In the summer of 1994, The Magic Restaurant / Ravintola Sampo was created in Oulu, in Northern Finland. Artists, designers, actors and musicians of both Finnish and Dutch nationality closely collaborated on the realisation of this project.
In the Finnish language, the name given to the project: “Ravintola Sampo” embraces the entire concept; it's english name “The Magic Restaurant” does so only in part.
In Finland, a “Ravintola” is a venue where guests are served quality nourishment, in the broadest sense of the word. Furthermore, “Sampo” is an important concept featuring in the Finnish national epic “Kalevala”: a magic substance constituting the source of wealth and thus a motive for exchanges and contact with others.
So, a Ravintola Sampo is more than just a Magic Restaurant and thus serves as a fitting symbol for contemporary international and intercultural co-operation. The images tell a more vivid story than words can do. From the earliest beginning to the very end, the construction and the/ realisation of the project was visually recorded. Quotations in various Finnish newspapers and magazines are complementary.
“Typical for the Ravintola Sampo-project is that nothing is obligatory and everything is possible.” “The method applied here is clearly opposed to that of a normal art project.
Generally artists are given rules and advice. They receive a detailed and circumscribed plan and instructions to work according to that plan.” (G.C.Bout in an interview for Suomenmaa) “Sampo was forged with great force. It's birth was like a miniature nativity story. In the beginning there was an empty space and a pile of wood, pieces of stone, and other scrap material. All kinds of materials were used to create a magic restaurant, that had never before existed.
As soon as the construction was completed, the tables were laid, the doors were opened and the guests were admitted to fill the space. The next morning it all seemed a dream.” (Kaleva) The critic writing for the principal, national newspaper, The Helsingin Sanomat described the event as follows: ”The Magic Restaurant Ravintola Sampo, a sampo of ideas and thoughts”, ”A temporary museum that demonstrates all the things a restaurant can be”, ”A phantacy restaurant where a ‘mythical’ restaurant met with a ‘real’ restaurant” In a period of one and a half weeks, the restaurant and all that goes with it was conceived, organised, designed and created.
It opened for a single night, was attended by many guests, and had disappeared by the following afternoon.
Press
- Taide, EijaHirvonen
Kuinsuosittukahvilahyvätaideteossyntyyoikeastailmapiiriristä
Helsinki, Finland, vol 34, 4 / 1994 - HelsinginSanomat, Helsinki, Finland, july 13, 1994
- Kaleva, Oulu, Finland, july 9, 1994
- KainuunSanomat, Kajaani, Finland, july 6 , 1994
- Suomenmaa, Oulu, Finland, july 5, 1994
- KansanTahto, Oulu, Finland, june 30, 1994
- Kaleva, Oulu, Finland, june 28, 1994
- Kaleva, Oulu, Finland, june 18, 1994
- KansanTahto, Oulu, Finland, june 9, 1994
- HelsinginSanomat, Helsinki, Finland, june, 1994
- Kaleva, Oulu, Finland, june 2, 1994