Gigantic Cow Sculptures Made From Recycled Car Parts
CULTURE — Helsinki-based sculptor Miina Äkkijyrkkä’s recycles large metal pieces to create sculptures of farm animals. She has been working with cows for nearly 50 years.
She received a State Art Award from the Finish Minister of Culture for her courageous, non-mainstream artistic activity.
In her speech, the artist thanked “the Heavenly Father” for any gifts of sensitivity, will, and passion she might have, and pointed out that no teachers had taught her very much. She also thanked all the men and women who have supported her, her children, and the “wonderful” scrap dealers, who have continuously provided her with material for her art, and whose absence at the reception she regretted.
As justification for this award, Minister Dromberg mentioned Äkkijyrkkä’s range as an artist from traditional sculpting to performance, from bronze to scrap metal, from drawings to tree roots. According to Dromberg, as an uncompromising, artistic individualÄkkijyrkkä has managed to combine in her output elements often seen as contradictory, such as agriculture and “high” culture, the visual arts and cattle-raising, or performance art and the cherishing of traditions. Her undertakings, which have sometimes been splashed unceremoniously across the pages of the tabloids, have tested the public’s norms and moulded Äkkijyrkkä’s image as an artist.
