A Verbal Autopsy with Suzi9mm

It’s a bit of a trick to interview someone as well known as Jenni.  Arguably one of the most popular people on dA, Jenni makes very little about herself and or work a mystery.  When you take into account the other interviews she’s answered and her extensively detailed, often  delightfully opinionated journal, even if there isn't much ground left to cover - its fun just to read what she has to say.

Many self taught artists feel a rift between themselves and their local art community.  Jenni is no exception stating she feels “like an outsider when it comes to the art scene. I don't know many other artists and I don't go to galleries or other art related events nor do I follow the art medias.”

However, on the internet Jenni could never be considered an outsider.  She’s made quite a name for herself by not only shooting some of the most recognized images on the site, but also by lending her eye to help define the photographic aesthetic while promoting other talented photographers on the site.  Yet still she feels there is a big difference between her and the majority of the site, that being the heavy American influence.

When asked to describe this American element and how it differs from her native Finland Jenni replied “I feel like many of my comments come from a larger background… Americans are more talkative, whereas Finns are known to be fairly quiet and lack small talk skills. We joke about the American habit of asking 'how are you?' as a greeting. Finns are also a lot more serious and seem almost rude if you don't know them. Americans then again seem to me very positive, outgoing, even if just superficially sometimes, and they seem to have a good self confidence and the great amount of entrepreneurs in the states I think supports this, as does the American dream of 'making it big' on your own and so forth...

Us Finns think quite skeptically of that attitude. Our society is not as competitive and capitalist just yet. As Europeans in general, Finns are fairly tolerant towards nudity on TV for instance, and the freedom of speech that Americans are keen on advertising seems like an amusing joke to us (because it looks like it doesn't really exist). Finns also respect authorities a great deal, and take pride in being honest and direct.


“What I appreciate in Americans is their optimism and variety in cultures that they present. The pride Americans take… is respectful, but I personally prefer the humble and neutral stance of the Finns and Finland.”  

To be continued…