Bertel Thorvaldsen

Thorvaldsen was a super star Danish sculptor in the first part of the ninteenth century. Art historians today agree as far as I can see that he was overrated in his own time. He was not only an artist but became one of the most important symbols in the building of the modern national Danish state. Today the Thorvaldsen Museum is still one of the largest museums in Copenhagen. I guess his position is secured by the history of the country but how is he viewed today in Denmark and abroad? If he was overrated then, why are there still such a big museum in Copenhagen dedicated to his art (and his art collection)? Can the national hero and the national historical aspect keep the museum alive? I guess there must be som kind of art value back to justfy the museum.

The museum itself has become in a positive sense a museum, as most of the rooms stills looks like they did in the ninteenth century. Is this a strategic choice? The letters to and from Thorvaldsen are all  available online in an impressive database. Why? There are greater artists and greater historical figures then Thorvaldsen in Denmark, but non of them have such a great building or this level of online presence.

Even the English Wikipedia article about Thorvaldsen tells the argument that he was more pure classical then Canova, but the art of Canova is still subject to exhibitions around Europe and I am not sure this is the case with Thorvaldsen. So he migh be more pure classical and less artistically interesting today.

Electrical Walk by Christina Kubisch

Wundergrund Music Festival is on in Copenhagen [about] and the long established German sound artist Christina Kubisch's Electrical Walk can be walked in Copenhagen during the festival. You pick up special kinds of headphone (looking BIG and über retro) which detect the city's electro magnetic radiations as sound structures. I kind of looked forward to more variation as most sounds sounded like electrical motors. The most fun part was listening to sounds while riding the train: Differendt bubbling sounds. We did not pass the game arcade in Tivoli (that would probably be great too).  A positive thing was the slowing down and using the city in a new way. Well known streets and shops opened up with new details.  

Is it all about pace?

In what degree is contemporary art formed by the idea about a fast paced society? Not many people (art consumers, lovers, buyers) have or takes time to look longer on a piece of art then the longing for instant gratification makes possible. Is this selling out on the part of the artists? Or is it the same restlessness working in the artists too? Are we all paced up?

In the beginning of November there will be held a conferance in Copenhagen about the role of the art museums in modern times. Earlier the museum conserved history while today the main thing is the contemporary exhibition. The collections collecting dust and becomes a problem.

What is art? Is it all a question about the rule of pace?


The event in Copenhagen:

The Museum and Its Staging of Contemporary Art 

November 6-7, 2009

Venues: Arken Museum of Modern Art, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

The role of the art museum has changed drastically during the past decades. So has the role of contemporary art within the art museum. Once institutions for preserving and producing knowledge for eternity, museums increasingly become arenas for experience and events of the moment. The interest in contemporary art towards re-uniting art and life in ‘micro utopian’ models, such as proposed by Nicolas Bourriaud, makes art works perform in ways not incomparable to the workings of the entertainment industry. The shared tendency between museums and contemporary art towards staging and performing ephemeral events and experiences changes the fundamental functions of the museum within a broader cultural context and might indeed change the very role of art in society as well.

Staring into Amnesia 2 (2008): Private collection / Courtesy of Boers-Li Gallery and ArtShortCut by Qiu Anxiong