Tallinn: Ptarmigan, the art in social

  A line of thought recently kicking round my head has been the characterisation of disciplines according to the manner in which they express experience of reality – dance through movement, philosophy rational argument, music sound and so on and such. As a strict categorisation the notion is overtly simple (I would suggest as any strict categorisation of anything is bound to be), in practice any instance of these fields is likely to fit no neat box – so be it. The focus of my thinking is not on categories, but rather discourse between disciplines. How do voices in different forms enter truly reciprocal discourse? What is it for these different expressions to engage in one conversation? Which brings me to Ptarmigan. Independent art practice Ptarmigan was transposed by John Fail (American, self-confessed semi-pro John Fail) and Lewis McGuffie (British, Graphic Designer) in 2010 from across the Baltic Sea, Helsinki. In its Estonian form it resides tucked, atop the city wall, sharing space with Tallinn’s Canadian embassy. It is a pleasingly sophisticated locale, with the houses of parliament and the orthodox cathedral amongst the dignified neighbours, but an unlikely one for a hive of creativity. The paradox could not fit [...]