Kari Korolainen

How do traditions – cultural continuities within immaterial and material folklore and customs – relate to geographical and other, more symbolic borders as well the plurality of mobilities? And what kinds of perspectives open up, when these issues are addressed from the viewpoint of material and visual culture, and aesthetic matters? How do we visualize, especially by means of sketching, things like immaterial folklore, beauty, or borders? What viewpoints research and arts, separately and together, provide for these questions?

Folklore and culture studies researcher Kari Korolainen is specialized in cultural traditions and mundane aesthetic issues, as well in visual and material culture, not only in the research but also from the practical stance. In the project the Lost Mitten and Other Stories (Jan 1, 2018-July 31, 2020), Korolainen combined research and visual arts. Accordingly, “Marjatta & Ilman Kinna” comic book was published (by Kirjokansi) in February 2020 In the earlier studies, Korolainen dealt with issues as the borderlands of (visual) arts, home decoration and cultural customs from the viewpoint of artification. Korolainen possess multidimensional expertise also in the issues relating to the collecting and the archives of the folklore materials. He used to work in the Finnish Literature Society Archive and in the North Karelian Museum. Formerly, he worked as a visual artist.