Norska Filmdagar 2009

I have waited for Død Snø for three months and will be delighted to celebrate the event with this zombie film at the cinema where Gunnar and I once met, for the first time.

Norska Filmdagar - 19-22 march 2009.

I huvudrollen: Stockholm del 1, Stockholms Stadsmuseum

Rather annoyed by visitors without any exhibition or film ethics, we only stayed about one hour in the Stockholm City Museum (Stockholms Stadsmuseum).

After passing through a red velvet corridor with glamourous pictures, we were expecting:
a) A chronological or geographical order promised by the title
b) an exhibition about film in Stockholm (not in Solna, not in Lidingö, suburbs ones important for the film industry, during the dawn of Swedish film) and not about diverse TV productions or the promotion of Kenny Starfighter's release in Swedish cinemas.
Unfortunately, the few things we saw were mainstream, i.e. the exhibition was very entertaining, but not much instructive.
The good part will - hopefully - be the guided tours in town, since this time, the particulcarity of Stockholm will be illustrated.

(Picture of poster copied from: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3651/3382340867_f15c8c27d0.jpg)

P.R.B, Nationalmuseum

We spent 2h30 enjoying a really good exhitibion.
The works of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood that Mikael Ahlund had chosen to show were inspiring:
_ they have a special atmosphere
_ they are reflexive (dealing with art history, history and modern times)
_ they show the artists' skills.

What excited me most was the "end" of the exhibition, where Arts & Crafts, Sub Rosa and Carl Larsson made a fantastic transition to the rest of the Nationalmuseum.
Mikael Ahlund and his team succeeded in creating a strong event, inscribing it in the institutional frame. What else could a demanding visitor ask for?

(Photo painting woman at the top of the page copied from: http://www.preraphaelitesisterhood.com/cowper.jpg)
(Photo painting Ophelia by John Everett Millais copied from: http://fredfred.net/skriker/images/fred/2005/pre-raphaelites/ophelia-millais.jpg)
(Photo painting woman by a loom copied from: http://questionsconcerningreligion.org/images/113.jpg)

Tabaimo & Play, Moderna Museet

An interview with the curator Lena Essling (unfortunately in Swedish)

A day with "moving images".
First, the Japanese artist Tabaimo who, for us, displayed surrealistic short stories, sometimes becoming a bit too Freudian for our taste. It was though entertaining, something quite rare for films shown in museums.
Play was a less convincing atempt to show Moderna Museet's collection of moving pieces of art.
The good surprise was that Gunnar and I had seen at least 5 works from past exhibitions (Kentridge, Rist, Eggeling, Just, Calder).
In other words, we were not as illiterate as we at first had thought.
To watch, hear and focus while other people are walking, other films are "making noise", made this enterprise difficult to fully appreciate.
I hope we will be given the opportunity to experience them during different conditions next time...

Thielska Galleriet, P.O. ULTVEDT

"Utsikt mot skogen, 2003 (vä). "Liten bronsskulptur", 1997, olja
© Pia Knöppel

"Långholmen, tö" © Bo Larsson

Ur serien "Shadows", etsning © Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd.

Rune Rydelius

"Rött puder i påsen"1989 © PO Ultvetdt

When we visited Thielska on the 29th of January, we saw works by

P I A K N Ö P P E L

B O L A R S S O N

C A R L F R E D R I K R E U T E R S W Ä R D

R U N E R Y D E L I U S

P O U L T V E D T

The 2 we liked most were Ultvedt's and Rydelius' pieces of art.

Rydelius worked with fragments of knowledge, point of views and history.

Ultvedt with mechanisms.

Kinetic (Cinetic) art always reminds me of Pontus Hultén's exhibition in Paris in the mid 50's. That's I guess why I am so interested in moving mobiles by Ultvedt, among others.

It was a rather interesting exhibition.