On Art: Season 4
Superflex (1993–).
FOREIGNERS, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE US ALONE WITH THE DANES!
Installation
2002
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
© Superflex / VISDA
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S4E10. Khurram Jamil
So I chose SUPERFLEX, FOREIGNERS PLEASE DON'T LEAVE US ALONE WITH THE DANES. I believe it's extremely impactful work. The saying "Foreigners Please Don't Leave Us Alone With the Danes" — it's a mix, right? It is provocative. It always gets me to think, what state are we right now in society? It's been there since, I believe, 2002. So the words always get me to reflect. As a son of immigrants, is this still relevant? And the answer for me right now is yes. And maybe one day it's not. But we're not there as a society. Why was this piece part of the collection at that point in time of society, right? It says something about society. And I hope that work will be a historic work, that was important from an art perspective. But for next generations to come, less relevant maybe in 20 years, in 10 years.
P.S. Krøyer (1851–1909)
The Iron Foundry, Burmeister & Wain
Oil on canvas
1885
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
S4E9. Peder Hansen
I chose We the People (detail) by a Danish Vietnamese artist called Danh Vō. It's two details, part of a toe, and part of a foot. It's a one-to-one replica of the Statue of Liberty, cut into 400 different pieces. It's done in copper, and he adopted "We the People," which is the first three words of the Declaration of Independence. The 398 other pieces are spread all over the world. And it's a rethinking of an old concept. With the iron core inside, and on the outside, it's clad with two millimeter-thin copper. He thought, that's how I can recreate it by taking the skin of the statue. It's art as concept. He saw something and he said, what is my new take of it? How am I going to make us think about the Statue of Liberty in a different way? As an immigrant to the US, there's hardly anything more American than the Statue of Liberty. Danh Vō was from Vietnam, came to Denmark, and he has this idea about taking things that we know and then recreating. I feel one of the fragments is almost me, going to the US and going back to Denmark. I'm a fragment of the US and a fragment of Denmark.
P.C. Skovgaard (1817–1875)
Delhoved Wood near Lake Skarre, Zealand. Afternoon Light
Oil on canvas
1847
Statens Museum for Kunst. Copenhagen
S4E8. Clara Rugaard
I chose Delhoved Wood near Lake Skarre, Zealand. Afternoon Light by P.C. Skovgaard. We're in a forest and you can just glimpse the top of a body of water in the background and the sun's reflecting the light off of it. And there's a bunch of people. In my mind, they're a family, maybe a couple of families, and there's a dog. They look like they're just having a great time. Maybe they're out foraging, finding something. There's something about the use of color and light that brings me a real sense of comfort. It's capturing the simple life and they're nestled in between these beautiful big trees. It makes me feel really safe, comforted. I recognize this, I recognize this scene. I feel like I've been there before somehow. I'd like to be there.
Henri Matisse (1869–1954)
Portrait of Madame Matisse. The Green Line
Oil on canvas
1905
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
S4E7. Jens Faurschou
If I should choose any artwork hanging in Denmark, this would be the work. It's my absolute favorite work. And that is Matisse's portrait of his Madame Matisse, Green Line. When he made that back in 1905, it changed the whole way of making portraits. And I am sure people at that time said, you can't paint like that. It not only changed art history, it's also as a painting, a beautiful painting you never get tired of looking at. It's a completely abstract painting. It's an abstract painting more than it's a portrait. It's fantastic. I can't tell you why it's just so beautiful. What I really like in that painting is the colors. It hits my guts and I'm just saying, wow. And I still say it each time I see it. I got my injection of art for the day, if I see that painting.
Henri Matisse (1869–1954)
Zulma
Collage
1950
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
S4E6. Trine C. Jensen
I picked a picture by Henri Matisse called Zulma and it is this very colorful picture of a woman standing with her hands resting on two tables. And there's yellow and orange and three different shades of really bright blue and pink and multiple shades of green in it. She has no middle. Then it also looks a little bit like a motion capture suit. The entire middle of her is this orange line. It's like a speed stripe of something that's ready to take off. It is delightful and playful. I imagine that she's standing there, pondering what's going to be her next move. It is a great lens to see women through. It made me very happy that an artist that many years ago could see a woman like that.
Jørgen V. Sonne (1801–1890)
Rural Scene
Oil on canvas
1848
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
S4E5. Connie Nielsen
P.S. Krøyer's painting Boys Bathing at Skagen. Summer Evening. It's a painting of a completely still late evening. The sun doesn't properly set in Skagen when it's midsummer. Well, it's a couple of bathing boys with the moon shining into the water and this incredible blue. It's joyful, it's beautiful, it's hopeful, it's positive. I'm not saying that art only should be that. We live in times that are challenging. I mean, Krøyer struggled with depression himself throughout his life, but he insisted on depicting the beautiful side of life as well. I've been Krøyer in a big musical in Denmark, so I geeked Krøyer in a big way at the time. And the funny thing about playing a part, or at least it is for me, I feel some sort of ownership. So if people aren't properly positive about his artwork, I get slightly personally offended.
Andrea Mantegna (1429–1506)
Christ as the Suffering Redeemer
Tempera on panel
1485–1495
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
S4E4. Nicolai Wallner
I chose The Beach at Rågeleje by P.C. Skovgaard. Creative people get drawn to the ocean for some reason. And walking on the beach clears my head and it brings back memories of my childhood. And the Golden Age, I find to be very interesting. And this is from that era, that time in history, where Denmark was bankrupt. And there was all this pressure, that modern breakthrough that's about to happen. Like Hans Christian Andersen was writing stuff and Lumbye was writing music, and Niels W Gade was composing, Søren Kierkegaard would walk around the streets of Copenhagen. And Rågeleje, what was that like? Was that where artists would go to seek inspiration? And the colors, and the birds, and that particular smell that Danish beaches have. That feeling of a summer day that kind of never ends. When you're a child, the summers seem like they're never ending; as an adult, they're ending so fast.
Egill Jacobsen (1910–1998)
Accumulation
Oil on canvas
1938
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
© Egill Jacobsen / VISDA
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S4E3. Rachelle Keck
I chose the painting entitled Accumulation, 1938, by Egill Jacobsen. The emotion that it evoked in me, I did not know what it was about. The bold colors, the integration of the thick black lines, or perhaps they’re navy blue, there's a little bit of both. It just struck me. The title, Accumulation, I initially thought, was a commentary on our inclination as human beings to accumulate things, relationships, achievements, accolades, possessions. It was really a commentary on Nazi Germany. And I had no idea. And that's one of the beautiful things about art. It's very personal to not only the artist, but also to the viewer, and they may not see and feel the same things.
Pia Arke (1958–2007)
Untitled (Thule Air Base)
Photograph
1992–1993; 2003
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
© Pia Arke / VISDA
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S4E2. Kristian Riis
I have chosen a piece by Niels Skovgaard. It's called Troldeskoven. It's from the late 1800s and it's a landscape that shows a forest. The black and white tonality has been fascinating to me for a while now. There's a cinematic aspect to it, a world that can be both of a fairytale quality or that I'm about to enter through the eyes of someone else. It's almost photorealistic, and the softness of the trees and the plants makes me want to go along on this journey, and step further into this universe and see what can happen, who you will meet, what animals will show up, what the weather is going to turn into in just a moment. In terms of mood, it's a little bit on the grittier side, but there is this amazing light in the background that draws the eye to it. And it makes me feel safe to step into this quite magical place where anything can happen.
Asger Jorn (1914–1973)
Cuts in tabletop
Woodcut
1967
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
© Donation Jorn, Silkeborg/ VISDA
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S4E1. Carsten “Soulshock” Schack
I picked this picture by Asger Jorn, called Coupures de table. It's very simple, and as soon as I saw it, it spoke to me. And I think I relate a little bit to art that has some moodiness in it. And maybe what I've been through in my life, sometimes the colors can represent a certain happiness, I feel. When you have more subdued artwork like this, with less colors and more abstract, I feel there's a little bit of pain, and I feel there's a little bit of extra thoughts and moments in your life where you reflect. I can't explain why that's what I get out of this, but that's what I get out of it. It reminds me of myself closing my eyes before going to sleep. It's underplayed, minimalistic. I absolutely fell in love with this.