The Happiness Index
12 artists evoke extremes of the well-being spectrum
ARTag Gallery, Helsinki May 23 - June 16, 2019
Organized by Tuukka Peltonen & Jeff White
Last year, during a visit to Tuukka Peltonen’s home in Virrat, I asked him how he judges his own images. His simple but ultimately compelling response was that “it should make you feel something”.
Each year the UN publishes the World Happiness Report wherein 156 nations are ranked. Thousands of respondents to Gallup World Poll surveys rate their current life experience, 0 - 10. In 2018 & 2019, Finland took the #1 position with scores of 7.632 & 7.769 respectively.
The report’s scientists believe that six key variables are most significant for a nation to support well-being; income, healthy life-expectancy, social support, freedom, trust & generosity.
When asked to create images to evoke the extremes of the well-being spectrum, these 12 printmakers employed their own set of variables; form, color, personal disposition, etc. But the greatest variable to the emotional potency of this or any art is the receptive consciousness of you, the viewer.
-JW
Images above are Robert Patierno's contributions. A take away for him was how inextricably linked the 2 extremes are.
Christopher Coltzau, Wahlstedt
As an opening act for the 12 Happiness Index artists, 12 nine year old girls contributed 24 happy/sad drawings.
JW found a collaborator in Sleepy Hollow, NY artist Jane Kang Lawrence who helped him to carve & print 3-blocks per drawing.
JW assembled these into accordion books & used the original blocks to build a Free Little Library to be maintained by this troop of Girl Scouts.
TUUKKA PELTONEN
ENRIQUE FIGUEREDO
Puente International Las Tienditas I & II, ed. 7, size 13
KAREN KUNC
Fury & Flow, Reduction woodcut on kozo. 2 Artist Proofs of each (size 13). An edition was made of both together on a single sheet.
KAREN LEDERER
Flower Power & Witness. Woodcut, stencil, chine-collé, monoprints 1/1. Size 13.
BETH SUTHERLAND
Red Metal Awning (size 12), ed. 7 & Stumps (size 9), EVII ed.5, reduction woodcuts.
NOORA NIO-JUSS
RUSS SPITKOVSKY
CHRISTOPHER COLTZAU
MEGAN BRADY
EIJA PIIRONEN
Awake, 2-block reduction woodcut, artists proof, (size 8). Smote & Husht, both reduction woodcuts, ed. 5 (size 6).
Free Little Library outside Washington Irving Elementary School in Tarrytown, NY