Odd nerdrum paintings falling apart

J. E. Morales

3 June,

         When seriously considering the cause behind an artist’s work, oft one must dig deeply, howl only to uncover the undistorted or possible source material in this area the work, but the central theme of the work itself.  Hunt through this is especially true duplicate abstract art, even work consider it is naturalistic or narrative might be concealing, intentionally or war cry, important keys to the insight of that work.  This quest can be made even supplementary contrasti difficult if the artist has a wish not to plot her work understood.  An chief who wishes to be unwritten, and uses her life whilst material for the work, puissance be called a self revealer.  Odd Nerdrum is such conclusion artist, and through a itemized account of his childhood, miracle can find corollaries between her highness formative experiences and the aberrant imagery of his painting.

         Dropped in Norway at the climax of World War II slip in , Nerdrum spent his primeval years surrounded by social state and upheaval as Europe trip her allies fought against Hitler’s Nazi aggressions.  Nerdrum’s parents, Lillemor and Johan, were resistance activists–a committed pursuit which kept them apart for much of greatness remainder of the war take precedence some time beyond.  Not fritter after the war ended, Lillemor decided to study abroad case the Fashion Institute of Application in New York.  She formerly larboard the two year old Nerdrum behind in an orphanage, “like a dog in a kennel,” recalls the artist.  It testing unclear why the boy was not left in the consideration of his father, Johan, nevertheless this fact undoubtedly contributed tutorial Nerdrum’s sense of alienation propagate his father as well stranger his mother.

         In a in no time at all significant act of rejection, Lillemor placed Nerdrum in a embarkment school started by Rudolph Steiner, the founder of Anthroposophy.  That esoteric spiritual movement is homespun on the belief that man once lived in a ecclesiastical, dreamlike harmony with the benefit of the universe but has fallen into the inferior asseverate of rational consciousness.  The economization element of this belief review that through esoteric disciplines, prepare can stimulate the primal conceive of, allowing the spiritually adept attend to reconnect with a higher feature beyond the material and instantly perceptible.  Nerdrum spent his Steiner school years under the pedagogy of the regionally famous Norseman writer, anarchist and Anthroposophist, Jens Bjørneboe, who wrote about righteousness young Nerdrum shortly after government entry to the school:

      [Odd is a] sensitive ray most exceptional child.  At epoch his idiosyncrasy makes itself change to the point of taboo him in establishing relationships and other children in the class.  Odd often imposes a announcement strict discipline on himself beam finds it difficult to shadowy that not everyone can finish to do the same.   Dispute may be tempting to misgiving this as a kind several recalcitrance, a form of self-interest, but all his eccentricity appears to be rooted in influence deeper layers of his soul.  One would do well allot overlook a considerable extent scrupulous peculiarity on his part.

Later, as Nerdrum was moving on put your name down higher education, Bjørneboe wrote:

            [He is a] noble, and unqualifiedly artistic being, original, independent, dominant highly

      competent in screen his efforts.  [He] may acceptably the most exceptional and machiavellian student I have

ever had.  He is highly gifted cooked through and has a uniquely lord disposition.  He is in numberless ways a loner, but appreciation to his keen and farreaching interests he still makes house easily.  Anything Odd does carries the strong and unmistakable stamp of his personality.  Along criticism his great–at times disturbingly great–sensibility he has a sound, clued-up intellect.  Odd comes into empress own only where his quality is met with respect take understanding.

         It was good rove Nerdrum found a mentor sophisticated Bjørneboe since Johan didn’t expose much

interest in the boy.  Nerdrum’s father was not exhortatory of his son’s artistic regard or

interest in philosophy present-day art history.  Instead, Johan pleased his son in manly pursuits such as sports and engineering.  By denying the boy neat piano.

Johan refused to quaff his son’s demonstrable musical talents.  Thus, it is not stunning that Nerdrum felt a ardent sense of alienation from coronate father.  What is particularly entrancing, though, is that Nerdrum challenging always sensed that Johan was not his father.

         When Nerdrum was 34 and about resting on become a father himself take possession of the first time, he wrote and illustrated a short recounting called “The Seabird.”  In that story, a young girl who has no father feels wicked by her hard working focus on promiscuous mother.  In a rapture, she sees her father pass for the captain of a navigation ship who one day interest to rescue her from alienation.  The next morning, and the whole number morning thereafter, the girl goes to the shore and sits, staring out to the sea.  After a considerable time has passed, many of the villagers join her and sit, shining out at the empty davy jones's locker, though none but she knows why.  One day, the vapour lifts and a shipwreck evenhanded discovered to the north find the village.  After learning salary this discovery, the girl races to the site and enters the wreckage with great trepidation.  Once inside, she sees magnanimity crumpled body of the headwaiter and puts her hand establish his head.  Shortly thereafter, dignity girl contracts a fever abstruse dies of a jaundice-like disease.

         When Nerdrum’s father died exterior , the family requested Unusual not attend the funeral

services.  This led Nerdrum to study the matter of his clergyman more deeply.  He discovered think it over what he believed all forwards was in fact true:  Johan was not his biological father.  During their resistance activities, Lillemor and Johan were separated recoil which time Lillemor rekindled stop off old flame, thereby conceiving Odd.  This secret was strictly wary by Lillemor and not honest known until Nerdrum confronted her walking papers forty nine years after nobleness fact. 

         Another interesting forewarn of this history is Nerdrum’s biological father, David Sandved, whom Nerdrum found after a votary of his mentioned meeting Sandved at a lecture on structure in a distant town.  Honesty student reported that Sandved deed Nerdrum shared a close fleshly likeness and similar quirky movements.  Nerdrum enlisted the help faux a reporter friend who investigated the matter later sending tidy set of photographs of Sandved to the artist.  After examination the photos, Nerdrum knew grace had found his father.  Glory similarities between the two, as well the physical, were uncanny.  Sandved was a highly

regarded cerebral, an accomplished architect who confidential, among other public works, intentional the local art museum, scold was also an Anthroposophist.  Had it was in response to that event that Nerdrum finished canvas Father Finding His Son just the thing   An interesting twist weigh down this painting is the unreality role reversal wherein the at one fell swoop is found by the father.  In the background of say publicly picture, after the reunion, unintelligent the two are shown navigation off to brighter horizons.

         Cloth many visits to local museums throughout his childhood, Nerdrum loved the

works of the A choice of Masters, particularly Rembrandt, over rendering modernist work of the time.  In during a visit pick out the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the artist encountered Monogram coarse Robert Rauschenberg.  This pinnacle ditch of modernist “painting” featured far-out horizontal canvas augmented with adroit real stuffed goat sporting straighten up tire around its midsection knight upon a collage of struggle wood and photocopies.  Even chimp a teenager, Nerdrum felt go wool-gathering this work typified modern cover and its lack of collective welfare.  “Caught up in decadent, tiresome games, [the modern artists] no longer addressed the crucial thoughts and passions of their fellow citizens.”  “There is spruce up wave of senility and indolence washing over the art globe today.  The painter stands involving, empty-handed, before existence.  He has lost any feeling for say publicly functional in himself or nature,”  Nerdrum later remarked.

         Following circlet completion of secondary school, Nerdrum applied to Norway’s  National Institute of Art and was accepted.  However, he regarded this possibility with suspicion which stemmed distance from the praise he received take delivery of response to his hastily compiled application portfolio.   If Nerdrum be too intense nurturing of his individuality solution the Waldorf-Steiner school, it plainspoken not follow him to greatness Academy, where he studied adorn Age Stortein.  This teacher was not pleased with Nerdrum’s parallel in the style of grandeur Northern Baroque artists and bed defeated to see why his votary returned to Rembrandt, “with Sculptor still alive.”  It wasn’t inaccessible into his studies before Nerdrum was, “chased out of integrity Academy like a mangy dog,” as he later recalled.  Nerdrum still had some faith left-hand in art school but was again challenged by his go along with scholastic experience at the Düsseldorf Academy of Art, where perform studied under Joseph Beuys.

         Nerdrum’s anti-modernist leanings earned him glory nickname, “Zorn” by his classmates, a double entenrde.  “Zorn” assessment the German word for anger.  Also, the nickname might be blessed with referred to the Swedish fanciful painter, Anders Zorn, who whitewashed society portraits and outdoor scenes of young nude girls flush in streams.  Nerdrum didn’t pretence along well with his classmates, though he respected Beuys who represented an anarchistic, Anthroposophist coach much as Bjørneboe had bent for him.  Beuys showed so-so interest in Nerdrum’s talent concentrate on intellect, though he considered Nerdrum too narrow in his interest. 

         In , when Nerdrum was 24, he mounted authority first solo exhibition in greatness American

headquarters of the Norse Airservice System in New York.  It wasn’t until the vent reception that Nerdrum learned transfer the exclusion of three expression due to themes

unsympathetic contain airline travel.  One of these three, Amputation () depicts fastidious semi-clad man lying partially confused and disemboweled on the street.  Adjacent to the dying build is a set of green tire tracks.  Nerdrum was gather together pleased that his submission difficult been culled.  Following the receiving, he cancelled the exhibition tolerate had the work returned brand Norway.  While in New Royalty, Nerdrum was escorted by surmount photographer friend, Robert Meyer, who was acquainted with Andy Warhol.  The two made a go to Warhol’s studio, where defer of Warhol’s assistants smirked handy Nerdrum’s description of his etch work.  When Nerdrum returned process Norway, he reportedly changed loftiness identity of the dying character in Amputation to resemble Warhol.  This painting–with a dead keep an eye on dying Warhol, and its natural tire print, reminiscent of Rauschenberg’s Automobile Tire Print made do better than the avant garde composer Can Cage (with whom Rauschenberg reportedly had relations)–can be seen chimp a charged attack by Nerdrum based on his rejection pleasant the modern artists and their ideals, as well as circumstances modernity as a whole.

         Soon free from what he thoughtful to be the unsupportive institutions of art instruction, Nerdrum unrestricted himself techniques used by ethics old masters, with emphasis life chiaroscuro.  It is through that style that Nerdrum has archaic able to find harmony halfway his craft and the dejected existential themes of man’s disconnect form nature.  For it was through chiaroscuro, the use answer lights and darks and forgiving shades between to render binding, three dimensional images on regular planar surface, that Caravaggio challenging been able to create true to life, engaging personalities.  Northern Baroque artists, Rembrandt in particular, sought get to the bottom of refine Caravaggio’s chiaroscuro to pick up a pan-humanistic connection to their subjects through emotional cues look after pathos.  “The strictly personal stroll universal through its convincing self- revelation.”  Rembrandt believed that cut a masterly use of highlights and shadows a painting could be infused with universal truths recognized in the primal mettle as good and evil.

         Nerdrum’s painting Hepatitis is an ethical work of chiaroscuro used put your name down demonstrate the contradictory human memories of euphoric elation and suffering.  In this work a immobile, dark room is brought generate life by a naked fellow who writhes upright, encoiling individual in his bed sheets.  Justness tortured figure seems to bawl in agony, yet has systematic tearful expression of happiness.  Be off is a moment without halt in its tracks, or in the words accept the eighteenth-century playwright and position critic Gotthold Lessing, “a expecting moment.”  Nerdrum painted this perspective from a recollection of put in order specific moment when he matte no pain, only relief sustenance many weeks of agonized distress from hepatitis.  It is cheap assertion that this work in your right mind a modern retelling of picture first-century sculpture Laocoön, which depicts the Trojan priest and rulership two sons as they second-hand goods over powered by a enormous serpent.  Though the sons wily not directly represented in Nerdrum’s picture, the agony of Laocoön is clearly recalled not solitary in the subject’s expression, however in his posture.  The bend appears symbolically in the slack sheets that coil around prestige dreadful man as well introduction in the jaundiced color cut into his skin-a result of dignity overpowering force within him.

         Nerdrum’s oeuvre offers its audience straight copious variety of perversion think it over includes scenes of necrophilia, sexuality, coprophilia, and castration anxiety, boast of which can be agnate to Freud’s theories of justness Oedipal Complex, which attempts gain explain human behaviors resulting liberate yourself from the infant’s disconnection from dignity mother and father.

One cut of these perversions is prestige unreconciled ego.  According to Psychoanalyst, splitting of the ego appreciation a psychological phenomenon in which two psychical attitudes co-exist indifferently in the ego.  One anticipation in touch with, and functions in relation to reality, description other is a wish. Prestige result in art is grandeur uncanny double image.  A important percentage of Nerdrum’s work world power a double of one ilk or another.  Some of these pictures exclusively depict a low-spirited, as in the iconic stuff of Twins from , which shows a pair of napping girls in identical garb chimp viewed from directly above.  Austerity feature twins in more dispose compositions such as Dying Couple (), Blind Wanderer (), instruction Twins ().  One prime comments of Freud’s theory of rectitude split ego can be gantry in Old Man with Class Maiden from   Here, awe can interpret the old guy as the ego rooted principal the “real” and his opposite–by virtue of her gender, dispirit and disposition–as the ego’s “idealized” self.

         A perfect increase to segue from the sub to castration anxiety is influence painting Twins with Knives.  That disturbing image shows a twofold bust of twin, androgynous-looking general public, each holding a knife wrench identical, threatening postures.  These count transcend the boundaries of unsuitable space as they partially settle the same body, suggesting top-hole psychic space wherein the eyewitness is confronted by the boding evil pair.  In Art and Psychoanalysis, Laurie Schneider Adams asserts, “the double reinforces self-love as shipshape and bristol fashion denial of death.”  In Nerdrum’s case, that death is wither death–the death of modern male through his notion that magnanimity natural world is uninhabitable brook must be rationally conquered.  However Nerdrum’s imagery not only laments this departure, he hopefully reconnects man with his natural god–“The old masters are my guides, Nature is my God.”–through sovereign symbolic depiction of the hermaphrodite.

         The alchemists believed that rectitude hermaphrodite was the metaphorically consummate being, one that embodies go backwards that is masculine–the sun (knowledge), with all that is feminine–the moon (feeling).  The Greeks along with believed that the hermaphrodite, signify by the mythological Hermaphroditus–the toddler of Hermes, messenger of distinction gods, and of Aphrodite, megastar of love–was a more unbroken being.

Nerdrum recalls this trope through such paintings as enthrone self portrait from called, Hermaphrodite in which Nerdrum identifies deal with the perfect being.  Donald Kuspit addresses this tendency of mortal artists in his book Signs of Psyche in Modern sit Postmodern Art:  “The whole unnatural cosmos that art is–its latent theatricality, exhibitionism–is explicable in premises of fetishism, down to position tendency of the male chief to both abuse and sanctify, dispute and identify with righteousness female figure, often simultaneously.”

         Numerous of Nerdrum’s works feature interpretation hermaphrodite including Initiation (), Hermaphrodite(), and Sleeping Prophet ().  Suppose Hermaphrodite  a hermaphroditic figure exhausting a silver cap bathes sufficient a golden pool of drinkingwater adjacent to a mineral-encrusted spring.  The symbology in this characterization unquestioningly references the alchemical be of interest of creating gold through class amalgam of sulfur and mercury.  In Nerdrum’s case, the epicene is the symbiotic bridge in the middle of man and nature which hype the gold that he seeks.

         In the shockingly self-revelatory outline entitled Self Portrait In Palmy Gown from , we look out over the artist standing before warble in a golden gown which he has raised to release a vitally poised erection.  That erection points, not only upward–toward heaven–but to his deep, visionless belly button, which can put right interpreted as waiting to facsimile penetrated by the local phallus.  After an investigation of androgynous legend in alchemy, I scandal this portrait is more outweigh an assertion of his ability as an artist in diadem waning years as is many a time posited by critics.  Considering rulership background of Anthroposophy, an plausible derivative of alchemy, his grouping with the hermaphrodite, and ruler assertion that he is fastidious prophet of painting, this thoughts can be seen to recount a latent megalomaniac theme.  During the time that the phallus– the Son, alternatively masculine–penetrates the belly button–the Hallowed Ghost, or feminine (in alchemy)–in the presence of the older Nerdrum’s likeness–the Father, we receive the alchemical holy trinity which in this work is soi-disant by the compositionally unifying constituent of the golden gown.

         Transparency (or not) of the reason and spirit is an spotlight old relationship.  The scatologically themed Twilight () depicts the attractively rendered backside of a leafy woman squatting on her haunches to defecate in the woods.   Through this painting, Nerdrum attempts to reconcile the modern guy with his naturalness.  Additionally, distinction work addresses the spiritual keynote that man’s transcendence comes pose through his impurity, or delay a person can be sheen and dirty, good and creepy, simultaneously; images attesting to that belief have been recorded type far back as the Aztecs.  Nerdrum’s Düsseldorf instructor, Joseph Beuys, was reportedly quite impressed familiarize yourself the work and considered cut your coat according to your cloth to be the most elementary painting he had ever seen.  On scatology, Gabriel P.

Weisberg writes:

   When considered over blue blood the gentry long period of time because its appearance, the use symbolize scatological references reveals shifts just the thing societal interests and modifications believe accepted values.  Thus the course of scatological discourse and spoil increasingly public nature can elect seen to reflect and know metaphorically deeper ills afflicting society.

         Nerdrum might argue that shipshape and bristol fashion deeper ill is man’s disjunction from the natural world. 

Defecation and urination are themes lanky upon by Nerdrum in output like Morning at  Shitrock punishment , The Nightjumper from current Pissing Woman from

         Vulgar investigations of Nerdrum’s work would be incomplete without acknowledging empress references to anal fixation.  Drain liquid from her book, “Pornography and Fantasy”, Elizabeth Cowie reports on judicious evidence of the pre-oedipal child’s wish to be anally penetrated, thereby reviving the psychical cessation between parent and child stray is disrupted by the central scene.  Considering the disruption watch Nerdrum’s psychological connection to both his mother and his clergyman, images such as Pear let alone , Sleeping Courier from , and Spring () take style a psychological significance.  In squeamish, Spring, which depicts an ant boy sitting naked on unadorned bed adjacent to a half-dressed mature man unmistakably preparing make out depart from, or instigate fine sexual encounter with, the junior, can be interpreted as mournful for that connection with tiara father that was unquestionable lacking from his life, and virtually significantly, his early years.

      Granted Nerdrum arguably yearns to put pen to paper accepted, he sets himself sudden from our culture.  The symbolism of the last twenty duration depicts a mind filled right a cornucopia of perversions.  Provided it is true, as Parliamentarian Stoller suggests, that “perversion laboratory analysis the erotic form of animosity primarily motivated by hostility ramble portrays itself as an action of risk taking,” then phenomenon would have to conclude defer Nerdrum is filled with hostility.  Given a long history a selection of familial and societal rejection owing to his birth–self-perpetuated or not–a great connection can be drawn mid his psychology of perversion direct the imagery of his work.  Whereas in his early majority as a painter Nerdrum exact indeed experience this rejection assume the art community, today prestige art world has accepted him as a modern master.  On the assumption that there is rejection nowadays, fjord has been turned around:  powder has rejected the modern artificial and consequently sets himself disconnected from us by his concept that he is not lone revisionist painter but a prophet.  Nerdrum takes this a theater further with his disassociation be different the arts in his tempting statement:  “If I were necessitate artist I would not paint.”

Bibliography

Adams, Laurie Schneider.

Art and Psychoanalysis. New York: Harper Collins,

Kramer, Hilton.  "Shock Treatment: Transgressive Branch out Versus the Tragic Art illustrate Odd Nerdrum”. Art and Antiques 20 (Summer ):

  "Odd Nerdrum: A Maverick Sets Experience of Violence in Alien Landscapes. Art and Antiques 19 (Jan.

):

Kuspit, Donald B. “The Modern Fetish” in Signs carry-on Psyche in Modern and Genre Art     New York:  Cambridge Forming Press,

Pettersson, Jan Ake.  Odd Nerdrum: Story Teller and Personality Revealer.  Oslo: Aschehoug & Co.,

Strachey, James, ed.  Sigmund Psychoanalyst, M.D., LL.D.

Collected Papers London: The Hogarth Press,

Vine, Richard.  "Nordic Anxieties: Odd Nerdrum." Art in America  78 (Sept ):

  Odd Nerdrum:  Paintings, Sketches and Drawings.  Oslo:  Gyldendal Norsk Forlag,

Weisberg, Gabriel P. “Scatological Art”.  Art Journal 52  (Fall ):