Disappointment of the year?
The Year 2012 in Review
Arterrtitory.com
27/12/2012
Illustration by Gatis Kurzemnieks
We have already revealed, which exhibitions, films and books have created the most memorable impressions of the year 2012, but today we will uncover, which has been the year’s biggest disappointments. Since early December the staff of Arterritory.com has been on a mission to learn the opinions of the many creative intellectuals from the Baltic States, Scandinavia and Russia. Now we can finally reveal all of our findings. Happy holidays!
Mārtiņš Vanags, writer for Rīgas Laiks magazine, Latvia
There weren't any disappointments; overall, I like what is going on in Riga – the city and its artistic life seem to have come back to life – are even flourishing – after the economic crisis.
Keta Gūtmane, fashion designer, Latvia
I don't know; everything I've seen has been quite balanced.
Christian Andersson, artist, Sweden
David Cronenberg's screen adaptation of Don DeLillo's Cosmopolis. In theory this was to be THE film for me this year. But just as I hoped that Linklater's Philip K Dick adaptation of A Scanner Darkly would save me in 2007, this too was a great disappointment. Some things are just good on paper, no matter who's behind the camera...
Riivo Anton, entrepreneur, advisor and investor, Estonia
I'd be really disappointed, if December 21 was the actual end of the world.
August Künnapu, artist, Estonia
There are experiences in life, not disappointments.
Maria Arusoo, curator and executive manager of Center for Contemporary Arts, Estonia
Happened to watch one Estonian art broadcast from 19-something where they talked about art politics of the time and, surprisingly enough, over the years not much has changed.
Helēna Demakova, art historian, Latvia
I knew I wouldn't be original if I'd say that the year's disappointment was the completely degenerated Manifesta (an exhibition of supposedly new artists) in Genk, Belgium. But since everybody else will mention it, then I'll say that I was very disappointed that the media (both printed and internet-based) was not interested in the solo show of the excellent Estonian artist, Jüri Ojaver, in their art space in the center of Tallinn. The exhibition of new trends and Kaido Ole's show at KUMU seemed much emptier to me. Just like the exhibition of ten new artists that took place at the same time as Ojaver's show.
Vita Zaman, art director of VIENNAFAIR, Austria
No expectations, no disappointments.
Olga Temnikova, owner of Temnikova & Kasela Gallery, Estonia
Not winning anything in Basel.
Milena Orlova, editor-in-chief of The Art Newspaper Russia, Russia
Statement from several Moscow galleries that they are closing. After twenty years of work.
Marge Monko, artist, Estonia
The fact that Estonian Academy of Arts did not get the financing for its new building because of ignorance of the Estonian Government.
Krišs Salmanis, artist, Latvia
Losing the Head of Philip K. Dick by David Dufty. How can someone write something so clumsy about robots?
Karin Laansoo, director of Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center, Estonia
My two biggest heartbreaks of 2012 – the devastation of hurricane Sandy in New York and the Newtown school massacre.
Darius Miksys, artist, Lithuania
No idea!
Kaido Ole, artist, Estonia
People and life around me, sometimes and somewhere. Particular events, good, bad or average, are just peaks of our activity. The bottom or soil where it all comes, the “back-stage“ show is usually more attractive and educative than these “official“ results.
Anna Arutyunov, art critic, Russia
Among others, which were mostly not related to the disappointments in art, it was sad to watch the closing Openspace.ru project in its original form.
Jacob Fabricius, director of Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Denmark
Whitney biennale.
Sara Arrhenius, director of the Bonniers Konsthall, Sweden
The continuous cuts in cultural funding throughout Europe. We are ignorantly destroying essential infrastructures for culture that have been built up during decades.
Andris Vītoliņš, artist, Latvia
I nominate the media in Latvia. I remember the early 90s, when a bunch of weird newspapers (sold in the tunnels around the central train station) popped up like mushrooms in the post-soviet culture of the time. Most of these papers specialized in the genre of horror (a similar kind of information is doled out today in “wonderful” programs like Kriminalinform or Degpunktā). Unfortunately, as the media in Latvia have evolved, this style of news has begun to lewdly dominate in all of the nation's newspapers. Excuse me, newspaper editors, but I'm not interested in a mother who killed her son because he ate a jar of jam, or that a man repeatedly rapes his dog or daughter! Why must such rubbish be put on the front pages of national newspapers? Why don't they put Jānis Avotiņš, who is participating in a Saachi-organized exhibition, or other positive news, on there instead? That's why I'm disappointed in all of the local media, and instead of their webpages, I always look at the BBC page instead...
