Kaarel Oja: 'Hetk' exhibition inspires contradictory emotions

Paradoxically, it seems to me at the same time both inappropriate to say there should not be an exhibition like "Hetk," and also inappropriate to say that such a view should not be expressed, said Tallinn Deputy Mayor Kaarel Oja (SDE) in an opinion piece.
"Hetk" is effective and for that reason alone it is a success. It has also been brilliantly executed. A prime example of the application of the maxim "less is more." One neat idea, a few visuals and a couple of rather general, but still clear, guiding sentences from the authors.
Beneath this apparent simplicity and purity, however, there are some strong contradictions. Very different interpretations are possible, and absolutely opposite emotions. It is effective, it is successful.
For some, it is a shock. For others, a warning and a wake-up call. For some, pain. For many, it is certainly mobilizing. That is what we need to discuss, and can be debated.
Attempts to impose the "correct" interpretation, however, miss the mark. As do judgements of the "like" or "dislike" variety, the more bizarre of which stray into the maze of "must not" or "must" viewpoints. The most bizarre interpretations are those suggesting someone else's interpretation is "wrong."
I like "Hetk," but I also don't like it at all. We think these posters are very important and at the same time we wish they weren't. They scare me, but they also trigger me. And it is this that makes "Hetk" a powerful work of art, in a category beyond simple propaganda.
By saying that "art has to please" or "art has to shock," in this case (and as a rule, always) we are quite a few steps behind the authors. As, in fact is the case whenever we try to say what art should or should not do – we end up belittling the work itself.
We are also belittling the emotions that people have when they see them. Yes, my feeling when I see it can be the exact opposite of another bystander's. And all of this may be completely incomprehensible to me, but, alas, that feeling cannot be wrong. Because emotions are real.
Let's not lose our way. Let's talk about the things someone sees and feels. Not about who sees or feels wrongly.
Paradoxically, it seems to me at the same time both inappropriate to say that there should not be this exhibition, and also inappropriate to say that such a view should not be expressed.
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Editor: Michael Cole