No Painting

	Pictures from the exhibition No Painting at the Tallinn Art Hall (May 21 - July 10, 2005). Curator Anders Härm, artists Daniele Galliano (Italy), Ritums Ivanovs (Latvia), Davide LaRocca (Italy), Matts Leiderstam (Sweden), Jani Leinonen (Finland), Ylva Ogland (Sweden), Tõnis Saadoja (Estonia), Sophia Schama (Germany), John Smith (Estonia), Mari Sunna (Finland/Great Britain). In the words of the curator, "the point of departure for this exhibition was to find different painting-based author positions in the field of contemporary art, but not to create an exhibit of paintings. No Painting! All ten artists participating in this exhibition work somewhere between painting and picture, although their methods may be quite different."* *text by Anders Härm from the exhibition catalogue Maalimine keelatud! No Painting! Tallinn Art Hall, 2005
	Comment by a participant on the role of painting today: It seems to me quite often that it is now very difficult to convey something significant by means of a painted picture. There is nothing wrong with the picture, that's all right, but trouble starts with painting. The less a painting appeals to its being a painting, and the more it emphasises its other aspects, the better. If there is something to say it should be done as directly as possible, and not kick off with the words, "Hello, I am a painting and I would like to tell you this..." In a good work, technique is naturally never the main thing, but with such old historical methods the message, if it exists in the first place, tends to get stuck in the realisation. If you pick up a brush and call the subsequent activity painting, you instantly lose the ability to think naturally and with a purpose in mind. You paint pictures although you had initially planned to tell something essential and interesting. Kaido Ole Professor of painting at the Estonian Academy of Arts, member of the John Smith team
	| Estonian Art 1/05 (16) | Published by the Estonian Institute 2005 | ISSN 1406-5711 (Online) | ISSN 1406-3549 (Printed version) | einst@einst.ee | tel: (372) 631 43 55 | fax: (372) 631 43 56 |