During the course the students studied their environment through an artistic and experimental approach. Students were encouraged to put this approach into perspective of their own fields of studies and practices. The emphasis of the course was on the mechanism of pressure systems in our urban environment and on the concrete and circumstantial influence they have on our actions.
The course is practice based. It is important that the students were present and that we could do things together. In that way we can learn from each other.
During the course we visualized in different ways pressure systems around us. For example we used experimental drawing (no previous knowledge was needed) to register pressure. We built experimental pneumatic pressure system models in a workshop, we visited online the studio of a painter who is using pressure as his theme and looked into how experimental filmmaker work with the theme of pressure. We also listened to an expert on environmental water law on the theme of global water circulation in connection to legal issues of water distribution and the pressure on society in this field.
Teachers:
Guests teachers: Petri Eskelinen (sculptor), Viljami Heinonen (painter), Antti Belinskij (professor on environmental water law). Main course teacher: Denise Ziegler.
We collected some of our experimental material produced during the course and made this online exhibition.
Participants of the Under Pressure exhibition:
Aaro Hameri, Janne S. Holtta, Kim Jokinen, Fanni Kangasniemi, Panu Kannisto, Aarni Kapanen, Päivi Keskipomppu, Petteri Konti, Tomas Kurenniemi, Jean Alexander Munk, Ohto Mäkinen, Marcus Olsio, Pieta Oras.
About UWAS
University Wide Art Studies (UWAS) offers every Aalto student an access to art-based thinking, creative practices, and culture. UWAS opens a possibility to include art and design studies to one’s curriculum and broaden one’s knowledge and skills beyond disciplinary boundaries. This ensures that Aalto University educates multidisciplinary graduates informed in and knowledgeable of how art and creative practices shape and define the world around us. There are no prerequisites for UWAS courses, so students from all Aalto schools are welcome to participate.
Credits:
Image 1: Collage of drawings made right under the Otaniemi water tower on a windy day.
Image 2: Blood pressure measurements before and after visiting an Fine Art exhibition.
© 2021 Aalto University and the artists.