.
St Petersburg, like
Tartu, is slightly provincial, and thus has a
special charm. Trendy cafes are open until
late, art museums are full of superb modern
art, bookshops abound in the best art
books from around the world. Counters
with esoteric literature stretch for miles.
A view from the
balcony of St Isaac’s Cathedral in
St Petersburg
Photo: August Künnapu
I
like the Russian spirit – it has verve, depth
and mystery. At night, the city is smartly
lit up, classical architecture seems perfect
namely at night. I am driving with the local
architect and artist Pasha around nocturnal
St Petersburg. The car radio is tuned to
stylish jazz. Pasha resembles a civil war
hero in Russian films in the 1960s. He is
tall, moustachioed, with a melancholy eye
and old-fashioned black jacket, friendly and
helpful. He shows his childhood’s nooks
and crannies on Vasilyevsky island; industrial
constructivism, today’s architecture
adorned with colonnades and chimneys.
Pasha’s own works recall Lapin – respect for
Estonia is supreme.
I cannot compare the
Nevsky Prospect with anything – there is
no such lively and powerful axis anywhere
else. Remarkable Jugendstil, street bands,
elegant beauties, cafes and shops. Sanctions
against Russia have actually been beneficial.
All that Western food in multicoloured
packaging, full of chemicals, does not exist
here. Various sweets and cakes, blinis – just
like in olden times.
I warmly recommend
restaurant “Gogol” – by far the best Russian
cuisine I have ever tasted. Art gourmands
should visit the reconstructed wing of the
Hermitage called “Glavnõištap” (headquarters).
It is hard to find such a superb
collection of paintings anywhere – best
works of Matisse, early Picasso and his
brilliant Cubism, Bonnard, Gauguin and
other favourites of mine. The paintings are
well lit by natural light, and there are many
of them. Or the Russian Museum and an
exceptional selection of works by Tatlin,
Malevich, Kandinsky, Popova and others.
In addition some less known Russian
artists from the 1920s, 1930s and 1950s.
A terrific experience.
Peter and Paul Fortress in St
Petersburg
Photo: August Künnapu
The Marble Palace,
part of the Russian Museum, contains an
outstanding collection of new Western art.
This is part of Peter and Irene Ludwig’s
collection – their gift to the Russian people.
All this can be enjoyed about 300 km
from Tallinn. Vasilyevsky Island now has
several new museums of modern art and
the elegant seaside culture centre Sevkabel
– a grand reconstruction of old harbour
buildings. And, almost forgot to mention
the island of Novaja Gollandia that belongs
to Abramovich, another huge culture hub.
In sum: the dirty and squalid Leningrad is
history, St Petersburg is a city of future –
diverse, stylish, straightforward and honest.
And a Russian is modest, polite, with rich
language usage and witty humour. I like
that they say what they think, just as we
do.
Los Angeles
My son and I are flying towards LA. I
am watching a silly film, where a devastating
earthquake is about to destroy the
whole California. The LA Downtown
skyscrapers tumble one after the other,
San Francisco’s Golden Gate collapses.
Only one Rambo-like chopper driver circles
above the ruins and rescues his girlfriend.
Every shaman would know that
such depiction is extremely dangerous – it
challenges trouble. Such films should be
banned.
However, the real situation in
the City of Angels is calm. We lived on
Venice Beach and opened a small group
exhibition in the nearby Venice Institute
of Contemporary Art, where August and
I displayed 5 paintings. I was last in LA in
1988, when Ain Padrik, Andres Siim and
myself quite successfully (we came second)
took part in the West Coast Gateway
architectural competition. Venice Beach
is exactly the same as 30 years ago. A bit
trashy, bohemian and jolly, occasionally
quite smart and even wealthy. The same
musicians and acrobats on Broadwalk.
There are homeless people, who sleep on
the beach. Among the new things is the
stylish art gallery LA Louver and some
trendy restaurants. Abbot Kinney Blvd
is lined with LA’s finer design shops and
cafes. The beach is cool, we take a dip
almost every day. West Hollywood and
Beverly Hills have not changed that much
either. Only Downtown is almost totally
new. 30 years ago it was a sparse, dusty
and dangerous place. Now we see new
chic skyscrapers, a grand park has been
established besides the city hall.
By the
doorway of a gospel church in LA
The jewel
of Downtown is Walt Disney Concert Hall
designed by Frank Gehry, an expressive
metal sculpture inspired by the surrounding
mountains. The house is a powerful
masterpiece. You could stare at it in wonderment
forever. A few years ago an art
museum called Broad was built near it, and
they fit together superbly. Broad contains
an extraordinary art collection, best in the
entire LA. Gehry’s smaller buildings are
scattered all across the city. Already back in
1988 I admired them most of all. Edgemar
was still under construction. Now we can fully
admire this little artwork (art gallery,
gym, café, shop, inner courtyards). Gehry
has not become old. Hs works are just as
fresh and captivating as before. The same
cannot be, alas, said about Richard Meier’s
works – they seem a bit tired.
What about the energy of the city? Just
as brisk and creative as ever. Waiters are
potential film stars, administrators scriptwriters,
taxi drivers, future concert organisers
– millionaires. The warm wind blowing
from the ocean seems to neutralise all
negative and excessive. Some of our friends
indeed call the ocean a god. Driving to
the Getty art centre on top of a hill we see
houses belonging to oligarchs, surrounded
by barbed wire and high walls. Mr Trump
is on his way to one of them. Because of
him, the 8-lane superhighway is blocked
during the rush hour starting from the airport.
Something like that could perhaps
only happen in North Korea. And Mr
Trump indeed drives past, looking worried
and thoughtful – after all, the new
campaign will need a vast load of dollars.
It is quite difficult to write about LA’s
energy. The seemingly carefree life of beach
surfers on the one hand, vainly childish
urban melee, the already mentioned highly
positive and powerful architecture of Gehry;
on the other hand, the mysterious gated
settlements and their – demon-like rulers of
the world. There is a mood of packing bags.
We did not notice anything particularly new
and interesting. Maybe the Estonian-Latvian
joint exhibition, “Painted Architecture” was
the one pleasant exception. We took part
in the Sunday service in the New Bethel
Baptist Church near our home in Venice.
We went there to just listen to some music,
but the result was one of the most powerful
spiritual experiences ever. My perception
of god had become a bit rusty in recent
years, but the gospel choir and mighty black
preachers cleaned it up magnificently. This
was doubtlessly one of the best experiences
of our stay. The preachers also touched
upon the topic of earthquakes. We’ll see
whether the gospel churches, the cleansing
effect of the ocean and simple people’s pure
thoughts can avoid the possible catastrophe.
Opening of the
exhibition “Painted Architecture”
Venice Institute of Contemporary
Art (VICA), LA
“Painted Architecture”
exhibition view
Venice Institute of Contemporary
Art (VICA), LA
Vilen Künnapu
Photo: Fred-Erik Kerner
Spaces and their poetry take shape from the
character of geometry of settlements, from
the state of flora and fauna, and most of all,
from people’s thoughts. We live at the time
of huge dimensional shifts. It is presumed
that the changes in the coming decades are
more radical than the previous changing of
the whole humankind. This change may
arrive through big natural catastrophes, but
could easily be more painless – everything
depends on people and their way of thinking.
If people start looking after our planet
and help one another, Mother Earth would
abandon her quaking – everything is, after
all, in the hands of someone higher. I personally
think that we create our spaces
ourselves, with god’s help. And we make
them how we like them. If you want to
be happy then be happy. If you want to be
depressed, go ahead. We get to the point
when spaces are in our head. My space is
poetic, jolly, colourful, funny. Nothing bad
can happen there, and nothing will.
VILEN KÜNNAPU
Architect and artist
instagram.com/vilenkunnapu
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