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EESTI ELU reedel, 11. juunil 2021 — Friday, June 11, 2021
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Tere KESKUS – 6 Ways to Give
Navitrolla’s painting “Väike valearvestus” (“A Small Miscalculation”).
Photo: navitrolla.ee
On the Wall: Navitrolla’s juxtaposed landscapes Vincent Teetsov On a trip out to the country side, it doesn’t take long before the urge sets in to stretch your arms and shoul ders out wide and breathe in all of the fresh air and take in all of the space. It’s open, a canvas for your senses to take in. It’s also a training ground for so many artists who have taken up plein air painting. These outdoor scenes are a test of one’s skills in observing light, wind, movement, perspective, and changing weather. As ex pounded upon by designer Ingrid Fetell Lee in her book Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness, pas toral scenes are among the most-loved works of art, with some theorizing that this is due to the way they show us habit able types of landscapes. Places that humans are drawn to, with vegetation, water, and room for us to settle in. But with the paintings of the Estonian artist Navitrolla, locales like these are merely the spark that trigger a larger explosion of visual ideas. Sure, within his paintings, there is a fairly consistent back drop of green meadows, tufts of evergreen trees, and sprinklings of rusty yellow, blue, and white wildflowers. The skies fade into clear, optimistic blues, with shreds of white clouds floating freely. There is so much open space to frame these scenes, and so you do really feel like you’ve stepped into the Estonian countryside. You can feel the gravel road underneath the soles of your shoes. On the side of the road are the tire tracks of a farmer’s tractor and a pile of timber stacked up against a field of growing crops. In his paintings, Navitrolla, whose birth name is Heiki Trolla, would appear to be sourcing scenery from the place he grew up in Navi, Võru County. However, into these views,
he also throws in dreamlike inversions of reality. His painting “Kana on ku ningas” (“Chicken is King”) shows a hen facing off against two curious foxes in the fore ground, while a giant egg looms above them. The weight of the egg is emphasized by the heavy shadow it casts. The foxes may get the hen momentarily, but soon the egg will hatch and the chick that comes out will show its dominance. Similarly, “Kui kogu maailma seened ühineksid” (“If All the Mushrooms In the World Would Unite”) shows a colossal yellow capped mushroom with a stipe as thick as a cluster of red woods. A comparatively tiny dog stands below at the edge of the field, barking at the mush room. Navitrolla augments the typically calm feeling of these countryside landscapes and gives them an edge of ferocity. It’s unclear what this mushroom is capable of. Other works of his start to veer more towards animals and landscapes beyond Estonia. “Peidus” (“Hiding”) transports a giraffe from the African savannah, which is camouflaged against the patterned bark of birch trees. “High as a Kite” also features a giraffe, this time poking its neck through one of the clouds floating by. One of the most different paintings he has made is “Kuidas ületada lõhe meie vahel?” (“How to Bridge the Gap Between Us?”), where an expansive desert is divided by a deep rift in the ground. On one side is a friendly-looking domesticated dog, and on the other side is an unidentifiable, shadowy canine. Its mouth is open, as though it’s exhausted, dehydrated, and breathing heavily. He brings it all back together conceptually with “Väike valearvestus” (“A Small Mis calculation”). In a similar desert location, sparse and skeletal trees emerge from three dif ferent cavernous cracks in the
ground. Against the blue sky, the trees are topped with stick nests like those built by storks. The kind that you’d see driving around in rural Estonia. Except, inside three of the nests are a penguin, a bear, and a group of white rabbits. They call out to each other and look down to the ground, assessing the best way back down. These are peculiar worlds, and yet, there is something familiar about them. Navitrolla describes his work as com bining naïvism and surrealism, though I would lean more towards the latter classification, because of their ability to accurately capture the complex way our minds exaggerate and change what we see when we are awake. That’s not a simple undertaking. Lembi Randma, Office Director at Navitrolla United Factories (where one can view the artist’s works in Tallinn), has attested to how, “As the viewers approach his paintings, they walk into his world...the paintings start to talk...” Randma adds that “[Navitrolla] makes you dream...” Above all, Navitrolla is a master of fusing together visual trademarks of far away land scapes and thereby making the surreal feel totally possible, familiar, and even desirable.
Estonian destinations (Continued from page 9)
that goes all the way from Tallinn to Rohuküla in Lääne County could be completed by 2026. Meanwhile, the Haapsalu and Lääne County Museums Foundation has plans to expand this particular museum’s facili ties. Should this old train station play a part in transportation developments, Estonians will be able to reach this famous beach town faster, and with more style, than ever.
Be a part of Tere KESKUS from June 21-24 and join Estonians around the globe in creating a source of pride for the future! Tere KESKUS is a 3-day campaign to help build KESKUS International Estonian Centre in Toronto. KESKUS is the largest undertaking of its kind in the diaspora and will serve as a beacon of pride for the global Estonian community. KESKUS is at 75% of its campaign goal and during Tere KESKUS, every donation will be generously matched by the Torokvei Family up to CDN$1,000,000 to create a 4X impact! Making your donation is easy! Here are 6 ways to support KESKUS during the campaign: Give By Credit Card Make a secure gift using your credit card online on www.raisedays.com/terekeskus and write your message of sup port on the scrolling honour roll! All gifts will be issued a tax receipt. Donate By Phone To provide your credit card or to otherwise donate by phone, call Tere KESKUS Donations Line at +1.647.250.7136. KESKUS Donations Manager Taimi Hooper will be available throughout the campaign to assist you and answer any questions you may have. Give From the United States Gifts from the US to KESKUS will be issued a tax receipt! KESKUS has set up secure charitable giving with King Baudouin Foundation United States (KBFUS), a foun dation that facilitates giving to prominent institutions around the world. Cheque and wire transfer can be made through KBFUS and its online platform is https://kbfus.networkforgood. com/projects/53756-e-kb fus-funds-keskus-internation al-estonian-centre-ca. Give From Estonia Gifts from Estonia will be issued a tax receipt! KESKUS is working with Sihtasutus Eesti Rahvuskultuuri Fond and their website http://www.erkf.ee/an netajale provides the transfer details, and be sure to note “Toronto Eesti Keskus” on your transfer.
Taimi Hooper
Donate By Cheque or Bank Transfer Feel more comfortable do nating by cheque or bank trans fer? No problem. You can mail a cheque to Estonian Arts Centre, the charity associated with KESKUS, at 958 Broadview Ave, Toronto, ON, M4K 2R6 or donate via phone transfer at Northern Birch Credit Union, directing the gift to account #148140. Donations are accepted at three branches in Southern Ontario. If you’d like to send an e-transfer, please send to donations@estoniancen tre.ca and use the security answer 9madison. When donating via bank transfer at Northern Birch, please drop us a line at donations@ estoniancentre or call the num ber above so that we can get the info required for your tax re ceipt. Also, please add your name to the e-transfer memo so that you can be thanked for your donation! Donate Securities Gifts in the form of publicly traded securities are a tax effi cient way to give – for this, please write to donations@ estoniancentre.ca or call the KESKUS Donations Manager at the number above. ••• For those interested in creat ing a family legacy gift, special recognition is available for contributions of CDN$10,000 and more and can be paid over 3-5 years. For this, please email or call the KESKUS Donations Manager. The list of donors to KESKUS continues to grow, at www.estoniancentre.ca/capi tal-campaign – join Estonians around the globe and give generously to tere KESKUS! Tere KESKUS runs June 2124, increases the impact of your gift 4X and will feature fresh greetings and entertainment on the www.raisedays.com/terekes kus site each day!
