This Estonian artist spent some time as artist-in-residence at the Hallways Contemporary Arts Center in Buffalo (USA). What she noticed when first becoming acquainted with America was all the 'do's and don'ts', the instructions, rules and regulations on all sorts of different signs in public places. The most common one – and thus, perhaps the most familiar – is a traffic sign. A blue sign with a white arrow reading: 'One Way'. This sign gave Kaljo the inspiration for the title of this work; a (or one) way of seeing America. We hear the sounds of transportation, a train departing. We are sitting as spectators in a train that is taking us past a fence littered with notices. From right to left the different signs speed past our eyes, just slow enough to give us sufficient time to read the notices: 'No entrance, no parking, keep out, slow, stop, reserved for', and on and on. Through the pure volume and the style of animation used for all these commands, continually passing by one after another, Kaljo (also) shows the aesthetics of the command in everything that is and is not allowed, seen in the diversity of subjects, dimensions, colours and typeface. We hear the sound of a siren in the background. Has someone committed an offence? Ignored a sign? The impelling force behind making this video was an event that happened at the abortion clinic near Hallways Center. A pro-life organization killed a doctor there. Kaljo saw a number of protestors with a banner reading: "Let your baby live!" Based on this she made up a life story for the child who would be allowed to live. A life story à la American, full of do's and don'ts.
– Marieke van Hal
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Editing: Kaj Kaljo, Chris Borkowski, Computer animation: Chris Borkowski
Kai Kaljo ° 1959, Tallinn (Estonia)
Lives and works in Tallinn (Estonia)
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