Priit Pärn. Boletus
“You know, boletes are actually quite skilled draftsmen. See, I’m right-handed, but when I draw – at least when I’m showing my work to non-boletes – I use my left hand instead. I hold the pencil – how shall I put it – almost at the very end, near the tail …”
— Priit Pärn, Boletus at the Zoo. Manuscript, p. 110
Few people are unfamiliar with Priit Pärn as a filmmaker; his and Olga Pärn’s most recent animated film, Luna Rossa, reached cinema screens last year. Stage productions have also been created from Pärn’s films and screenplays, most recently Rising Violins at VAT Theatre.
Many remember Priit Pärn as a caricaturist, and many know him as the author of picture books. He has just completed the manuscript for his written and illustrated book Puravik loomaaias (Boletus at the Zoo). His graphic works and charcoal drawings are less widely known; his most significant solo exhibition in Estonia took place at the Kumu Art Museum in 2007.
Least known, however, are Priit Pärn’s unrealised film screenplays. In 2000 and 2001, he completed scripts for the feature-length films Vääramatu jõud (Force Majeure) and Rahvuspark (National Park). Both works portrayed – with dizzying momentum and singular wit – the exuberant life unfolding in the young Estonian state. Vääramatu jõud was selected among the twelve best screenplays at the Berlinale.
The final exhibition at the City Gallery to be organised by the Tallinn Art Hall, reminds us just how powerful the charcoal works of the animation master Priit Pärn truly are. Meanwhile, the exhibition’s public programme is devoted to the artist’s film screenplays that were never realised on screen.