Minna Kangasmaa

Veikko Halmetoja | Fine arts critic

The traditional techniques and motifs of handicrafts today form part of the broad imagery of modern art. This has not always been the case. Handicrafts, especially those traditionally seen as women’s occupation, have been treated with contempt. In times when ornamentation has been frowned upon, embroidery, crocheting or lace-making have not been viewed as means of artistic creation.

In her work Minna Kangasmaa conveys a strong tradition of handicrafts. She uses it as a raw material, not stopping at reproduction. Her approach is versatile: she may apply a traditional handicraft technique, but crochet with copper instead of cotton thread. At other times she merely takes the traditional decorative patterns found in handicrafts, reproducing them in concrete, for example. Lacework often borrows patterns from nature. The patterns follow their computational formula with mathematical precision. Kangasmaa has gone in search of the origins of lace patterns; she replicates nature more faithfully than the original lacework. In this way she draws attention to the dialogue between handicrafts and nature.

Besides handicrafts, the artist also addresses wider issues which could be called ‘women’s culture’ in our cultural heritage. Her focus here is the relationship between aesthetics and natural imagery.

Minna Kangasmaa has photographed the crowns of trees and produced a glossy compendium of the photographs. The foliage is portrayed on its pages as the season’s fabric collection. One might interpret this as a criticism on fashion’s shallowness, but Kangasmaa’s approach is not overly serious. She is gently sensitive to our longing for beauty. She lets the photographs speak for themselves. Nature’s idiom has such a strong impact on everyday ornamentation that we do not experience a conflict. The omnipresence of nature is one of Kangasmaa’s key messages.

The idea of recycling aesthetics is dear to Kangasmaa. In her latest works she picks out patterns in old porcelain plates which imitate nature. Detached from their context these patterns no longer automatically appear beautiful. They contain rugged forms and stark simplification. The physical process of detaching the patterns from the plates leaves behind porcelain waste: fine, sandy residue which she also showcases. It highlights the importance of the ornamentation. The white surface is left over when the ornaments are taken aside. The residue also serves to remind us that many natural resources are not renewable and that one day the raw material for porcelain will also run out. Porcelain is not a recyclable material; the crushed plates are not reusable the way shards of broken glass are. Kangasmaa gives this material a new lease of life while reminding us of the limits of its availability. As a sculptor Kangasmaa is driven by content. The natural imagery and handicraft tradition are the cohesive elements in her work. The form and material of the works differs from one piece to the next; the surface of sculptures is often rich in implications. She often makes reliefs or otherwise subordinates the sculpture’s form to its surface. Form is also subordinated to content since the ornaments’ surface is its content.