Life out of balance

The Helsinki Festival had a special focus on the American composer / pianist Philip Glass this year. I went to see his beautiful piano recital, but of more interest was the film Koyaanisqatsi for which he had composed the music. The festival also presented the film in the Music Centre of Helsinki with live music, but I opted for the cheap version in the cinema (perfect!).

The film was absolutely gorgeous and the theme was obviously close to my heart: the exploitation of the planet by humans, the consequences and the craziness of it all. The film is directed by Godfrey Reggio and it was made already thirty years ago. However, the theme is even more actual now. In fact, it is devastating to see how things have only got worse. When will we learn that our way of life is not good for us or our surroundings?

The word 'koyaanisqatsi' is Hopi indian language, meaning 'life out of balance'. How wonderful that they have a specific word for that, it is a truly useful word. The film excellently portrays how life is out of balance: that is, humans and the nature are not in balance and humans are not in balance with themselves.

The film starts with amazing images from somewhere in Arizona or Nevada desert. At first, you think that it will be a film of the beauty of the nature. But suddenly, the tone of the music changes and emerge the tractors, the huge machines turning around the soil, explosions, oil rigs. Exploitation of the planet. After the beautiful images, it's a shock. The film goes on to show images of cities and human constructions. 8-lane highways in the USA. Skyscrapers. Big cities. You are simultaneously aghast but also admiring the capacity of the engineers to create and manipulate our environment. A capacity that is so grand that it makes you a little scared as well. 

However, all these constructions and destruction of the nature doesn't seem to make us happy. A sequence of the film with fast and almost psychedelic music and images makes you think of the craziness of our busy and stressed out lives. Like ants working working working without any idea why, no time to think what we are doing and why. And could there be any other way. We don't treat only the nature in a shameful way but also other nations, other people.

The films ends with the explosion of a spacecraft,  I guess the images were of Challenger exploding after its take-off. It was a great symbol for the capacity of the humans to create unimaginable things, but also how this engineering intelligence and greediness lead us to our own fall.

Helsinki in August - August in Helsinki

August is definitely the best time to visit Helsinki and it competes well with Berlin, Copenhagen or other trendy cities as a travel destination. Helsinki has been full of art, design, music and performances during the last couple of weeks (hence, no blog posts about my trip in Africa). To be honest, the city offers perhaps even too many cultural activities in August. The quality of the Helsinki Festival (17.8.–2.9.2012) programme is always very high and I can guarantee that what ever you choose, you will be satisfied. 

I started the festival with a concert of Madeleine Peyroux, a former street singer from New York. She has a great raspy voice and makes wonderful versions of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen songs as well as her own songs. She started the Huvila tent concert with Cohen's 'Dance me to the End of Love' (see below); coincidentally, Leonard Cohen started his own concert (a couple of weeks later) with the same song. Peyroux made fun of her own choice of sad and melancholic songs but I couldn't think of anything more suitable as the autumn approaches us and the evenings are getting darker. Wonderful concert.

The very cool and relaxed Art Goes Kapakka (art goes to a pub) happening brings live music and other forms of art in various pubs and restaurants in Helsinki. During ten days and ten nights, there were more than 300 events (free of charge) in Helsinki. I heard some sentimental indie folk by Selja Sini and Finnish klezmer by Narinkka. Considering the overwhelming cultural supply in August, I just wish that this event took place later in the autumn when the parks are too cold to accommodate (culture-) thirsty hipsters.

                                   

As with Taiteiden yö (the night of the arts), the AGK is a great way to bring art to all people regardless of the ability to pay. The city seems to be full of people – young and old alike – eager to enjoy art in all forms. During the night of arts, I first listened to some Ugandan music, then followed the amazing Domino chain going through the streets of Helsinki (see below) and finally listened to beautiful Argentine tango songs in my neighbourhood library. The idea of the night is that culture and people meet in unexpected places in unexpected ways. It works: the atmosphere in the city was really nice – I hope it could continue this way in the winter time as well.

                             

All the Domino photos by Helsinki Festival (Facebook).

Certainly, the idea of the domino chain was very simple. However, the way it brought excited people together was really cool. Thousands of people had congregated in the streets to follow the chain of blocks falling down. I could hardly see the blocks when the 'chain tumble' passed me, but I got emotional (in a somewhat hilarious way) by the idea how art can create such a sense of community. Bravo!

 People following the Domino in Senaatintori.

 The final part of the Domino.

One of the highlights of the festival was the magnificent Monteverdi concert in St. John's Church. Rinaldo Alessandrini (also in the video below) conducted the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra and choir in a brilliant version of Monteverdi's Vespri della Beata Vergine from the early 17th century. I got goose pumps and tears in my eyes immediately when I heard the powerful first notes. There is a feeling of perfection in Monteverdi's music – almost as if he had received the notes straight from God. 

This music makes me believe in gods.

One great thing about the Helsinki Festival is that they introduce a lot of good artists to people who don't follow the happenings in the art world so closely. I found out about this cool young Belgian singer Selah Sue that has sold tens of thousands of albums in Belgium and France. She was indeed very talented and I'm sure we'll hear more about her in the future. She had a great voice and an original style (see below), a mix of funk, soul and rap in the footsteps of Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu and other great female voices of the recent years.

                                      

In addition to these, I enjoyed classical music in the Helsinki Music Centre with Gewandhausorchester Leipzig conducted by Riccardo Chailly. They started with Mendelsshon's Violin concerto e-minor 64 (Nikolaj Znaider playing the violin), again unforgettable first notes (another version by Isaac Stern below) and obviously there was the sound of history and great tradition in the air as the orchestra in question was once conducted by Mendelsshon himself.

                                      

                                      

Last one of my concert experiences was a piano concert by Pierre-Aimard Laurent (below in the photo) visualised simultaneously by a British artist Normal Perryman (see video above on his "live kinetic painting"). While it was difficult in the beginning to follow both the music and the images reflected on the screen (done on the overhead projector with colourful paints), I then understood how the two forms of art complemented each other. A fabulous experience once again. 

Both photos from Helsinki Festival website.

After these overwhelmingly powerful cultural experiences, I can't help thinking of economy. In the middle of an economic crisis and budget cuts, I am extremely sorry that governments don't seem to understand the value of culture to the well-being of people and the beauty of life. More culture – less wars, unhappiness and anxiety.

It is easy to oppose subsidies to opera or theatres when jobs are at risk, but I can’t think of a more woeful society than a society without a wealthy variety of culture. It’s the end of our civilization if only profitable forms of culture can exist (Angry Birds and other video games?). It will make the selection in our libraries very poor if only best-sellers can be written (Da Vinci Code and Paasilinna?). Somehow, I wish no democracy in culture, if it means that I must read and watch what the majority is reading and watching.