the death of a gallery 
there have been rumours for a long time: Galleri Wang , one of the flag ships of Norwegian contemporary art, has problems with their economy. A few days ago it became clearer as their two main investors pulled out.

This is not any longer breaking news in Norway since it was
one of the headlines of the newspaper Dagens Næringsliv yesterday.

It is now clear that Galleri Wang, that since they took in several new (Norwegian) artists in 2001, supporting their artist Børre Sæthre for his My Private Sky exhibition at the Astrup Fearnley Museum for Modern Art in Oslo same year, represented at both Art Basel (2002 or 2003) and the Armory Show(2003-04). They did statement with Børre Sæthre in Basel 2000.

The rumours have been more than a few, and last year it was reported (one more time by the newspaper Dagens Næringsliv) that they had problems and was considering several different models for the gallery.

Earlier this year they let the same artist they started to work with only two years earlier (but before that they had solo exhibitions with three of them during the last year or so) go. And not only them, some of the artists they had been working with for several years also had to go. It was said that they would cut down to only five artists (my guess would then be: Harald Fenn, Kjell Erik Killi Olsen, Kjell Nupen, Torbjørn Rødland and Børre Sæthre), make a project room up front for showing new artists and doing art dealing from the office. I guess this model is still interesting as it would cut costs - if the artists would agree working with the gallery under such conditions.

Now the gallery haven't showed anything since April this year, and for the new
Standard Oslo gallery would be showing Torbjørn Rødland at the NADA art fair came as a surprise for the Norwegian arts life.

One comes and one goes.




[ 433 comments ] ( 3627 views )   |  [ 0 trackbacks ]   |  permalink  |  related link  |   ( 2.9 / 2013 )
I hate this 
I just wrote a longer note for the blog -- online for some reason -- and then it disappeared as I posted it.

[ 398 comments ] ( 6815 views )   |  [ 0 trackbacks ]   |  permalink  |  related link  |   ( 3.1 / 1931 )
is there anybody out there 
a norwegian art dealer wrote in a student news paper when he was studying art history that [contemporary] art is a surplus (of society). He wrote this in connection to the closing down of a [independent] contemporary art space as the city where he then lived would not support it financially. He was comparing the relation between the city and the institution with that of the painter van gogh. he meant it was really to bad that he bigger brother in this case (the city), would support the poor, but talented and creative little brother (the institution). I guess one could say that it is a surplus. I do ask myself how do all this people survive (me self included), and the answer is: we do not. we survive like this for a short time being and then we change to something else. The problem is that a lot of these people have a long education behind them and feels like losers when there is no need for their capacities. some, on the other hand, look at their education as a foundation beyond that of being an artist/curator/critic etc. and go over to do something completely else with the same energy and interest.

I do not know why I am writing this.



[ 395 comments ] ( 3714 views )   |  [ 0 trackbacks ]   |  permalink  |  related link  |   ( 3 / 1873 )
I, geek part II 
the technology blog at guardian are looking into what geeks like. They have seen into the best geek novels written in engslish since 1932 (to my pleasure, The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy won -- they do mention lofoten somewhere in the first part by the way...)


they are now asking what is the best geek movie ever. I guess I'm a geek, so here is my list, out of sequence;

- Flåklypa Grand Prix
best norwegian film ever made

Kon Tiki
the second best norwegian film ever made. byt thor heyerdahl.


D.A.R.Y.L
(it is listed in the international movie data base as a feel good movie, and I have to admit, it's been a while since I saw it (1993 to be accurat), but me I remenber all the technical details of the robot and what daryl could do.

LA JETÉE
photos made in to film. great, and the foundation for twelve monkeys

The Matrix
great film, it makes you question some of the things about alice in wonderland.

2001
you do know why it is called 2001?

Metropolis
set in 2000, and the reason for why stanley kubrick set his Odyssey in the following year.

Dr. Strangelove
funny way of talking about the bomb.

Brazil
great.

Abbys
I still love the way the made the water live inside the sub (or what it was...)

Lawnmower man
that is true, a great way of making a not so great stephen king novell into film. really great.

Blade Runner
It bug's me that it is almost impossible to get hold of the original cut. the directur's cut is just crap, they ruined the whole film.

Solaris
not the made understandable from the beginning of this century but the original

Indiana Jones (the last one more than the two others)

Tron
(almost forgott this one... it is there, and it is ---well, great)

Ghost in the shell
maga at its best

Ok this goes on, but I am going to stop here.



[ 437 comments ] ( 3900 views )   |  [ 0 trackbacks ]   |  permalink  |  related link  |   ( 3 / 1814 )
stanley, stanley, stanley---- let's play 
james wagner points out that there is a new book on stanley kubric.
and he made a very nice comment about it in his blog pointing out that he probably the last person discovering kubric as a photographer.

I have watched kubrick films and thought about his work a lot over the past five or so years, I once was thinking on doing an exhibition on artist and art works that related to his films- but we never came longer than the idee and some research.

I haven't been writing so much on kubrick either, one of the few texts published is written together with the norwegian artist øystein aasan . This was for the berlin magazine neue review - the magazine is edited by art critic raimar stange and artist dave allen.
We did write the text for the exhibition on kubrick when it was shown in berlin late last year/ beginning of this year.

I think that what is most facinating with this film maker is his ability to transform or develope (going from being some one that did not read to a profound reader, from being a photographer to being a major hollywood film maker etc.) and his way of dealing with archiving (archiving is always a 'problem'). Not to mention that he played chess very well.

ps. do play on freechess.org I am apxtangen, the same goes for gameknot.com/chess.


let's play


[ 442 comments ] ( 3728 views )   |  [ 0 trackbacks ]   |  permalink  |  related link  |   ( 3 / 1998 )

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