Self-made Life – The Tapir in the Birch Forest

A homage to the Finnish video artist Erkki Pirtola who died in 2016.
In between the years 2001 and 2016 I had the chance to accompany him on some of his travels through Finland. Erkki died very suddenly and way too early. I still remember, how I stood on a train platform in Hamburg when my phone sounded and I read the sad news saying I was invited for his funeral. And that’s how this half-way crazy documentary radio feature starts…

Itse tehty elämä” is the Finnish name for DIY art and means “self-made life”. “Outsider Art” is just one of the many designations applied to art that exists outside of the art market, and which is created by people who are often themselves outsiders: existentialists, hermits, rebels and the non-marketable. Outsider Art is closely connected to Folk Art and Art Brut. With rare exceptions, this kind of art is seldom presented by official institutions. One reason for this lies in their sheer immovability: converted houses, gardens and sculptures are anchored in their settings. Another lies in their fragile and transitory nature: many art works are of organic origin and will disintegrate over time, others are non-recurring performances or simply one-offs.

Selbst gemachtes Leben: Der Tapir im Birkenwald
Von Gabi Schaffner
Regie: die Autorin
Produktion: Tina Klopp
Deutschlandfunk 2016 –> Wdh. am 26.08.2025, 22.05 Uhr Deutschlandfunk Kultur

Volkskunst, Wahnsinn oder Methode?  Der finnische Videodokumentarist Erkki Pirtola stand für eine Kunstrichtung, die in den Tiefen der finnischen Wälder und Tundren ein einzigartiges Dasein fristet.

Again, my thanks ring out to Sampsa Pirtola and Felix Schroeder, the ITE office in Helsinki, to “feelings dealer” Tixa and all involved.
With the original voices of: Erkki Pirtola, Otso Kantokorpi, Rajala Kauppinen, Tixa.

Last but not least: If you look for ITE art now in the media, you can find numerous sites about the theme; you can find ITE even advertised as a sightseeing “must”. When this radio feature was created, ITE art was still totally inofficial.

FYI: