Meet Heta Kuchka: Visual Artist
We had the good fortune of connecting with Heta Kuchka and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Heta, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I believe that my motto: “never think before you jump,” has taken my career forward. Working on a crazy idea feels like stepping off a cliff knowing you can’t fly just crossing your fingers that this will be one hell of an artwork. Once I had an exhibition coming up in 6 weeks, sitting at my studio getting nothing done. I missed my late bluegrass musician dad. I used to love listening to him play the banjo. I still love the sound of it. Years later, my mom’s apartment is like a graveyard of instruments that nobody plays. So sad. I called his old student Wasku, and asked him to teach me what my dad had taught him. “Oh and the process and whatever the outcome, will become the exhibition! If I don’t fuck it up..” I said. “Hell yes!” he yelled, and continued: ”then you can join our band and come play gigs with us.” He said it was a good thing I didn’t know how to play any instrument. I had refused my dad’s efforts to make me practice the violin as a kid, or later when I was a teenager, the trumpet. Now there was nothing else I wanted more, than to play my dad’s banjo, so I could feel closer to him. Wasku and I started practicing the next day and did so until my opening. Fucking up ended up being a lot of fun too, especially when my dad’s friends brought their instruments to the gallery and forced me out in the street to play the one song I knew over and over again. I let down my audience by not being able to play the songs they asked for. I’m eternally grateful to Wasku for pushing me off that particular cliff.
https://www.hetakuchka.com/keep-your-words-sweet/.
Today I see risks as possibilities, mainly thanks to my parents: two creative hippies, who neglected to let me know how tough an artist’s life could be. My dad encouraged me by saying: “if there’s a couple of people in the audience, who love my gig, it’s all worth it. Do what you love, not what you think you should.” His american self-confidence allowed him to buy (or hassle, his friends would say) new instruments, say that trumpet, then start from zero and a week later call himself a trumpet player, while my mom would silently close the three pairs of doors between them, rolling her eyes while doing it. They have for sure set brave examples when it comes to life changing choices. They met in the late sixties somewhere in Hungary. My mom hitchhiked in my dad’s Beetle. After the trip they both traveled back home and started writing letters to each other. One day my mom received a postcard saying: “I’m there in ten days.” Dad had quit his job in the Bronx and packed one suitcase to travel to the other side of the world to see the Finnish girl he met a year earlier. They started a family and he died in Helsinki 30 years later. “Thanks for the ride!” my mom wrote in his obituary. We did an interrail tour around Europe following their first trip together when my brother and I were teenagers. The memory of the street corner where they first kissed reminds me of how coincidence can play such a big role in your life. But it does take guts to be curious enough to act.
I appreciate artists who dare to step out of their comfort zone. I believe once doing so, you end up giving the audience a stronger experience. The purpose of my creative processes seems to be that feeling of overcoming challenges I set for myself. Sometimes to others too: I like to arrange a certain setting at the shoots, but encourage my performers to improvise. I’m fascinated by the balance between knowing what you want and finding the courage to let go, to follow your intuition without certainty of the end result. I’m hoping that my art can work as a healing element. I believe I can bring people together if I manage to capture the presence of my performers, by really taking the time to listen and to look at them in the eyes. Sadly, that’s something we lack in our everyday life nowadays.
After my dad suddenly passed away, I realized nobody wanted to talk about death, so I started hanging out with a couple of funeral home workers for a short film. They made me realize how much loneliness there is also in what is called the happiest country in the world, Finland. I felt like I wanted to contribute to my community and formed a small group to put together the first block party in Helsinki. We did it three times on my street and inspired other hoods to start their own, which are still going strong.
Daddy’s Girl (Hopeless Attempt not to Cry Listening to that Song) 2008
My work is increasingly collective. I see collaborating with artists from different fields as a good opportunity to grow. Sharing a common artistic goal with a dancer or a composer has proven to be fruitful once we have worked through the challenges of combining quite different working methods or views.
As suggested, I think I inherited this tendency to risk taking. It hasn’t always been seen as a positive feature though, rather as recklessness. I was the kid who hung outside the balcony of our four storage apartment building kicking my feet in the air just to impress my friends. But what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger, right? Once in a while I’m bummed that I chose this profession where being ambitious means challenging myself to rip my heart out over and over again. Work is not just work but a constant roller coaster between fear of failure and moments of success. I guess the only way I know how to develop, is by cherishing the curiosity in myself.
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I believe that my motto: “never think before you jump,” has taken my career forward. Working on a crazy idea feels like stepping off a cliff knowing you can’t fly just crossing your fingers that this will be one hell of an artwork. Once I had an exhibition coming up in 6 weeks, sitting at my studio getting nothing done. I missed my late bluegrass musician dad. I used to love listening to him play the banjo. I still love the sound of it. Years later, my mom’s apartment is like a graveyard of instruments that nobody plays. So sad. I called his old student Wasku, and asked him to teach me what my dad had taught him. “Oh and the process and whatever the outcome, will become the exhibition! If I don’t fuck it up..” I said. “Hell yes!” he yelled, and continued: ”then you can join our band and come play gigs with us.” He said it was a good thing I didn’t know how to play any instrument. I had refused my dad’s efforts to make me practice the violin as a kid, or later when I was a teenager, the trumpet. Now there was nothing else I wanted more, than to play my dad’s banjo, so I could feel closer to him. Wasku and I started practicing the next day and did so until my opening. Fucking up ended up being a lot of fun too, especially when my dad’s friends brought their instruments to the gallery and forced me out in the street to play the one song I knew over and over again. I let down my audience by not being able to play the songs they asked for. I’m eternally grateful to Wasku for pushing me off that particular cliff.
https://www.hetakuchka.com/keep-your-words-sweet/.
Today I see risks as possibilities, mainly thanks to my parents: two creative hippies, who neglected to let me know how tough an artist’s life could be. My dad encouraged me by saying: “if there’s a couple of people in the audience, who love my gig, it’s all worth it. Do what you love, not what you think you should.” His american self-confidence allowed him to buy (or hassle, his friends would say) new instruments, say that trumpet, then start from zero and a week later call himself a trumpet player, while my mom would silently close the three pairs of doors between them, rolling her eyes while doing it. They have for sure set brave examples when it comes to life changing choices. They met in the late sixties somewhere in Hungary. My mom hitchhiked in my dad’s Beetle. After the trip they both traveled back home and started writing letters to each other. One day my mom received a postcard saying: “I’m there in ten days.” Dad had quit his job in the Bronx and packed one suitcase to travel to the other side of the world to see the Finnish girl he met a year earlier. They started a family and he died in Helsinki 30 years later. “Thanks for the ride!” my mom wrote in his obituary. We did an interrail tour around Europe following their first trip together when my brother and I were teenagers. The memory of the street corner where they first kissed reminds me of how coincidence can play such a big role in your life. But it does take guts to be curious enough to act.
I appreciate artists who dare to step out of their comfort zone. I believe once doing so, you end up giving the audience a stronger experience. The purpose of my creative processes seems to be that feeling of overcoming challenges I set for myself. Sometimes to others too: I like to arrange a certain setting at the shoots, but encourage my performers to improvise. I’m fascinated by the balance between knowing what you want and finding the courage to let go, to follow your intuition without certainty of the end result. I’m hoping that my art can work as a healing element. I believe I can bring people together if I manage to capture the presence of my performers, by really taking the time to listen and to look at them in the eyes. Sadly, that’s something we lack in our everyday life nowadays.
After my dad suddenly passed away, I realized nobody wanted to talk about death, so I started hanging out with a couple of funeral home workers for a short film. They made me realize how much loneliness there is also in what is called the happiest country in the world, Finland. I felt like I wanted to contribute to my community and formed a small group to put together the first block party in Helsinki. We did it three times on my street and inspired other hoods to start their own, which are still going strong.
Daddy’s Girl (Hopeless Attempt not to Cry Listening to that Song) 2008
My work is increasingly collective. I see collaborating with artists from different fields as a good opportunity to grow. Sharing a common artistic goal with a dancer or a composer has proven to be fruitful once we have worked through the challenges of combining quite different working methods or views.
As suggested, I think I inherited this tendency to risk taking. It hasn’t always been seen as a positive feature though, rather as recklessness. I was the kid who hung outside the balcony of our four storage apartment building kicking my feet in the air just to impress my friends. But what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger, right? Once in a while I’m bummed that I chose this profession where being ambitious means challenging myself to rip my heart out over and over again. Work is not just work but a constant roller coaster between fear of failure and moments of success. I guess the only way I know how to develop, is by cherishing the curiosity in myself.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Island hopping in downtown Helsinki to enjoy the beaches, cafes and restaurants. In the summer by several ferries and in the winter skiing over the frozen sea.
Public saunas. My favourites are:
– Yrjönkatu https://finnisharchitecture.fi/yrjonkatu-swimming-hall/.
– Some make their own beauty products like ; https://kaurilansauna.fi/
https://matadornetwork.com/read/best-saunas-helsinki-finland/
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Mom and dad
Website: https://www.hetakuchka.com/category/portfolio/
Other: Heta Kuchka Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user9630209 Punajuuri Block party: https://vimeo.com/29096493
Image Credits
Anna Riikonen, Emmy Verschuren
Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
