Day 28: Rauman Art Museum

Today morning, in preparation for a family friend gathering the Wendelins were hosting, Marja and I went to the Marketplace to acquire some fresh fruits and vegetables.

The marketplace in Old Rauma. Marja went to pick up some cucumbers (kurkku), potatoes (peruna) tomatoes (tomatti) and strawberries (mansikka).

At 2 PM, we arrived at the Rauma Art Museum for a special guided tour in English. Fortunately, Marja, Camilla and I were the only ones, so we technically received a private tour! It was pleasant not having a swarm of people flood the tour guide. Instead, we could ask her as many questions as we wanted.

Illegal immigrants in Russia, painting their plight. In a country where not many middle class Russians want to associate with immigrants, the artist who painted these immigrants attempted to a face to the immigrant struggle. 

In 2012, an anonymous hacking organization managed to hack into 4.6 million LinkedIn accounts. This artist attempted to show the fragility of the Internet age by publishing in eight volumes all 4.6 million passwords hacked. Very brilliant. 

The eight volumes of passwords

The passwords in the book. It's interesting to see how people come up with their passwords..I saw some pretty ridiculous ones!

Accompanying this structure was former President Mannerheim's booming voice condemning the Red Guards in Finland for following Lenin's orders and attempting to taint Finland with communism.

This sculpture in the movie is the same as the sculpture in the picture I posted above, but in this movie, he is standing straight. It is referred to as the "Statue of Liberty" but faced great controversy because it seemed to mock the plight of the people who died during the Finland-Russia clash in 1918.

This "computer game," another exhibit, was created to mock the absurdity of a court case in which the artist was charged with possessing cannabis. 

This was an exhibition called "Power"- How do we perceive power? Is it money, as indicated by the pile of coins? Or is it strength, as indicated by the treadmill and the boxing match depicted on the television screen?

This exhibition was a bit eerie and unsettling. Basically, the artist talked to four different people about the creepiest scene they've ever witnessed in a movie and the four people had to reenact the scene as the "victims." 

Outside the museum

Walking around Vanha Rauma. All the historical buildings, which are all part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site are occupied by residents.