b. 1972, Porvoo. Lives and works in Loviisa and Berlin.

This work is made out of the enthusiasm of the Elvis Presley Fans. My first interest in Elvis look-alikes rapidly expanded when I discovered more of the creativity of the Elvis Fans. My work consists of showing selected parts of this creativity, which manifests itself in many different artistic, commercial and political forms all over the world.
Kristofer Paetau

1. Do you consider your work to belong to the field of visual art or is it rather some other form of cultural activity / activism?
Because of my passion for (and my studies in) aesthetics, art history and visual arts, my activity is rooted in the field of visual arts in theory as well as in practice. Nevertheless my new artistic research (which started in the beginning of 2004) is evolving closer to performing arts like theatre, circus, street arts and other forms of "live shows" and happenings. My interest in these forms of expression is related to my perpetual interest in human representation and human expression. Another important motivation for me is the pleasure of working together with all sorts of people who are expressing themselves with passion and commitment. This kind of energy is more often to be found in children's curiosity for different creative disciplines, in fan-art, in amateur art and in all kinds of hobbies, rather than in the institutionalized field of contemporary art. My aim is to bring some of this energy back into the field of contemporary art, not only by representing it but also by producing it.

2. Why did you choose youth / youth culture as the subject matter for your work?
Actually I didn't. My work is dealing with the phenomenon of the Elvis Presley cult. This fan phenomenon is rather associated with the generation of my parents. In my work for Kiasma I am focusing on the creative potential of Elvis Presley fans in the shape of Elvis imitators and Elvis fan-artworks. The interesting thing is that this first fan-generation is actually (successfully) transmitting their passion to their children… In this case youth culture is becoming a more general cultural and human phenomenon – 'forever young' – overlapping now at least three generations already.

3. Are there more specific issues that you wish to underline in your work?
As I am using the creative energy of other people in my work by representing and producing it in the context of visual arts, my position as an artist might not be evident to accept within a more traditional understanding of visual arts. In this case I am acting more like a producer, (art) director, scenographer, administrator, documentary photographer/cameraman / video-editor, than like an 'original' artist expressing her/himself. For me the 'original' artists are the Elvis imitators and the producers of fan-art, whether they assume this position or not. And for them the original artist is probably Elvis Presley. My position might be that of a 'meta' artist. Although this term would need an extensive definition I prefer to evoke it here rather than to (mis)use more acceptable terms like 'curator' or to invoke art practices like the 'ready made'.

4. What are the sources of inspiration for your work?
My interest lies in all things "too human". I am interested in passionate amateurs and energetic hobby activists as well as in all kinds of live performers and 'performative' situations. My work is inspired by questions dealing with identity and imitation, with displacement and re-contextualization. My own artistic inspiration is most of the time a connection of something I experience in my life and something I can associate this experience with in the field of visual arts. For the Elvis Presley Fan-Artwork I remember two sources of inspiration that occurred when I was around 10 years old: my uncle imitating Elvis with a guitar and my father who bought my first music cassette at a fuel station: because they didn't have Elvis cassettes he chose a pseudo-imitator of Elvis called Shaking Stevens…

5. Do you find the museum / art institution a problematic context for your work?
This is the first time that I am working with a museum. As museums are instruments of power – at least within the field of visual arts – this power can influence art and artists in a positive as well as in a negative way, depending on many parameters. The most important parameter is – I believe – the personal understanding and collaboration between the representatives of the institution and the artist. As I am dedicated to the idea of “re-institutionalizing” art, in the sense of a dispersion of art and art institutions within the society, my position to the museum is double. On one hand the museum creates a privileged and exclusive space for art and exactly by doing this wonderful thing it prevents art from dispersing into society in a more open and uncontrolled way. Nowadays many museums try to compensate this situation with a more popular policy, trying to reach a younger public and creating additional channels of communication (internet, radio, TV, newspapers, external events). I believe that my role as an artist is to assume not only the way my work looks, but also the way my work is dispersed within the society. This is why I am interested in using several channels of communication as well. The museum (as well as other existing art institutions) can be one of them, but not the only one. As an artist I have to constantly develop my own channels of expression and communication in order to create spaces of freedom for my work.

6. Is urban or street art relevant to your work / life as an artist?
Yes. And I do not limit urban or street arts to graffiti, skateboarding and hip-hop music. My interest goes for graffiti paintings as well as for anti-graffiti policy, including over-painting or erasing graffiti. For me a street vendor, a beggar, a punk, a skinhead and all kinds of people who attract my interest in my daily urban life are relevant for my work and for my life.

WORK:
Elvis Presley Fan Art, 2005
Work conceived in collaboration with Elvis Presley fans.
434 digital prints, 2 videos, postal stamps, photographs, drawings, Elvis Presley theme objects