The Finland Museum of Contemporary Art – Kiasma was located in between my hostel and the city center and since my primary mode of transportation was my own two feet, I’d walked by the place about a half dozen times before I finally went in.

I don’t in any way consider myself an art buff but I’m always fascinated by contemporary and modern art exhibits. Maybe I simply don’t possess the depth to fully appreciate certain pieces of “art” on a serious level, however I do find some of it extremely entertaining.

Like a video of a woman getting sprayed in the face by a spray bottle until she’s sopping wet all the while keeping a straight face (turns out the woman in the video is the artist).

Or hanging various colored ribbons from the ceiling.

Or making a snow-globe of someone meeting their end at the hands of a tree (this is actually pretty awsome!).

I may not have understood all of it, but I certainly enjoyed it. And there are some things that I found to be very innovative and “artsy” (by my definition – which I can’t really even define). Like a serious of giant bubbles that you stand in and contain the essence of a city; the sounds, smells and images of a place.

And photography of clever solutions to everyday problems.

An exhibit that was particularly interesting followed the efforts of the artist, Sasha Huber, to rename the Swiss mountain Agassizhorn. The mountain is currently named after Louis Agassit, a scientist who photographed a slave in the US as proof for a paper declaring blacks an inferior race.

Huber’s goal is rename the mountain Rentyhorn, after the slave that was photographed. While it haven’t officially been renamed yet, Huber traveled by helicopter to the summit to place a marker bearing the new name.

Creativity + Social Justice = Art I can understand