Introduction of the Artistic Committee: Veli Granö

A five-member artistic committee is responsible for the artistic quality and content of the KampusART arts programme. Their task is to prepare the presentations of artworks for the new building and its surroundings to the steering group.

Veli Granö, a visual artist from Porvoo, works most often with installations, but video and photograph are also mediums for him. The topics of his art come mostly from the marginal zones: the people of the ITE art (Finnish contemporary folk art) can be the subject of research, or it can be a study of the boundaries of the visible world.

In addition to his artistic work, Granö has held numerous teaching and trust positions. For almost ten years, he was a member of the State Art Commission, which is in charge with acquiring public artworks for Government properties and buildings in Government. Experiences from the State Art Commission were useful at the Academy of Fine Arts, where he held courses in public art with other professors. In that way, public art processes and various art competitions are very familiar to Granö.

What do you expect for the KampusART arts programme?

I hope the KampusART arts programme produces art that awakens the viewers to reflect on issues of humanity and existence from new and surprising perspectives.

What public artwork has impressed you and why?

Already at a young age, I was impressed by Veikko Hirvimäki‘s Kuningasajatus/The Leading Thought (the Mika Waltari Memorial, published in 1985) in Töölö, Helsinki. The work consists of the pedestal with a number of oddly shaped stone pieces on top. I still feel strong emotions in front of the sculpture. Still when facing Kuningasajatus/The Leading Thought, everyday life always changes to metaphysical reflections.