The virtual exhibition series is opened by Erika Kalami's founded letter-patterned postcards, which is inspired by students to create drawing sheets based on various county patterns. Erika Kalami's postcards were sent from the USA to Estonia in the 1970s and 1980s. Now they have arrived at the Estonian National Museum with her original postcards depicting ethnographic motifs, those minimalistic and artistic Christmas cards reflect homesickness and they awaken freshly kept memories of the colorful world folk culture.
Son Tõnu Kalami reflects: "My mother Erika Kalam was a passionate art lover. I remember Eduard Wiiralt's graphic arts on our walls at Boston home, on the shelves, were Eskimo and African sculptures, on the windows curtains with patterns of Finish Marimekko, rooms with furniture of Danish design, and floors covered with textile rugs. Erika was a lady with various interests, but closest to her heart were of course Estonian and Scandinavian traditions. After establishing her pensioner business she started designing Christmas cards, she got her inspiration mostly from Estonian national clothing. Over the years Erika made a card with dozen different county patterns and some of them she let printed out in different colors - the postcards sent back home were the only connection with Estonia during the Soviet era."
Tõnu Kalam, conductor, and musician, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
LIFE AND CREATION OF ERIKA KALAMI
Erika Kalami was born on the 26th of September in 1914 in Petersburg. Her father Rudolf Krupp was an officer of the Estonian Army. Soon her family moved to Tartu, where Erika grew up, which she always considered to be her home. She studied at Tartu School of Composition (currently Heino Eller Tartu Music College) and later at Tallinn Conservatory (currently Estonia Academy of Music and Theatre), where she met violin - and viola players, and conductor Endle Kalam, who often sent her in the piano. They got married in Tallinn in June 1940. In 1944 they left Estonia, then started off a six year period in Germany in different refugee camps. By September of 1950, they went to the USA.
After three years in Boston, the family moved to Indianapolis, where Endel Kalam got professional work as a conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Erika worked in the local RCA Corporation factory, but during the evening classes, she also learned drawing and sketching. When the family started to live again in Boston in 1955, 35 years old Erika started to work already in the bigger engineer companies. Her husband died in 1955.
Although Erika did not work as a professional pianist, she acted years in Boston as a piano accompanist for foreign Estonian choirs and dance troupes. In 1993 Erika moved to North Carolina Chapel Hill, where her son Tõnu remains until today a music professor and orchestra conductor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Until old age, Erika kept designing and producing postcards, thus maintaining close contact with Estonia. Mostly she drew her inspiration from Estonian folk art, using glove motifs, light patterns of Haapsalu scarf, and a bold color palette with its own minimalistic forms of consumer graphics. Erika Kalam died at the age of 90 on the 29th of May 2005.
Exhibition travels:
December 2019 Estonian National Museum's folk culture advice center,
from January to December 2020 Võrumaa Central library,
in March 2021 Kihnu museum.
Uo coming exhibitions in Pärnu county, Mulgimaa, and other county's regions.
Print and color patterns of contour drawings! Pictures can be saved to your own device and printed out afterwards.
Exhibition curator: Kristjan Raba
Virtual exhibition committee: Arp Karm, pattern drawing by Jane Liiv (ENM), Helen Kuklane (Võru Gymnasium / Pallas), Eve Aab (ENM),
Consultant Reet Piiri (ENM's folk culture advisory center).
Thanks to: Tõnu Kalam's family (USA) and Piia Jakobsen.
Merit Süving (Võru Gymanisum), Antti Leppik (Parksepa High School), Inga Kuljus (Võrumaa Central Library), Maie Aav (Kihnu Museum), Kai Maser (Kihnu school), Agnes Aljas (ENM).
Literature:
Piiri, Reet. Suur kindaraamat. Eesti kihelkondade mustrid. 2013,
Manninen, Ilmari. Eesti rahvariiete ajalugu.2017,
Voolmaa, Aino. Kaarma, Melanie. Eesti Rahvarõivad I-III (sh mustrid, lõikelehed). 2015.
Jürgen, Tiina. Mulgi rahvarõivad.2015.
Pink, Anu; Jõeste, Kristi. Eesti silmuskudumine I-II. 2014/ 2018.
Reeman, Vaike. Aja jälg vaibal. Püsinäitusel Kohtumised. Eesti Rahva Muuseum.
Son Tõnu Kalami reflects: "My mother Erika Kalam was a passionate art lover. I remember Eduard Wiiralt's graphic arts on our walls at Boston home, on the shelves, were Eskimo and African sculptures, on the windows curtains with patterns of Finish Marimekko, rooms with furniture of Danish design, and floors covered with textile rugs. Erika was a lady with various interests, but closest to her heart were of course Estonian and Scandinavian traditions. After establishing her pensioner business she started designing Christmas cards, she got her inspiration mostly from Estonian national clothing. Over the years Erika made a card with dozen different county patterns and some of them she let printed out in different colors - the postcards sent back home were the only connection with Estonia during the Soviet era."
Tõnu Kalam, conductor, and musician, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
LIFE AND CREATION OF ERIKA KALAMI
Erika Kalami was born on the 26th of September in 1914 in Petersburg. Her father Rudolf Krupp was an officer of the Estonian Army. Soon her family moved to Tartu, where Erika grew up, which she always considered to be her home. She studied at Tartu School of Composition (currently Heino Eller Tartu Music College) and later at Tallinn Conservatory (currently Estonia Academy of Music and Theatre), where she met violin - and viola players, and conductor Endle Kalam, who often sent her in the piano. They got married in Tallinn in June 1940. In 1944 they left Estonia, then started off a six year period in Germany in different refugee camps. By September of 1950, they went to the USA.
After three years in Boston, the family moved to Indianapolis, where Endel Kalam got professional work as a conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Erika worked in the local RCA Corporation factory, but during the evening classes, she also learned drawing and sketching. When the family started to live again in Boston in 1955, 35 years old Erika started to work already in the bigger engineer companies. Her husband died in 1955.
Although Erika did not work as a professional pianist, she acted years in Boston as a piano accompanist for foreign Estonian choirs and dance troupes. In 1993 Erika moved to North Carolina Chapel Hill, where her son Tõnu remains until today a music professor and orchestra conductor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Until old age, Erika kept designing and producing postcards, thus maintaining close contact with Estonia. Mostly she drew her inspiration from Estonian folk art, using glove motifs, light patterns of Haapsalu scarf, and a bold color palette with its own minimalistic forms of consumer graphics. Erika Kalam died at the age of 90 on the 29th of May 2005.
Exhibition travels:
December 2019 Estonian National Museum's folk culture advice center,
from January to December 2020 Võrumaa Central library,
in March 2021 Kihnu museum.
Uo coming exhibitions in Pärnu county, Mulgimaa, and other county's regions.
Print and color patterns of contour drawings! Pictures can be saved to your own device and printed out afterwards.
By clicking on the image, you will find background information under the information button in the toolbar.
Exhibition curator: Kristjan Raba
Virtual exhibition committee: Arp Karm, pattern drawing by Jane Liiv (ENM), Helen Kuklane (Võru Gymnasium / Pallas), Eve Aab (ENM),
Consultant Reet Piiri (ENM's folk culture advisory center).
Thanks to: Tõnu Kalam's family (USA) and Piia Jakobsen.
Merit Süving (Võru Gymanisum), Antti Leppik (Parksepa High School), Inga Kuljus (Võrumaa Central Library), Maie Aav (Kihnu Museum), Kai Maser (Kihnu school), Agnes Aljas (ENM).
Literature:
Piiri, Reet. Suur kindaraamat. Eesti kihelkondade mustrid. 2013,
Manninen, Ilmari. Eesti rahvariiete ajalugu.2017,
Voolmaa, Aino. Kaarma, Melanie. Eesti Rahvarõivad I-III (sh mustrid, lõikelehed). 2015.
Jürgen, Tiina. Mulgi rahvarõivad.2015.
Pink, Anu; Jõeste, Kristi. Eesti silmuskudumine I-II. 2014/ 2018.
Reeman, Vaike. Aja jälg vaibal. Püsinäitusel Kohtumised. Eesti Rahva Muuseum.
