Above: The Museum Centre of Turku researcher Henna Haavisto presents the Turku in Photographs exhibition at Logomo. The background shows a street scene of the crossroads at Kauppiaskatu and Yliopistonkatu, photograhphed by Birger Lundsten in the 1930s.
Photographs of old Turku have also been published in a new book by Anne Ollila
Turku in Photographs: Images down the decades – an exhibition at Logomo
Playing on the city’s hills, haggling at the market, romance on the back of a moped. The Museum Centre of Turku’s Turku in Photographs exhibition concentrates on the pre-war period of Turku as seen through the eyes of photographers. The exhibition can be seen at Logomo from April 27 to July 29, 2012.
The Turku in Photographs exhibition highlights rare, even previously unseen photographs of our hometown, dating from the late 1800s to the early decades of the 1900s.
The majority of the images are drawn from the Museum Centre of Turku's brilliant photo archive collection of almost 1.5 million images. Currently, around onehundred of those photographs adorn the walls of Logomo.
– The photographs show everyday living and festivities, work and pleasure, a strong industrial character and the more tranquil outskirts of town. The exhibition is funded by the Turku 2011 Foundation and would not have been possible without their support, says a grateful Olli Immonen, Director of Turku Museums.
Above: Aurakatu in 1941, photo courtesy of Turun Sanomat.
The large prints transport the gallery visitors fluently from one mood to to the next. The exhibition is divided into four categories: People in the Cityscape shows the hustle and bustle of commerce on the market place and at public events. The Modernizing City reveals how transport and traffic has changed over the decades. It also emphasizes the increasing role of hard-working women at the forefront of industry. A City at Play takes the viewer to the playgrounds of happy children. The Changing Urban Environment unveils views of wooden houses on the outskirts of the city as well as buildings along the River Aura.
Turku and its surrounding industrial areas were much photographed by Mauno Mannelin and the changing skyline and streets of Turku were busily documented by H. Attila.Their work is prominently featured in the exhibition.
Above: Visitors can take a portrait of themselves in a studio that evokes the atmosphere of the 1910s.
The exhibition is completed by photographic portraits taken by well-known professional portrait studios from Turku. The old-time studio atmosphere can itself be experienced in a carefully recreated studio that evokes the atmosphere of the 1910s. Ladies can photograph themselves against a landscape background while wearing a summer hat, gentlemen can act dandyish in a top hat.
Above: Adjunct Professor Anne Ollila with her hot-off-the-press book of old photographs of Turku.
The beginning of photography in Turku
The Logomo exhibition is loosely based on the themes in Anne Ollila’s, recently published book Turku in Old Photographs 1865–1915. Ollila is an Adjunct Professor of Cultural History at Turku University. The book will be published by the Finnish Literature Society as part of the Turku Museum Centre's publication series.
The exhibition, like the book, presents an era when modernisation was rapidly changing the way the streets looked. The images have captured old, condemned buildings as well as once new phenomena in urban life, such as the new means of transport and new industrial activities. The book also includes information about Turku photographers, their work and the culture of photography.
– Photography has great importance in the history of Turku. In January 1840 Turku was the first city in Finland to display a photograph, which was taken in Paris 1839. This once amazing novelty was wondered about and stared at through magnifying glasses until the viwers were bleary-eyed. Photography came quickly to Turku, and the first photo in Finland was taken in Turku, 170 years ago, says Ollila.
According to Ollila, the book raises pieces of once forgotten history.
- For example, Finnish loyalty to the Russian dynasty is clearly discernible in the photographs, states Ollila.
Turku in photographs is on display at Logomo from April 27 to July 29, 2012..
Entry to the exhibition is free..
Logomo will also continue to show the Capital of Culture year's exhibition Tuli on Irti! (Fire! Fire!) until 29 July, 2012
(Tickets 7€ 5€ 3€).
Logomo's exhibitions are open Tuesday to Sunday 10.00–18.00
