4 Jun 09

Julia Wandel

I stayed in Mooste during march and april of 2009.

The delay of my report documents quite well how life again has a stranglehold over me with its daily routines and social life. I can’t reflect this without taking in account my time in Mooste where the only compelling structure of the day was to solve the heating problem. In my case it meant how to survive with only a gas oven and two small electronic heaters as the fire place did not work during my stay. It felt as if the bedroom door was the entrance to the arctic. As the electric system in the house was a little fragile sometimes, we had to find things out through try and error like “how many lights do I have to switch off while baking a cake” etc. This simplicity though was nice. It also included the Mooste-shopping-facilities (amazing how exited you can be about an espresso or fancy chocolate that somebody brings from Tartu). It is somehow very relieving not to have such a big variety of things and to realize that this actually is not a disadvantage at all. I found though that the Estonian transport system is something that is in desperate need of improvement. My plan to sit in a pub with some old Estonian guys and just watch a bit of the foreign daily life fell through because of the fact that Mooste is not frequented by any bus after 8 p.m. It would really be a good idea to have a moped or a little car for the residents. Otherwise you feel very dependant on the good will of others. I was really sad and still am to not have had a real chance to get to know Estonian people (also those not involved with art) and some evenings I just felt locked away and imprisoned. This makes time for an extra portion of self- analysis which can be a not so healthy thing if you are stuck in the middle of nowhere.

The second month of my stay I was totally alone as Andrea went back to Portugal and Evelyn and John were away in the U.S. During that time, Mari, who was hired as a temp for the house became a very helpful and thoughtful fellow. I was a little surprised by the fact that not very many things happened outside the walls of MoKS. We were not introduced to other artists (apart from when it was unavoidable) so that in the middle of my stay I had the thought that I could as well be in any other small village in the world. I felt that the residency itself was offered indeed but then not a lot of “extra” was provided or even of interest. Evelyn and Mari helped to find actors to put my videos into practise though. Also I should take account of Moostes insularity again. Without a car, you can never spend an evening anywhere anyway.

What was the point of the residency? I made some experiments on art that I would probably not have made in Hamburg. The experience of being katapulted in such a loneliness was interesting in some aspects. I guess that isolation might convert into something beautiful during summer. My urgent advice is to take a bus to Mustvee by the way. A very beautifull old village right at the Pelpsi-lakeside.

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26 May 09

From the diary of the journey to Estonia

Tallinn, last day in Estonia: I bought herring as souvenir. Perhaps, now that I think of what I did, I should have bought postcards instead. What if it doesn’t get home eatable? In that case I will also take two CDs of Arvo Part´s music: To Alina and Tabula Rasa and a few chocolates. Regarding spa, as far as my experience goes, don´t bother to come to this one is Tallinn, John and Evelyn took me to a better one with an extraordinary view to the woods.

Estonia has the greatest shades of dark in the endless green of the forests. Is necessary to want to see beyond the uniformity of first impressions: nature, in a micro and in a micro scale, is what I found to be the most grandiose thing to see Here. Beyond the surface of appearances are hidden little treasures of shapes, colors – small miracles to the attentive eye and ear.

My idea to be developed as artist in residency at Moks required introspection. Its process of making required sometimes others with whom I could exercise reflection. On the bus, the day of my arrival, from Tallinn to Tartu, influenced by natural landscape around me and the work of Empedocles I was reading, I decided to create a persona which name is Kypris. A persona is not a character but the exploration of a combination of several “what if I was like so”, the exploration of the self in many of its possibilities. It was good to be Kypris during the time of the residency. One who is capable of an absolute inner tranquility. I learned a lot in this process of being another, which is myself. I learned by being in solitude, by talking with John, Evelyn and Jez and I also leaned form growing the garden.

- Ana Carvalho

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16 May 09

estonian photographic score – for field recordings & ensemble….Jez riley French, May 2009

part # 1part # 2part # 3part # 4

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15 May 09

listening

lake and jettyblossomwindow of studiodrawing

Drawing a line, without needing it to be the start of something else, but to be itself.

watching.

I listen. I needed to know more about being.

When I was young my Mother bought me a portable cassette player. I played tapes in the garden. Once I pressed ‘record’ instead of ‘play’ and found that I had the sound of the garden on the tape. It was more interesting than the music I had taped over. Since then I have listened like this.

How many people truely appreciate and respect the opportunities that travel affords them ? How many go to locations other than thier usual place and yet try to carry on living in the same way ? How many keep thier ears tuned to the same sounds they hear every day ?

I am in Mooste, Estonia. The sounds are all different from anywhere else. I take photographs and they remind me of the visual differences. I make recordings and they remind me of this place.

I explore sounds through the location and the location through the sounds. I take photographs more in the way I make music – my emotions are at play not just my eye.

I explore my life too. Things that have been stressful. Things where I have not done well or have made mistakes. I work things through.

I eat.

always alive and glad to be so.

I create stories to send to my daughter and this is a wonderful experience. I talk to her as often as I can. I miss her and I miss my home, but they will be there to welcome me when I return.

I will go back with all of the experiences and explorations of this time in Estonia – so something has been added to life. To mine and therefore to those who I share it with.

I won’t write a thesis for my work. I am interested in people knowing something about me – thoughts are only a very small and somewhat clumsy part of who we are. We invent them. If I use the word ‘art’ to describe my creativity then I hope that my work speaks. The theory might well be there but I don’t feel it needs to be stated. I might miss reaching some people that way, but I am happy to reach the people who can respond on an intuitive and emotive level. If this comes first there is the freedom to think more about the work. If we arrive via the theory it is not possible to connect in the same way. – see ? I said thoughts are clumsy.

- Jez riley French, May 2009

http://JezrileyFrench.blogspot.com/

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12 May 09

Impressions and other thoughts

One of the most important things I realize, deeply within me, is that Time passes by in a non-linear way. Time accuracy depends not in facts but to the relation with thought (act of reason and act of emotion).
March residency, 2009

Today a book came by post – “Lisboaleipzig 1, o encontro inesperado do diverso”, Maria Gabriela Llansol.
(Free translation from Portuguese to English)
I organized my working table – the place where I am entirely happy; opened some manuscripts, and I realized that reading them took me, not has the books but has rivers floating in real life. (…) p.35
I remember of having imagined that, when it snows – what is different will became evenly covered with white snow. White for the trees, for the boxes that lie in the yard, for the walls to cover with stucco; then, it is needed to verify, that the volumes and colors where covered, and not to named them by the generic name of white. However, I will not have control over this phenomenon of the snow, and I will call them fulgor scenes (…). p.36
March 19 – Mooste
___________________________________________(sketchbook excerpts)
Today I went with Julia to a small walk in the morning. We went near the frozen lake. (I would like to try to do my circle there. My one hour walking circle as I tried before)
On our walk, we saw something really curious. It looks like cocoons coming out of the snow. The exterior was cover with straw and inside was just earth. I go back again, to take a better picture and perhaps to bring inside the house one of these cocoons.
(…) Continuing my research around the Light and Ground materials…until now I am very fascinated by the Sun (I keep going to Soho/ Nasa website to see the latest real time images. Still don’t know what to do with it).
I’m living and working in Moks house since some weeks…as not excepted I am working mostly inside (in the studio). It’s curious…to travel to here………………and realize that the place I am completely happy is my working table. March 21st – Mooste

Making fire
Instructions by Jonh Grzinich

1. open vent
2. fill oven with wood – try to use same size logs; – put wood face down
3. use paper to start fire – don’t worry it can take 2 or 3 times
4. after some time check to see if all logs are burning
5. when red coals form check with metal stick. Put burning logs on top.
6. At the end “rake” the coals. Make sure there is no flame. Never close the oven if there is flames.
7. When coals are ready close the door and vent.

(Fetch the wood logs at least one day before from the outside storage)
March 3th – house of Mooste

Making life
For trying a Spa “Värska Sanatorium”, at Varska. For local food taste “Kama” (Kama flour mixed with kefir and sugar), “Tatar”(cook like rice, eat with sour cream-Hapukoor in Estonian). Visit the zoological Museum (amazing dust covered stuffed animal) part of the Natural History Museum in Tartu. In need of tools, paint or other construction materials go to “ ” (good grief, i forgot it!); “Vanakau Bamaga” (Chinese shop) for small something, in Tartu. Be aware of the buses timetable (during week they end pretty early).

I am still upon the emotion of the definitive return travel to Portugal, and came to this so small room, to accumulate intensities. I never had I subtle passion, and had several by “physical phenomenon”, including the candlelight and the first snow leaf. (…)p.38
On my stay in the house of Moks in Mooste I found the right context for some of my project intention, which until now only existed as idea. The white charcoal dust over the wood stick is one of theme. Here I continued to research on the materials from the project from my previous residency in Nodar, Portugal. _____ I had time and I didn’t have time. I struggled with the contemplating landscape and soundscape. Not to expect and let things to arise. I am still continuing my research, i would say. The house routines slowly started to establish. I made a friend in my stay in Mooste and this is the most precious thing in the world that could have happen to me. Julia Wandel from Hamburg. It is expected to have a great time as artist in residency. My time was reasonable, with some exceptional days, good ones and bad ones. I would have preferred not to be so depending on Estonian speaking language to communicate. English can be not enough. I would have preferred to eat more meals with Evelyn and John. I would say that if one is searching for remoteness, Mooste in March is perfect. But we might not be up to our expectations to what a retreat means.
______________of Portuguese nature “is difficult do distinguish if the past is our future or if the future is our past”.
May, 2009 – Lisbon studio

“Self-portrait in motion”
Siim; Meeri; Liis; Andeus; Irja; Üno; Ene; Merike; Ülle; Küllike; Mari; John; Evelyn; Julia; Andrea.
March, 2009 – Mooste

- Andrea Brandao

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9 Jan 09

eamon’s rambling

Where to begin. I have to say that writing this from a slight distance (one and a half months and back on the other side of the world), the most overwhelming feeling I have is of having left so many things undone. Not that I feel I did not do enough during my time at MoKS, but simply that there was so much more I could have done. One month was not enough.

My daily excursions into the disused sections of the decaying ex-collective farm did slow as the temperature dropped, and the snow came in. But I would not have switched the weather for a more mild and stable one. I saw many pictures of Mooste in the summer sun, and it almost looked like another place. The chance to see the weather change over the month, and its effect on the landscape and soundscape was wonderful. When I arrived at the beginning of November everything was wet and soggy. Even in the forest the snapping of twigs under foot did not make their usually brittle snaps and cracks. All was muted somehow. Then everything froze. Sounds became crunchy and crackly underfoot again. The last leaves falling on the frozen road where clearly audible from a distance. And then came the snow again placing a sonic mute on the landscape. And finally, as it came closer to my departure, the snow melted creating a constant dripping and running of water. The metal pipes leading from the guttering at MoKS make a particularly wonderful sound. And finally followed by the wet squelchy sounds of the ground returning to mud.

I could have stayed in Mooste and recorded it’s amazing spaces for months. I’m luck to find one such site at home every few month and suddenly I was surrounded by many of them within 10 minutes walk. However the various excursions that John took me on where equally incredible, and still slightly hard to take in even now. The frozen rubble of one of John’s favourite sites at Podra, a recording trip with Felicity Mangan, Maksims Shentelevs and Kaspars Kalnins to a large disused Soviet military base in north Latvia, sitting on the side of the road in the cold and dark listening to the singing of telegraph wires/poles swaying in the wind, and finally four of us by the side of a small lake (I think??), huddled inside a small metal box in the rain, setting the thing resonating. Felicity accidentally startling a flock of ducking, sending them flying directly over us.

The activities Evelyn and John have instigated, facilitated or encouraged at MoKS are extremely impressive. As is the thinking behind it. Rather than trying to “raise” everyday life to the level of Art, it seemed to me to be a matter of simply using art as a way of living and exploring life and your surrounds. And much much more………………………

Thank you very much to Evelyn, John, Siim and Felicty for making my stay at MoKS such at enjoyable and thought provoking one.

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10 Aug 08

Jane Lafarge Hamill


Two months in Mooste have left time as a plastic thing. It’s collapsed and expanded simultaneously. I don’t know how long I was actually there. My memory vacillates. By a clock of friends, I think I was there a year. But with all the things still left to do, do again in Mooste, it was only a dozen days.
With another week, here’s how I’d spend it.
First, I’d buy a kilo of buckwheat, pouch of sour cream, and jar of ligonberry jam. Then I would eat it all. But I’d be sick, so I’d have to climb the hill past the lake and take a nap in a field. I would ride the bicycle back and forth from the post office when I felt better, and hopefully see one or two men passed out on the side of the road from boozing it too early and too long. I’d go blueberry picking in the forest and after climbing about in it’s industrial vertical rhythms, I’d be inspired to paint for hours with the relief- the freedom of having no distractions. The next day I’d follow Evelyn around the forest to learn how she finds so many mushrooms. Then I’d write a book about it and she’d be famous. I’d collaborate! And walk up the hill to visit the 80-year-old woman who tends an impressive garden by herself. She swings her scythe high and swift. I want to hear John and Evelyn play the Jew’s harp again, and get lost navigating the dirt roads around Vissli. Apparently this is something that every MoKS resident does, and I wonder how many times the couple with the black Chow have asked one of us, “Were did you come from?” in the most confused manner, wondering how one actual walks to Vissli from New York. I would spend time with Roomit, and his posse, play hide and seek in the vodka factory with them, and recruit some for portraits and interviews. I’d like to do this every year.
Mooste is a place very conducive to making things. Or art. It gives you quiet. There is the landscape to chew on while you think, and the inspiration of Evelyn and John. Mooste has left me without haste or the frenetic forward motion of any clock that most new Yorkers carry around with them like a virus.
A sincere thanks to Roomit and the Allese family, Sveta Bogomolova, and all the Mooste noored for trusting me to paint their portraits, telling me their stories, and teaching me how to get over a hangover with pickle juice. Actually, I could have done without that.
Evelyn and John have put together an inspiring place that I am very glad to have been a part of. Thank you Evelyn and John for those 61 days, or however long it really was.
I’ll make you burgers anytime Mooste,
Jane
www.janelafargehamill.com

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4 May 08

smoky sauna

Is this my imagination that I still smell smoked even in Berlin?, after a week from smoky sauna in Estonia? It can’t be true.

The smoky sauna was an amazing experience. The countless numbers of stars in the black sky, people jumping into a cold pond, drinking beers and going back to sauna to get smoked, mix gender, I felt shy but it seemed very natural thing to do.

This is not all did in Moks, though. I was very isolated in the forest at the beginning. I have never been this isolated. And I nearly had whole one month all for myself, no disturbance. Time there was just for my work and figuring out the direction in my life, which very much reflected onto my work. I sat in front of the computer all day and working on a image with Photoshop. When I got tired, I went for walk in the forest and field for several hours. I felt nature there. Nature in Estonia, I felt it close rather than as a object to over take. I felt with nature, the energy from nature, sky, land, forest and water. It may be to do with how pagans here respect nature, such as positive energy circle in the forest. There was an amazing coincident happened with my work and this circle. The day I made circles in my image, a local artist, Peeter Laurits, took me to the circle in the forest.

I have realized in the forest that we all need very basic energy to live. And we all have that in ourselves and also we need energy from outside to let that inside energy to come out. It is just like a seed has all the energy to grow in oneself and still needs sun to let that happen. John and I talked about this with the energy in quantum theory as well, if I remember it correctly.

Art is to represent this energy whatever the form we like. Every artist can pursue this individually, and that is great thing about art that we can all find our own way.

Living in a city and society, it is easy to forget about facing the limits of what human can make, compared with what nature can do. Nature is bigger than us and same time, we all have it in ourselves as our origin of energy. Art is to transform this energy and exchange with others.

Thanks to Evelyn, John, Mari and many other friends in Moks,

Mamoru Tsukada
http://www.tomiokoyamagallery.com/artists/+TABLE/eng/frame.html

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11 Nov 07

from Vahram Muradyan

Hello… i mean goodbye.
leaving this place with memories that i even can’t manage to remember. All of them just bounded into knots with each other into some beautyfull mixed up thing.
the studio became a big part of me, so i will miss it like a good old friend.
and will come back to visit again.

portrESTs
things i’ve done.

- “portrESTs” video
- 10 pieces graphic portraits serie and artist talk at Ygalerii on recent works slideshow.
- doing some music with the local made band “Boooooring Soundcheck” at genialistid club.
- lecture in the school at art class with recent works slideshow.
- dolma :)

Yours, Vahram Muradyan.
www.vahrammuradyan.com

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26 Sep 07

From the temporary Estonian branch of the Helen Scarsdale Agency

Near the conclusion of my residency here at MoKS, I was invited to give a lecture about my work at the Y Galerii in Tartu. One of the questions that was posited to me at the end my talk was for me to qualify the best experience of my life. It’s a question that can’t be easily answered, one that parallels the futility of pinpointing my favorite music. It changes every day. So when I think about that initial question on the eve of my departure from MoKS, the experience here is causing me to shudder. I can’t say with any honesty that this was the best experience of my life. Such hyperbole is best left to the margins of high school yearbooks. But at the same time, this short month in this foreign land manifested itself as an existential crucible of art, introspection, and ideas.

I approached the time here at MoKS as the opportunity to work in an art laboratory of my own choosing, with my own measures of success, and with no schedule expect for the necessities of sleep. There was a lot which was accomplished — two albums worth of material have been completed and soon to be delivered to their rightful publishing houses, numerous excursions into the post-Soviet landscape of agricultural and industrial ruins, a particularly gruelling bike ride out to Lake Peipsi, a huge inventory of field recordings and shortwave recordings to use as fodder for future projects, a performance in an observatory, and the aforementioned lecture in Tartu. This is more than I can typically say would amount to six months of activity in my current residence of San Francisco, simply due to all of the other commitments I have in my life. So to have this experience here at MoKS was something truly special; and I hope that I didn’t take what was afforded me for granted.

That said, I have to offer my sincerest gratitude to John and Evelyn here at MoKS, to Patrick McGinley for lending me his ear, and for Toomas Thetloff for being Toomas with all of his wit, energy, and creativity.

For those of you who might be inclined to see all of the decent photos taken during my stay in Estonia, check the link below. Note, the accompanying travelogue was written as something of a diary with particular acquaintances in mind. If there’s particular references that don’t make any sense, accept my apology in advance. www.helenscarsdale.com/eraldus

Humbly,

Jim Haynes
www.helenscarsdale.com/haynes

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