Anssi Kasitonni is a multi-talented visual artist and musician, equally at home bending synthetic resin or blues punk to his will. Still, a case can be made that short films are really the hard core of his oeuvre. These works shot on 8mm film collect and engulf almost all areas of art Kasitonni operates in. All phases of the production, from the first script drafts to the final edit, are realized in the artist’s own unique DIY style. During the different phases, the artist gets to put his creative stamp on the script, lighting, set design, photography, cinematography, acting, music, recording, mixing, animation, editing, graphic design and drawings. The movies convey their maker’s visual agenda and philosophical message in a more holistic manner than any other, single art form.

Kasitonni’s esthetic inclinations, as evidenced by his sculptures, are apparent in the mostly self-constructed environments of his movies. A 1980s D movie meets the menagerie of a particularly eccentric taxidermist in some out-of-the-way little town. A number of different nostalgic worlds overlap, creating something never before experienced. The moving picture provides additional opportunities to cast a loving lens on technical gadgets, blinking lights, various gauges and recycled materials buffed to a pleasing sheen. 8mm film really brings out the best in shining and transparent surfaces as well as reflections and other fascinating phenomena involving light.

The movies include songs, structured like pop tunes, that advance the plot. They are not much of a departure from Kasitonni’s other musical output. The same rough sounds can be encountered at Anssi Kasitonni & Maria Stereo gigs. It’s big ideas done in a homespun way. The short films really emphasize this incongruence. The ideas are fit for the biggest Hollywood epic, the implementation is classic DIY quality. A short scene where a spaceship approaches Earth is lovingly handcrafted, instead of animated in 3D. So what’s used? At least offset plates, fireworks, Christmas lights, a skateboard, smoke machines, fishing line, a wooden ladder, spray-painted chipboard, radio-controlled motors, an analog synthesizer, a table fan and a lighter. Using a self-defined set of parameters, the result is a perfectly beautiful image that is well aware of its own pop culture references, but it still transcends humorous pastiche of some genre with a retro cool cache.

Storytelling is one thing that sets movies apart from other forms of art. The heart of Anssi Kasitonni’s message is easiest to convey via this medium. The themes are big: death, love, generation gaps, freedom, finding your own way, sexuality, the voice of your conscience, the ephemeral and fleeting nature of life all are present in the background as a stuffed squirrel skateboards or a computer in a submarine analyzes a rock sample. Big issues are discussed in an entertaining and non-preachy manner, while looking at and talking about the blinking lights. The heaviest matters are presented in an easily digestible manner. Kasitonni’s movies provide a lot of eye candy, but they also reach something that stays with the viewer for a long time. Watching them is entertaining, but they’re not empty-headed. They take you into the dark deep, without making drowning you in the mud. Kasitonni’s message is uplifting. The enthusiasm apparent in the movies is infectious and gives you strength to push through the barbed wire fences of everyday life. That’s the kind of modern art I can use.