26 June 2012

Lost Garden

Lost Garden
many different artists
Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Bærum
2.6.-2.9.12
forest art - installations in the forest park by Henie Onstad Kunstsenter

The grand Henie Onstad art centre just outside Oslo is always worth a visit. This summer you may even get great art experiences without entering the door. The project ”Secret Garden” invited many artists to present art in the public, almost hidden in a small forest in the centre park area. Walking through this forest you will be surprised, overwhelmed, start looking at the forest differently, and even walk through the forest differently. The thrill of it is that almost nothing of the art is visible when you arrive at the art centre, you need to know that it is there. Thus it really is a secret.

Eline Smith: Grass
Eline Smith: Grass

The first visible installations are fake grass patches placed on weird places where grass really cannot grow. In this way the absence of grass is underlined, making you think about the qualities of grey versus green areas, i.e. asfalt versus grass. Even if I love a stretch of smooth, freshly layed asfalt, I must admit that the softness of grass is to prefer for bare feet  (as long as it is not wet or filled with ticks.) 

Lise Wulff: Sign of Life (Pulse)
Lise Wulff: Sign of Life (Pulse)

On the way down to the seafront, there is white sand poured onto the steps. From below you almost cannot see it, from the side it makes some stripy oval, but from above it makes a perfect circular form. Or it probably did. It is constantly changed due to the wind and rain, and maybe even visitors unaware of stepping on an art installation. The form will probably be quite different from the opening to the ending of the exhibition. I am curious whether it will be visible at all, or if it will be present hidden as sand spread throughout the area.

Anne Marthe Dyvi: Draping
Anne Marthe Dyvi: Draping

The next art piece is not there anymore. The shape is there for sure, but what changed this sculpture to a completely another sculpture was only there for a short period. The sculpture "Zeus og Io" by Kai Nielsen from 1918-20 was covered in aluminium foil for some days. During this time nothing of the original was visible, even though all its forms were there. The artist had made a new sculpture totally dependent on the former one. Now all that is left is a description and a photo, assuming what happened. Only the old art remains while the new has disappeared. Or has it? As long as it has existed it remains in the memory, and this way it is still there.

Serina Erfjord & Magnus Oledal: But Listen
Serina Erfjord & Magnus Oledal: But Listen

The description states: "A kinetic sculpture consisting of a black oil barrel fillet with dark water. At intervals, there is a movement in the water." When I was there the barrel was closed with a lid, probably because of the rainy weather. I could not see the movements in the water at all, only some movement of falling raindrops on the lid. I have to believe the description of what goes on on the inside, almost like in the installations by Bettina Buck. But here this was probably not the original idea. One thing is when the changes by weather are intended as shown above in "Sign of Life (Pulse)", but here the installation need to be protected from the weather. Would it not fit better indoor then?

Sverre Hoel: Fragmenter
Sverre Hoel: Fragmenter

A line of gravestone fragments form a wall or a guiding line through the forest. Or maybe they are rather portruding from the ground, like zombies digging their way up? The text has been polished off the stones. What are really there are just some stone rectangles, why are they still kind of creepy? They have no purpose as death monuments, still this is how I react to them. For a Norwegian it is strange seeing these stones in the nature, not in a park-like area. But for an Estonian and probably others it is perfectly normal to see graves in forest-like areas. I am not sure whether the line leads into or out of the forest.

Lise Wulff: Sign of Life (Breath)
Lise Wulff: Sign of Life (Breath)

Further into the fores there is a heap of pine cones. Just an ordinary heap of pine cones, that I would probably not have notices at all, were it not for the sound that emerges from the heap. So easy and so impressive.

Christine Istad & Gjertrud Hals: Celestial Bed
Christine Istad & Gjertrud Hals: Celestial Bed

A bed frame is hanging from the trees, this is actually a 1910 bed belonging to the opera singer Kirsten Flagstad. On the strings holding it beard lichen are glued on. Does it matter who has slept on the bed frame? You can climb on to it and try. I really do not believe you would notice any physical difference if you were told it rather belonged to someone else, or if you did not know. It would still be unconfortable without the mattress. Then again, maybe you would still think differently knowing about the owner. But she did not sleep in these surroundings, did she? What surrounds the bed probably leaves a stronger impression than the bed itself. And what about the lichen? This is a slow growing organism, very sensible to air pollution. Even if it is torn away from its habitat and fastened to strings it can survive. But will it survive when the exhibition is over?

Rus Mesic: Here, There, Nowhere
Rus Mesic: Here, There, Nowhere

Evidence that something happened here, but I do not know what. Artist and co-curator Rus Mesic held a performance here in 10 minutes. All that is left are broken, rotting oranges.

Marisa Ferreira: Forest Flow
Marisa Ferreira: Forest Flow

At the top of the hill the path leads into a blue border, a maze or a gate. There is no other option than to walk through it. The artist is in full control of where we walk. Until now it has been my curiosity that led me from art piece to art piece. Now I am forced to move on  through the portal or turn back to where I came from. Of course I choose to move on through this construction, and I emerge on the other side, safe, and with an impression richer. Sometimes you just have to give in and let the art lead you.

Christine Balsløw: Tent
Christine Balsløw: Tent

Several mirrors are placed on the ground, reflecting the sky and the treetops. By looking down I get the same viewpoint as small animals have. If the mirrors had been really large or if I had not been aware of the ground around it, this could cause serious vertigo, not knowing what is up and down. I would have to believe other senses than my sight.

Vigdis Storsveen: Hello and Goodbye
Vigdis Storsveen: Hello and Goodbye

A doorframe stands across the path, it is up to you whether to enter or not. And you decide whether you are entering or exiting something. What exactly are you entering/exiting? It is the same forest on both sides. And then it is not, the same plants are on both sides, but they are not identical and have different locations. Wherever this portal is placed it marks a border between two areas. How much different would it have been if it was moved let's say a meter this or that way?

Line Schjølberg: Blue Velvet
Line Schjølberg: Blue Velvet

Velvet ribbons with numbers printed on mark an area. The numbers are statistics of rape cases during the last years in Oslo. The forest suddenly changes from idyll to horror. A forest can be a great place for recreation, but it can also be an area of fear. The ribbons encircle a small area. Is that the dangerous area, or is that rather the safe area, while I am outside, in the dangerous area?

Kari Anne Helleberg Bahri: The Secrets of a Garden...
Kari Anne Helleberg Bahri: The Secrets of a Garden...

Wonderful houses for birds are created by kitchen utensils. Will birds actually use these installations hanging in the treetops as their homes? There are several of them more or less hidden, you need to look around to find all of them, and you do not know if you really saw them all.

F3: Reverdin's Blue
F3: Reverdin's Blue

Giant blue butterflies rest in the forest. These are supposed to be the butterfly species Reverdin's Blue, threatened to be extinct as the plant it is dependent on disappears. Some of these wild licorice plants have been planted here, maybe in the hope that some real butterflies will find their home here.
 

Ilya Kabakov: A return to painting

A return to painting 1961-2011
Ilya Kabakov
Henie Onstad Kunstsenter
24.5.-26.9.12
paintings

At first glance the paintings appear as rather dull political correct art from the Soviet Union. And that is probably correct too. But then there is a twist to it turning it all around. Nothing is said directly, but these twists are what makes these paintings unique. It might be some added features or areas left unpainted. What attracts the attention are these features, not the rest.

Ilya Kabakov: Hand and Ruisdael's reproduction
Hand and Ruisdael's reproduction

A rather dull romantic pastoral scene is transformed to a backdrop just by placing this red cut-off hand in the frame.

Ilya Kabakov: Along the edge 2&3
Along the edge 2&3

The large areas of white are not important at all, but the ant-small people encircling the area are.

Ilya Kabakov: Charles Rosenthal: Two weavers
Charles Rosenthal: Two weavers

A classic Soviet propaganda painting showing happy working women, assumely painted by "Charles Rosenthal". Even a red flag is added for those who really do not understand that this is about communism. But that white patch, what is it hiding? What was left unpainted?

Ilya Kabakov: They are looking
They are looking

People from different family portraits are combined together and most of them are looking towards you. But some are not painted, or are painted over. Who were they, and why were they erased? Or does these areas symbolise people that was not allowed to exist at all. Part of history and the memory of people can be erased in a totalitarian state. But it is much harder to erase the empty spaces that were left.  

Henie Onstad Kunstsenter overview

Jenny Hval: Innocence is kinky  - 3.6.-19.8.12
Sonja Henie: konstruksjonen av et bilde - 15.4.-22.7.12
Kjell Nupen / Ørnulf Opdahl / H.M.Queen Sonja: Tre reiser. Tre landskap. - 14.6.-7.10.12 
Landskap og rom - 14.6.-7.10.12
An overview of some of the current exhibitions at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter

Henie-Onstad Kunstsenter provide a wide range of exhibitions at the moment, starring queens from different genres, performing in skating, printing, collecting or singing.

Jenny Hval: Innocence is kinky
Jenny Hval: Innocence is kinky

This light- and soundinstallation aquired by the art centre started as an unfinished project about Jeanne d'Arc, the queen of the French revolution. In this large room, light rods shine in varying colors and luminosity. In addition is a songtrack. The mood is overwhelming, almost forcing you to stay there.

Exhibition overview
Overview of the exhibition "Sonja Henie - konstruksjonen av et bilde"

Then on to the queen of the ice and the movies - Sonja Henie - half of the founder couple of the art centre. Her strong interest in art and her career as ice dancer and actress made her able to aquire a decent collection of contemporary art of her time. This exhibition show some of the collection together with some of her dresses and some movies and posters of her. It is great to see the great variety of art that reflects her time. But I am not sure if her dresses and the other Sonia Henie documentation is really necessary. Her taste and achievements are mostly visible through her collection. 

Prints by H.M. Queen Sonja
Prints by H.M. Queen Sonja

The real Queen is present both by appearance, her own work and her collection. In this collaboration with  Kjell Nupen and Ørnulf Opdahl a portfolio of prints are presented for the public and for sale. I suppose the name of the female part of the trio gets a lot of attention, but even not regarding that the prints a well worth seeing.

H.M. Queen Sonja - prints by Andy Warhol
H.M. Queen Sonja - prints by Andy Warhol

The Queen herself is present in the art center, seen through the lens and the technique of Andy Warhol, on several prints in various colors.

Exhibition overview
Overview of the exhibition "Landskap og rom"

The larger part of the centre is provided for showing the collection of the Queen. It is not necessarily an overview of the present contemporary art scene, but definitely the part she is interested in, and that is an interesting part. 

Leonhard Rickhard prints
Leonhard Rickhard prints

Just a little taste of what the Queen likes, you would have to go there yourself to see the rest.

13 June 2012

Ian Dent: When is New?

When is New?
Ian Dent
24.5.-9.6.12
Kinokino, Sandnes
Multimedia installation

The project room at Kinokino has an impressing installation by Ian Dent. With few and simple materials a whole world is created. A world where religion, mass media, advertisement and mass hysteria is overwhelming. Could this be our world?

Ian Dent: When is New?

Ian Dent: When is New?

The exhibition consists of wall drawings in black and yellow, projections, animations, and light bulbs filled with yellow pebbles. One of the walls show an almost biblical scene, with shepherds, madonna and masses. But this time the shepherds are not the first ones at the scene. They are the last ones arriving, and seems to be rather sceptical to the mass hysteria. Instead of the stable of nativity, the madonna is at the stage, performing with a yellow light bulb, similar to the heads of the masses. Or maybe they have all been converted to bulb heads.

This all seems quite anachronical, we are all too well informed and rationally thinking to be moved by mass hysteria, aren't we?


Ian Dent: When is New?

The object of desire are presented, light bulbs with yellow pebbles in them. Maybe not as impressive as it seemed on the stage, but still quite desireable, seeming quite tasty.
Ian Dent: When is New?

In the next scene the bulb heads appear again, now moving restlessly from building to building. On the buildings are projected large signs with easy messages like "Hurry!", "Quick!", "Now!", "Easy!". Just like our shop ads saying "Sale!", "2 for 3!", "Last minute!", "40%!". Head for Kvadrat or any other shopping mall on a regular Saturday. You will find us bulb heads rushing from shop to shop, all preoccupied with our shopping lists and desires to buy.

In the end it all ends up as trash, whether it is the products or the heads, only appreciated by the stray dogs.

"New is the new old" is the message. So through the centuries human beings are always easily led, easily affected by flashy messages. Anything may be a product of desire if it is well presented. Or is it really this way? Has there been or will there be some point in history where this changes? When was or is that? When is New?


More about the artist on http://www.whitehole.no/

12 June 2012

Uus Maailm - the New World

Uus Maailm - documentary movie
Uue Maailma Lood - book
Uue Maailma Selts - community movement
Uus Maailm, Tallinn, Estonia

The following is an article published in "Estlands-nytt" - the periodical of Norsk-Estisk Forening. It contains a presentation of the Uus Maailm area in Tallinn, a community movement based in this area, the documentary about their work, and their published book of stories from this area. The article in in Norwegian.


UUS MAAILM – DEN NYE VERDEN


Uus Maailm betyr ”Den nye verden”, og høres ut som en optimistisk framtidsroman. Dette navnet på en bydel i Tallinn passer godt, her skjer det mye som har virkning ikke bare for framtiden i bydelen, men også for byen og hele landet. Ideologien bak den nye verdenen er imidlertid basert på tradisjonelle verdier som samhold, tilhørighet, dugnadsånd og optimisme. Fenomenet har blitt landskjent gjennom en prisvinnende dokumentar, men før jeg ser nærmere på filmen er det nødvendig å fortelle litt om bydelen og foreningen Uus Maailm.


Åpningsparaden for gatefestivalen i 2009

Uus Maailm – bydelen



Like utenfor gamlebyen i Tallinn, men fortsatt innen sentrumsområdet, langs hovedveien sørover til Pärnu, ligger bydelen Uus Maailm. Området og var fra gammelt av bymarken hvor husdyrene beitet. Først på slutten av 1800-tallet kom bebyggelsen her, først sommerboliger, så en finérfabrikk med tilhørende arbeiderboliger. I bydelen er det hele kvartaler med vakker, gammel trebebyggelse, bygårder i en til tre etasjer. Samtidig er det flere eksempler på sovjetisk byggestil, både de ornamenterte og de pregløse bygårdene.


Uus Maailm - foreningen


Vi er langt fra de eneste som setter spesielt stor pris på denne bydelen. En gruppe unge mennesker holdt dugnad for å renovere et bygg sommeren 2006. Mens de arbeidet i solskinnet kom de i snakk med folk som gikk forbi. De ønsket å bygge opp noe positivt for bydelen og folkene her, og startet foreningen Uue Maailma Selts – Foreningen den nye verden. Det begynte med ulike aktiviteter i nærområdet, og etter hvert fikk de leid et lite hus. Dette ble et kulturhus og bydelshus, som samtidig var bokollektiv, overnattingssted, spisested, konsertsted, sykkelverksted og kinosal for å nevne noe. Flere kvelder var det kveldsmat hvor alle var velkommen, i helgene var det gjerne kulturarrangementer som utendørs filmvisning med mer. I tillegg har foreningen arrangert årlige gatefestivaler. Da blir bydelens travleste kryss stengt for biltrafikk for å gi plass til folk, scene, marked, sauna og folketog. De har også gjort en stor innsats for å samle folks historier og informasjon om verneverdige hus, og publiserer dette i en bok, i nyheter på nett og i en egen bydelsavis.


Foreningen har basert seg på frivillig arbeid, men registrerte seg etter hvert som en frivillig organisasjon. De får støtte fra ulike estiske fond og Tallinn by, og samtidig norsk støtte gjennom EEA and Norway Grants. Ideene for aktivitet i bydelen har spredt seg, og det er startet opp foreninger etter samme modell i andre bydeler. Høsten 2011 viste det seg at foreningen og huseieren ikke kom til enighet om leieforholdet, og foreningen måtte flytte ut. Men foreningen fortsetter, bare med ny adresse.

Huset i Koidugaten, like før foreningen måtte flytte ut

Uus Maailm – filmen


Filmskaperen Jaan Tootsen har i fem år fulgt Uue Maailma Selts med kamera. Han har vært til stede fra foreningen ble dannet, til den måtte flytte ut fra huset i Koidu gate. Kameraet har vært en flue på veggen på demonstrasjoner, fester, festivaler og møter, men også inne på kontoret, kjøkkenet og soverommet. Alt filmmaterialet er klippet ned til en halvannen times dokumentar med navnet ”Uus Maailm”. Filmen ble kåret til årets estiske film i 2011.


Dette er en dokumentar, men historien er så godt bygget opp at det like gjerne kunne vært en spillefilm. Historien kunne knapt vært bedre om den hadde vært påfunnet, noen ganger overgår virkeligheten fiksjonen. I filmen er Erko hovedpersonen, han er hjertet bak og sjelen i Uus Maailm. Det er umulig å ikke bli fascinert og sjarmert av hans positive utstråling, oppkomme av ideer og sprøe påfunn. Samtidig har han ingen kontroll på regnskapet, tillatelser og lovnader. Det er det andre som tar seg av, blant annet organisatoren Kaku og arkitektstudenten Marten, for å nevne noen. Foreningen er til å begynne med en idyll, hvor alle lever i et positivt kollektiv. Den positive energien sprer seg ut i bydelen, og de får gjennomslag for flere av sine ideer. De får ta i bruk et hus til aktivitetene, de arrangerer konserter, filmvisninger og festivaler. Men på et tidspunkt tipper det over fra å være moro til også å bli seriøst. For å få tilskudd må de registreres som en organisasjon. Med støttemidler følger det også krav til rapporter og regnskap. For å bli tatt alvorlig må de ikke bli oppfattet som et hippie-kollektiv. Så begynner enkelte naboer å klage på høy musikk og uro, og politiet kommer på døra. I tillegg skal husleia betales, og det må spares opp penger til å kjøpe huset. Motgangen tærer på samholdet, og folkene spres.


Tootsen har klart å skape en film hvor vi blir virkelig glad i hovedpersonene, og vi føler med dem når de møter motgang. Vi heier på dem i deres kamp for livsglede, vennskap og stedskvalitet, mot likegyldighet, papirveldet, sure naboer og eiendomshaier. Selv har jeg deltatt på mange av arrangementene, og kjenner flere av deltakerne. Dette gjør at jeg blir ekstra engasjert av å se filmen, men jeg tror også at de fleste seere som aldri har hørt om Uus Maailm vil la seg rive med.


Filmen viser unge, idealistiske mennesker som får noe til tross vanskelige vilkår. For oss nordmenn kan det kanskje virke urealistisk at de forsøker å klare seg med så begrensede midler, at de er alt for optimistiske i møtet med byråkratiet, og at de heller burde ”klippet seg og fått seg en ordentlig jobb”. Nå får Erko også høre at ”når du er 30 har du bil, familie og hjem og roer deg ned”. Imidlertid er både boligmarkedet, den økonomiske situasjonen og arbeidsmarkedet vanskeligere i Estland enn i Norge. Typisk for denne og lignende bydeler er at de vakre gamle husene forfaller på utsiden. Å gjøre husene og nabolaget trivelig er noe som krever tid, kompetanse og ikke minst penger. Filmen viser hvordan man kan skape trivsel og samhold i nærområdet sitt med begrensede midler hvis man bare har entusiasme, pågangsmot og en positiv innstilling.

Planleggingsmøte for gatefestivalen 2009, Tootsen er til stede med kamera


Uus Maailm – boka


Høsten 2011 gav Uue Maailma Selts ut boken ”Uue Maailma Lood” – Den nye verdens historie. Boken inneholder bydelens historie helt fra 1200-tallet til i dag, og flere av innbyggerne forteller sine historier. Det blir også pekt på verdien av de enkelte hus og deres historie av en arkitekturhistoriker, en arkitekturkritiker og en historiker. Boken er et unikt dokument som det må ha tatt lang tid å samle materialet til. Dette ser ut til å være en del av en utvikling, stadig flere deler av Tallinn har fått lignende bøker. Folk ser kvaliteten og historien i strøket man bor i, og setter større pris på å bo der. Slik øker både livskvaliteten og trivselen til innbyggerne.

Erko holder åpningstalen for festivalen i 2009


Uus Maailm – framtiden


Man skulle tro at etter motgang og mangel på sted å være ville foreningen gå i oppløsning. Den gang ei. Foreningen fortsetter, bare på en annen adresse. Det arbeides nå aktivt med å utarbeide en visjon for området. De kartlegger hva beboerne setter pris på og hva de synes er problematisk i bydelen, og gir rom for forslag om endringer. Dette er et stort dugnadsarbeid hvor alle skal få si sin mening. I tillegg har ideene og aktiviteten blitt videreført i andre bydeler og i andre byer. Og Madle Lippus fra foreningen ble ansatt som rådgiver for grasrotbevegelser på landsbasis (vabakonna nõunik). Det som begynte med en liten gruppe i en bydel har fått følger for hele landet, helt inn på presidentens kontor.



Filmen er tilgjengelig med engelsk teksting i estiske filmbutikker, mens boka kan kjøpes gjenom foreningen, se nettsiden www.uusmaailm.ee

Hotel art in Haugesund

Collection
Andy Warhol, Pushwagner, Herbert Thoma
Rica Maritime Hotel Haugesund
any time
art for the joy of hotel visitors

Sometimes art appears at strange places. I was stunned by discovering these works by renowned artists during my visit to Rica Maritime Hotel in Haugesund, as I usually find rather tacky, nostalgic, decorative, promotional or just decorative works in such places. I found a large public mural by Pushwagner, prints by Andy Warhol, and a painting by Herbert Thoma.

Pushwagner
Pushwagner

Andy Warhol: Ingrid Bergman prints
Andy Warhol: Ingrid Bergman prints

Ship figure + Herbert Thoma: Akt
Ship figure + Herbert Thoma: Akt

09 June 2012

Aanestad and Falkenberg: Utmark

Utmark
Margrethe Aanestad and Jørund Aase Falkenberg
Kunstgalleriet, Stavanger
8.-30.6.12
Installations, drawings

I just love it when I get surprised by an exhibition, and I love it when galleries take chances. At this one I get both. Kunstgalleriet usually have interesting exhibitions, but mostly art hung on the walls, easy to sell. It is quite brave of a commercial gallery to give carte blance to artists like these to go on exploring the room, even changing it. The work resulted in, yes, some works on the walls, but maybe not what you would expect. And there are some surprises there as well, some obvious, some more hidden.


Opening ceremony
Opening ceremony
Arnfinn Hanssen from Kunstgalleriet, and the artists Margrethe Aanestad and Jørund Aase Falkenberg



Jørund Aase Falkenberg: Utkikkspost
Jørund Aase Falkenberg: Utkikkspost

What craves the attention at first is the large lookout-platform installation partly covering the staircase to the basement. From there you would supposedly get a great overview of all the exhibition. If you dare climb it. Only the kids did, using it to slide down on. When I climbed it, I discovered that it really did now work as you would expect. I expected to get an overview, but instead I had to struggle to stand, as there was far from enough height to stand upright. I had to bend down, feeling uncomfortable and awkward. In addition I was not sure whether I was really allowed to stand there. It is not usual to step on artwork. What both sounded and seemed like a marvellous spot, is in reality a spot of uncomfort, but you do not know until you are there yourself.   

Jørund Aase Falkenberg: Rød tråd
(I was not able to photograph it)
The most obscured surprise was something as simple as about a meter of red wollen thread hanging from a nail on the wall. Maybe not so impressive. But as it was hanging right above the aircon, it was floating in the air, constantly moving, never falling down. I could easily have missed it, but as I did not, I feel privileged.

Another surprise was tiny mirror-tape triangles on the window. You would actually have to look away from the exhibition space to spot them.

Jørund Aase Falkenberg: Uten tittel (S1500 N) II
Jørund Aase Falkenberg: Uten tittel (S1500 N) II

The artist also had paintings on the wall. But not the regular type of painting, well actually, this is actually very regular painting. The surface has been covered with the exact same structure and paint as the wall it is hanging on, like a piece cut out from the wall. The exact same materials are used as on the wall, but this piece is considered art, the wall behind it is not. Or could it be?


Jørund Aase Falkenberg: Stille er eit krigsbrotverk + Stille seier meir enn ord
Jørund Aase Falkenberg: Stille er eit krigsbrotverk + Stille seier meir enn ord
(Silence is a war crime + Silence says more than words)

Two identical works in material, but with different titles. The only way to decide which is which is by reading the exhibition guide. They are both framed regular A4 papers. The artist of paintings or drawings decides what to put on the paper and what to call it. Thus the artist try to influence our impression of the work. This can also be done only by the visual impressing, leaving the title empty. Here it is the opposite, the visuals are blank, but the title is the clue. Both sonic and visual silence can be strongly positive or strongly negative. Not saying anything, whether in words or pictures, can be violence, a bliss, or something in between.

Margrethe Aanestad: La det
Margrethe Aanestad: La det

What I have seen of Margrethe Aanestad's work before have been explorations of space and geometry in strict forms of detailed, delicate pen stripes covering areas on paper. Here she is not only exploring in two dimensions, she works in three dimensions. Her colorful pen drawings are there, but also geometrical forms created by materials and shadows.

Margrethe Aanestad and Jørund Aase Falkenberg
work by Margrethe Aanestad and Jørund Aase Falkenberg

The "picture wall" contains works from both artists, the geometrical drawings in various shapes by Aanestad, and "wall pieces" by Falkenberg. And a perfect circle, computer generated, as a contrast, but also as a statement. A punctuation both literally and figuratively.

05 June 2012

Ingrid Toogood Hovland: The Weight of A Shadow

The Weight of A Shadow
Ingrid Toogood Hovland
Monthly artwork: June 2012
Galleri Opdahl
Painting

Galleri Opdahl has started a new concept: Monthly artwork. Each month an artwork is presented in the gallery, this June a beautiful painting by Ingrid Toogood Hovland, called The Weight of A Shadow: 

June monthly picture: Ingrid Toogood Hovland: The Weight of A Shadow

04 June 2012

Bettina Buck: Interlude

Interlude
Bettina Buck
11.5.-20.6.12
Galleri Opdahl Stavanger
Installations, video

Galleri Opdahl Stavanger opens again after some time in hibernation. With a new image with focus on information, availability and events. These are great news for Stavanger. The gallery chose Bettina Buck to be representing the re-opening. A great choice, as this symbolises both the high level and the interestingness Galleri Opdahl wants to present.

Opening talk
Opening talk

What I see is quite easy to describe. There is a bronze box, a stack of cardboard boxes, a bronze blurb, a stone on a layer of foam on a pallet, and a video of a woman pushing a large styrofoam block through nature. There is more to it than what appears at first, of course.

Bettina Buck: Swelling
Swelling

This is made by casting in bronze a form originally emerged from expanding foam. The expansion is frozen, not only pressing its mould away but also emerging from it, creating its own form.

Bettina Buck: Pressed Foam
Pressed Foam 

A large rock is placed on a wooden pallet. Between is set a layer of foam. Almost all of the stone, foam and pallet is visible, except the areas where they all meet. This is also what has the attention of the artist, thus the title. The pressure is something we will never experience, if you take the stone away to have a look, the pressure will disappear.

Bettina Buck: Age of Bronze
Age of Bronze

A pedestal of bronze, with welding marks on the outside, and casting marks on the inside, which are not visible. Instead of being just a feature lifting the artwork up from the ground, the pedestal becomes a sculpture itself. Also here are some features mentioned in the description, without being visible to the viewer, namely the casting marks inside. My thought is that if the pedestal becomes a sculpture, could it then be placed on a pedestal, and what would that look like?

Bettina Buck: Plinth Drawings
Plinth Drawings

This is not a pile of cardboard boxes, even it appears like it. This is rather cardboards taped together into rectangular shapes, containing nothing. The two components are depending on each other: Without the tape the cardboards would fall into one pile, and without the cardboard the tape would have no purpose. Had it been cardboard boxes, it would not have this dependency.

Plinth is a square base like in a flat pedestal. Which side of the shapes are the plinth, maybe each one? And can you really draw with them? Drawings are the results of the act of drawing. I am curious to how this plinth drawing process took place.

Bettina Buck: Interlude (video)
Interlude (video)

The video shows the artist carrying or getting help carrying a fridge-sized rectangular styrofoam piece along a cliff, over a meadow, through a forest. This seems like a never-ending and totally useless task, especially when the strong wind threatens to blow the styrofoam away. But on her journey she encounters the most spectacular and beautiful nature, and even meets some other living beings on her way. Maybe the task is not that meaningless after all. Instead of being a burden, can the styrofoam be an inspiration?

Part of the gallery's new image is also presentations of the exhibitions from different perspectives. I had the pleasure of experiencing art critic Trond Borgen presenting the exhibition from the art historian's point of view. A great event, and a great approach by the gallery.
Trond Borgen presents 
 

03 June 2012

Tou Camp: Other events and artwork

Tou Camp
Tou Scene, Stavanger
1.6.-1.7.12
Performance, dance, installations, song, mural

Entrance examination
Examination before entering the area

Opening speeches
Sociopoly - a sociological version of Monopoly: Find your spot along the axis of rich-poor on cultural or economical capital.

Singing performance
Singing performance

Exhibition in Tou Vindu
Exhibition in Tou Vindu

Exhibition in Tou Vindu
Exhibition in Tou Vindu

Organ sculpture by Nils Henrik Aasheim
Organ sculpture by Nils Henrik Aasheim

work by Dongery-kollektivet
Wall cartoon by Dongery-kollektivet

Dance performance
Dance performance