Tarja Pitkänen-Walter: The Artist's Teeth, Watercolour Blocks, Coloured Pencils and Their Marks, 2001. Photo: HAM/Hanna Rikkonen. The Artist’s Teeth, Watercolour Blocks, Coloured Pencils and Their Marks Artist Tarja Pitkänen-Walter Karviaistie School, Karviaistie 1, 00700 Helsinki Indoor Sculpture Limited access: the work is available to view for the users of the premises only. Tarja Pitkänen (later Pitkänen-Walter, b. 1960, Varpaisjärvi) has used the wall as a kind of giant canvas on which she has mounted various implements of the artist’s trade: round watercolour paint blocks and colour pencils, which have also left their mark on the wall. The objects look quite authentic, except that they are many times larger. The work consists of three parts: round watercolour paint blocks, large pencils made of turned wood and painted in oil – in other words, The Artist’s Teeth – and pencil marks painted in acrylic. The lines lead the eye from the main wall and around the corner, linking the components of the work. There are two more pencils around the corner. The work is mounted in the dining room, and it can be seen from the schoolyard, especially after dark when the work is illuminated. Material and colour are the key concepts of the work. Pitkänen has used them to underline the creator’s importance and the process of painting. The works were produced under the Percent for Art programme, and they belong to the collection of the City of Helsinki, managed by HAM Helsinki Art Museum. At map
