Ljudtornet/Soundtower on the Bridge; a field recordings excursion to Nysund… Preparations for Art’s Birthday 2022 continue.
Julia Adzuki, Patrick Dallard, Karin Lindström Kolterud and Rolf Schuurmans exploring the soundscape
at Nysund bridge; photo HHW.
So, once more Ljudtornet / Soundtower will celebrate Art’s Birthday in January in the old Watertower of Gnesta; partly a live performance, partly a webradio event, where some of my works will be rendered into sound art, music and projections. A first gathering and planning already happened, with Tomas Björkdal of Ljudtornet and Johannes Ferm Winkler graciously joining playfulness and professionality. Next step will be taken in a few days…
Planning session in the Watertower, photo HHW.
the green octave, May 2012
Two series of diary paintings from the Nysund bridge were selected: the Green Octave (2012), and the Pentatonic Scale (2019); all of them sized ca 20 x 41 cms, oil paint on wood panel.
a pentatonic scale, November 2019; 20 x 40,5 cms each
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The live event New Sound Images / Bilder från Nysund will take place in the old Watertower of Gnesta, on Sunday, January 16th at 14-17.
Map and contacts here:
https://ljudtornet.org/om-about
The web radio streaming – Soundtower on the Bridge – will happen on Art’s Birthday, January 17th 2022 through the Art’s Birthday network:
https://www.artsbirthday.net
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I’ve long ago lost count of how many times I’ve strolled around this little lake. Some of the walks ended in the studio, and were transformed into diary paintings; recordings of light and colour. Last month, I took the same walk – as always, staying a while on the crossing between the two lakes; listening and recording. Afterwards, I opened the I Ching – the Book of Changes. It then gave me the image of Lake over Earth, also known as Gathering Together. This was on point, really, since Ljudtornet/ Soundtower had just invited me to a collaboration for Art’s Birthday in January… Even more heartening, the Book of Changes suggested the gathering would transform into Fire over Earth – signifying Progress.
Yesterday, I took that walk around the lake once more. Sun was low even in midday, on this day between a full moon and the winter solstice. I met a friend from long ago. A chilly northern wind swept over the lakes. No birds were to be seen…
…but another day – back in the 1950’s – a man went out here to collect bird sounds with his tape recorder. When playing the tape afterwards, he heard not only birdsong, but also awkward sounds like distant human voices. He believed these strange recordings to be messages from the deceased, and committed the rest of his life to explore them. The man lived right beyond this bridge, and must have crossed it many times. His name was Friedrich Jürgenson.
Here and now, I just rejoice in being. In the upcoming Art’s Birthday celebration, some of the Nysund diary paintings will be transformed into sound art and light projections by my Ljudtornet colleagues – I’m deeply honoured, and very happy.
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Follow the dirt road down to the bridge; thin frost, chattering waxwings and a waning moon. Water streaming underfoot, inaudible voices floating in the light wind.
All gathering together, in yet another collaboration taking form. More to come soon…
work in progress.
just breathing.
200507, 200430, 200513, 200514; graphite on paper, 38×46 cms each.
So, this is the second one of KonstFunk exhibitions x2. We’re happy to present eighteen woven tapestries by Adrian Nehard – on display at Södertälje City Hall until April 20th. This body of work relates to The Songs of Maldoror (written by the self-appointed comte/count Lautréamont and originally published in 1868); reviving their poetic imagery in contemporary colours and textures, by the use of rags, pearls, paint, and embroidery.
“Songs of Maldoror” tapestries by Adrian Nehard
at Södertälje City Hall, March 2020;
photos by Christofer Martinson
The exhibition is curated – largely by my colleague Eva-Karin Planman – to form an open labyrinth, hovering around a flowform water sculpture by Nigel Wells. On Friday March 13th, Adrian Nehard met practising alchymist and artist Lisa Jeannin in an ad-lib Artist Talk.
Lisa Jeannin with Tarot card in front of tapestries;
photo Christofer Martinson
The audience followed closely, as Adrian and Lisa walked and talked their way along an evolving path of strange and complex representations. For a full hour, we were carried away by Adrian’s set of flying carpets – ending up in a French-Swedish reading of a passage from the Songs of Maldoror.
Lisa Jeannin and Adrian Nehard performing their Artist Talk;
photos by HHW.
Thank you, Lisa, for joining! Thank you, Adrian, for sharing your outstanding work!
Lisa Jeannin, Helena Hildur W, Eva-Karin Planman;
photo by Christofer Martinson
Last week, I and my co-curators Eva-Karin Planman and Sabine Recht set up two exhibitions as a part of the KonstFunk project in Södertälje. In Luna, the municipal culture center, we gathered works by some 30 creators to form a group show – the first one of KonstFunk exhibitions x2…
…presenting a range of techniques and expressions; from textile craft to art remakes, to icons, self portraits and paintings emerging out of colour itself…
What is the meaning of creativity?
An absurd question, of course. Somebody enjoys playing with colour and materials – glossy, sticky, tufted – with no fixed intention about the final result. Another expresses a deeply personal experience; a feeling, an impression, a dream. A third person designs a “thing of beauty” to enhance everyday life… Purposes and situations differ. Disparate needs cannot easily be compared or evaluated towards each other.
The meaning of creativity can also be subject to change. What determines labels such as “therapy”, “craft”, “hobby” or “art”? Who has the mandate to categorize?
To master a language takes training and trying, again and again; art makes no exception. It needs a framework of meaningful understanding to mature into richness.
Broadening one’s technical abilities builds self-reliance and sparks ideas. Copying existing artworks is a common method for improving artistic awareness, skill and insight. Although copying does not boost ego, one’s personality will (most probably) come through in many gracious ways.
Whoever takes their work – or playing – deeply serious, also deserves an equally serious reception. Being creative together, we will all contribute to the enrichment of society…
Also, during this same week, a solo show by artist Adrian Nehard was prepared in the City Hall – featuring eighteen woven, embroidered and (partly) painted tapestries.
More to come…
In 2002, I first met with some of the most ingenious and brave people I know. From that point onwards, the Land of Mir evolved; an imaginary space, where words and pictures, all kinds of creative designs and social interactions, became possible and meaningful. Functional variations were many, but in this setting the only disability would be prejudice and intolerance (which, in fact, very rarely occurred).
As an artist and a human being, I am deeply grateful for the experiences I’ve gathered over the years in the Land of Mir. And from this perspective – shared with others – the KonstFunk project has been launched; an impulse for the local community to fulfill Article 30 of the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which states (among other things) that
States Parties shall take appropriate measures to enable persons with disabilities to have the opportunity to develop and utilize their creative, artistic and intellectual potential, not only for their own benefit, but also for the enrichment of society.
On Friday, February 7, KonstFunk arranged a half-day programme for employees from places where people with functional variations work, live and study. A lecture by Anneli Aaltonen Krantz (artistic leader at Inuti Foundation) was followed by artist talks with Magnus Östling (Stockholm) and Adrian Nehard (Järna). Next, participants were invited to try the tactile instruments of SymbioLab, to marvel at the felted pieces from Anna Gran‘s studio at Högklint (Mölnbo), and to delight in the wide range of expressions in icons, self portraits and still life paintings made at Klockargården (Järna) with Sabine Recht as artistic leader.
Pictures from the occasion were shared by Södertälje konsthall (municipal art gallery):
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Thank you, Södertälje konsthall, for hosting! Now we’ll see where this takes us… The next steps will be taken in a few weeks.
November – silvermonth – extended into gentle December snowlight. A few weeks spent in the studio; a homecoming. Treading lightly into the image.
