July 4, 2019
I’ve just visited Museum Jorn in the heart of Jutland, Western Denmark, and thought I would put together a few notes of a personal character. I am no expert whatsoever on Jorn – Denmark’s most important and most internationally well-known artist in modern times – but I happen to have a personal relationship to Jorn without ever having met him. So take it for what it is…
Asger Jorn (1914-1973) was, through and through, a “wild” artist, a “situationist”, experimentalist and provocateur. He believed in the working principle of taking his ideas to the extreme. He was a painter, ceramic artist, book and manifest author, printer, sculpturer, he did murals in e.g. Cuba, and more.
He was indeed A Restless Rebel – the title of the wonderful catalogue book for his centenary exhibition at the National Gallery of Denmark, SMK, (in cooperation with Museum Jorn) in 2014.
That said, he seems to have cherished dialectics; he was always working with people in various groups and movements but also defining his works in opposition to this or that “school” or fashion of his times.
The most well-known of which he was a member was, of course, CoBrA. He was very political – radical leftist, a member of the Danish Communist Party – and always applied a philosophical approach to his works as well as his role as an artist in society.
Here his book on “Value and Economy” with just a little sense of humour and published by the Scandinavian Institute for Comparative Vandalism…
Continue reading “Asger Jorn, the Museum – and me”
It has happened before and lots has been written about it. Still!
We’ve got to keep on pounding the argument: It is not acceptable that Facebook and Instagram practices censorship of art works.
It’s about the usual, bizarre doze of American puritanism. Remember that President Clinton was close to impeachment for his affair with Monica Lewinsky but not for his bombings in Yugoslavia without a UN mandate, the bombings in Afghanistan and Sudan. He was the one who broke all promises to President Gorbachev in Moscow and began the fateful expansion of NATO and it was Clinton who upheld the sanctions on Iraq after 500.000 innocent Iraqi women and children had died.
But it is also about modern technology, about image recognition by AI, or whatever methods they use. Unfortunately, these technologies cannot see the difference between a woman’s breasts in a renaissance painting and one in an image of pornography.
Until other methods are practices by Facebook/Instagram, I shall deem it censorship based on illiteracy about art and culture with the aim of being politically correct within the framework of North American puritanism.
Only human can. But then they would not have enough human beings sitting and browsing billions of photos and other images on Instagram and Facebook.
Continue reading “Instagram and Facebook lack education in art”
+ Art spaces in Venice (other), Biennale in Venice, Exhibition notes, International fairs, Positive notes on exhibits, Videos
At the Venice Art Biennale 2019 – Purvis Young
by JO
Venice, Italy – May 17, 2019
It’s high time to resume writing here – the place where I write only about other artists – exhibitions, artists, fairs, art articles, reflections on what I see.
I spend the month of May here in Venice. I came on May 1 to set up my SPAR – Silk Peace Art Road – installation at the beautiful Palazzo Mora of the European Cultural Centre – having been invited to participate in the “Personal Structures” exhibition.
This exhibtion as well as the Venice Art Biennale opened on May 11 and while I was working on setting up SPAR, I also walked around the Mora Palace to see the works of other artists (more to come…) and came upon a room of extraordinary beauty that dragged me in and gave me the immediate “this-is-something-special” feeling.
It was the room next to the reception where the Skot Foreman Gallery had filled the walls, collage-style, with the works of Purvis Young.
Skot and I got to talk and he told the story about Young and their friendship. Here is what came out of that happy encounter…
More about Purvis Young
As of September 1, 2018 this blog will no longer contain posts about my projects, works, exhibitions etc. and also not contain copies of newsletters I send out.
That will all be found on my new comprehensive photo homepage under some of the new menus there, among them “Journal”.
This blog will be devoted to posts that focus exclusively on other artists, their works, and thoughts and/or on my travels to fairs and other spaces of art where I want to share positive experiences about somebody else’s work.
Most likely, there will also be fewer posts here in 2018-2019 since I am engaged completely in the SPAR – Silk Peace Art Road – project that you can read the first description of here on this blog but follow on the new platform under the SPAR menu.
For the sheer fun of it, I had created an image of President Donald Trump as a pastiche on Andy Warhol, a little “old Warhol-style.” It took me about 15 minutes and there was nothing political about it – it was merely a fun exercise.
Here it is:
I posted it on my Instagram account and it was liked at least as much as most other stuff I post there. Then I got the idea to use it as an ad with a CTA – Click To Action – for people to take a look at my Instagram profile – a frequently used method to get people interested in who you are and what you do and then, perhaps follow you.
I designed it, put a few words on my ad, defined the audience to be reached and chose to promote it with US$ 20. And sent it off. It took twenty minutes, or so, until Instagram – which is owned by Facebook – sends me this message:
“Your ad was not approved because your Page has not been authorized to run ads with political content.” This is followed by two links, one on which I can appeal – which I did at no avail. The other tells me how to complete the authorization process (to publish ads with political content in the future.
Continue reading “Facebook’s “political” and “nudity”: Two stories about art censorship”+ Art spaces in Venice (other), Biennale in Venice, New works, Newsletter "Shoot", Promotion, Studio, events, promotion, press, updates, updates
SPAR – The “Silk Peace Art Road” Project
by JO
Lund, Sweden –
March 8 to July 16, 2018. No longer updated here.
But all about the project on my photo homepage launched on September 1, 2018 here.
Jan Oberg, Oberg PhotoGraphics, has been invited by the Global Art Affairs (GAA) Foundation and the European Cultural Center to exhibit at Palazzo Mora in Venice in the context of the Biennale 2019.
This exciting opportunity stimulated the development of a bigger idea that combines Oberg’s work for peace and art photography with a focus on the Chinese-initiated Silk Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the largest and most visionary in today’s world in terms of linking people and cultures into cooperation rather than confrontation.
In various ways the project – with the Road as metaphor – stretches from China over Myanmar, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Iran and Syria to Venice and seeks to promote cooperation and peace in the process.
The “Silk Peace Art Road” – SPAR – project is made public at this very early development stage where only little funding is secured to encourage you to share co-operative ideas, contacts you may have in China and along the Silk Road or to potential partners, artists, sponsors, art institutions, etc.
Summary in 7 elements
1. To stay in China for some time and then travel along the Silk Road.
2. Make use of selected existing archived materials such as photos I’ve taken in China 1983, Myanmar, Somalia and Somaliland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Iran, Aleppo in Syria and Venice which are all situated on the:
3. Old Silk Road and on the new Silk Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that China initiated and which my work will evolve around, and:
4. Combining some of the old photos with new ones and various other materials and artefacts into a completely new multimedia creation (one big or several smaller related to each other), and:
5. Exhibiting it all at Palazzo Mora, Venice, in 2019 in the context of the Biennale (May 11-Nov 24) and documenting the process on Instagram, my blog and perhaps also, later, in a book.
6. The project seeks to explore relations between art, the emerging new world order, and history in the future as well as the interactions of cultures, people and expressions, and finally:
7. It will build synergy between my two ‘lives’ as academic peace & future researcher and art photographer.
[175 words]
Continue reading “SPAR – The “Silk Peace Art Road” Project”
Oh, how time flies! It’s about two months since I posted here and we’re already well into 2018.
I have an excuse, an acceptable one, I think: I’m working fulltime for peace!
But, first – here the three main points in this belated New Year greeting:
• The last two months devoted to peace
• 8 short videos to inspire you
• Dreams and plans including Lund, China and Venice.
Walking on two legs but still looking for the right balance
While I am a photographer who experiments with what “peace photography” could be, I’m also a professional peace and future researcher and director at The Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research, TFF, in Lund, Sweden.
And, so, there are periods during which I have to devote myself to international affairs. It’s not entirely voluntary, I must say, because I really feel I need the artistic activity, the “flow” and the intuitive exploration of the world around me – to balance my research life which is more disciplined, methodical, and – supposedly, at least – rational.
And I would add, there is much much more positive energy in working with art than working with international affairs.
My main occupation is to argue against most of the horrific (nuclear) weapons and wars (can’t know about or cover them all…) and other violence and argue for the simple, logical principle embedded in the UN Charter, namely that peace shall be brought about by peaceful means (Article 1).
Think about it: That is what all the UN member governments have signed once upon a time. And completely ignore every single day.
So I have two identities or persona. I walk on two legs and I cannot always find the right balance.
The shadow of certain world events throws itself over the fields of art and photography where I’d like to spend much more time.
So to solve that impossible equation – two fulltime jobs – what do you do?
Well you study management and you develop practical, daily working methods, you work basically all the time – which is possible when you love what you do and you don’t do it for money (all I do with TFF is unpaid, we’re an all-volunteer foundation). While I have little income, I live a rich life. I don’t complain – just I need 48 hours per day at least and living till I’m 120. That’s all…
Continue reading “Update 2018 – Past, present and future dreams”
I have been ignorant about this great artist – found him at the Biennale in Venice in 2017.
So complex and sophisticated, yet so simple and beautiful. Incredible variation in image from far away and very close. Magic. Enjoy.
Here is my 1-min video…
More about him here on ArtNews.
+ Biennale in Venice, How is it done?, Instagram posts, Positive notes on exhibits, Uncategorized, Videos
Dirk Braeckman at La Biennale
by JO
At La Biennale 2017
The very “different” and moving photography by Dirk Braeckman at the Belgian Pavilion at Giardini.
Here a little movie and a link also to his Venice homepage.
“shoot” # 64
by JO
The Exhibition, the Biennale and Global Art
What is happening in Lund and in the wider world?
Lund, Sweden
November 10, 2017
Welcome to the re-designed, easier-to-browse “Shoot” # 64 newsletter from Oberg PhotoGraphics.
“Shoot” wings into your mailbox infrequently and carries a variety of themes.
The present exhibition is “Three In One”: a few earlier photographs in new editions; 25 unique documentary photos from the liberation of Aleppo in Syria last year and, third, unique multimedia photo collages.
All in all 113 works that created a lot of positive reactions on Night Of Culture in September and Art Night in October.
The studio is open at any time; all you need to do is to set up an appointment on +46 (0)738 52 52 00 or write to: janoberg@obergphotographics.biz.
As if you were there…Enjoy!
More info on the link. Welcome!
Ultrashort video:
Walk Around # 3
Oberg PhotoGraphics studio – October-November 2017
Make an appointment on +46 738 525200 or janoberg@obergphotographics.biz
Welcome!
