Vappu Thurlow
Estonian Art critic and curator, Estonia
vappu@hot.ee
Paper Proposal: “ Contact between the Author and the Audience: Revelation of Avoidance?”
A few years ago an author pointed out that it is often characteristic of the Estonian art to avoid narrations, and he analyzed reasons for this. Aside from that, my paper also departs from an observation, that since the 1960ies the graphic artists of Estonia increasingly avoid depicting the human figure in their works (or if they depict it, they often avoid its direct visual contact with the audience). In the mid-80’s the human figure made its “comeback”, but in a completely different shape. In the paper we will try to find an answer to the questions: what are the reasons for this suppression of expression, does it have anything to do with “the character of the nation”, or with its political and historical conditions, etc.