Demetrio Paparoni: Contemporary Chaos at Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium
From the opening: Demetrio Paparoni number two from the right.
This year's main exhibition at Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium is CONTEMPORARY CHAOS and it is curated by Demetrio Paparoni. Paparoni comes from Syracuse in Italy, but today he is living in Milano. He is an art critic and an author in addition to be a curator. He has written many art books which have been published at the well known publish house SKIRA. Recently the book about the Norwegian artist Vibeke Slyngstad was published, written by Paparoni. Morten Viskum is another Norwegian artist who the author found interesting, and in 2016 the book about the artist was published. This book you can read more about here at Samtidskunst.com. (mer…)
Audun Eckhoff will NOT Make The Norwegian National Museum Great Again
2017-01-20 Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the US, in spite of what many people thought was possible. In that context the Norwegian artist Morten Viskum offered Nasjonalmuseet (The Norwegian National Museum) to buy his well known self-portrait Make America Great Again for $ 1!!! But Audun Eckhoff, the director of Nasjonalmuseet didn't respond to the offer. If you are offering something, common courtesy is either to refuse or to accept. Of course Eckhoff can hide behind the fact that he didn't know about the offer, but the offer abounded in social media throughout 2017-01-20, and such a unique offer the director of the Nasjonalmuseet should know about. (mer…)
Demetrio Paparoni: MORTEN VISKUM Works 1993-2016 – SKIRA forlag 2016
Morten Viskum gjorde seg bemerket over hele landet da han i 1995 plasserte olivenglass med rottelik på formalin i flere norske matvarebutikker. Da han noen år senere skapte et krusifiks hvor Kristusfiguren ble byttet ut med en rotte, gikk det så langt at han ble drapstruet. Det var på denne tiden jeg ble kjent med Morten Viskum, kunstneren som da alltid bar munnbind i det offentlige rom , slik at man ikke kunne kjenne ham igjen om man traff ham på gaten. Vårt møte resulterte i hovedfagsoppgaven min Rotten på korset, og siden har jeg fulgt kunsten hans tett. Jeg har fra vårt første møte aldri vært i tvil om at Morten Viskum kom til å bli stående som en av de fremste kunstnerne fra vår tid, og Kjærlighet fra Gud vil gå inn i kunsthistorien som et ikon fra vår samtid. Jeg har selv brukt Morten Viskum sin kunst både i undervisning og på foredrag, og alltid er "lille rotte" (et rottelik på formalin) med, og selv om noen reagerer med det samme, går det fort over når bakgrunnen for kunstuttrykkene til Viskum blir kjent, og da er det interessen og den gode samtalen som overtar. (mer…)
Demetrio Paparoni: MORTEN VISKUM Works 1993-2016 – SKIRA Publishing 2016
Morten Viskum made his mark across the country when he in 1995 placed olive glasses with dead rats on formalin in several Norwegian supermarkets. When he some years later made a crucifix and replaced Christ with a dead rat , he received death threats. It was at this time I became acquainted with Morten Viskum, the artist who back then always was wearing a face mask in public places so that one could not recognize him if you met him on the street. Our meeting resulted in the graduate thesis Rotten på korset (The Rat on the Cross) and ever since I have followed his art closely. From our first meeting I have never doubt that Morten Viskum would be one of our foremost artists from our time, and that Love From God will enter the history of art as an icon from our time. I myself have used the art of Morten Viskum both in lessons and lectures, and I always bring "little rat" (a dead rat on formalin) with me, and even if someone have responded in a negative way, it soon has passed away when the background of the art expression has been known. Then the curiosity and the good conversation have taken place. (mer…)