By Erik
Meistrup
Jens Galschiot (Odense), is a paradox on the
Danish Art Scene: he doesn’t receive recognition from the established
institutions of art in Denmark and is ignored and suppressed by the most
influential Danish media; on the other hand he is among the best-known Danish
artists abroad. His reputation extends from Hong Kong, and Mexico to Germany,
Spain, and the USA. Internationally, Galschiot could be characterized as a
Danish pioneer of late modernism (after 1980).
His artistic production covers a wide field of
expression; from jewellery and small, dainty figures, to gigantic, politically
emphatic sculptures. Undoubtedly, the ‘political’ sculptures and Galschiot’s
humanitarian approach have excluded him from the ‘distinguished’ art
establishment. Artists who persist in maintaining a social perspective in their
artistic expression are considered grudgingly, if at all. In order to ‘be
somebody’ in the Danish world of art, and receive public grants and subsidies one
must be part of the jet-set surrounding The Academy of Fine Arts and,
preferably, a media celebrity. You can cause a scandal by exhibiting smashed
cars on the King’s square, burn down a hot-dog stand or shout slogans against
consumer society, but this merely means becoming part of a marketing strategy.
Galschiot has a consistent ethical and moral attitude in his choice of projects
and sculptures and this is often too much for those
who see the world of art as an opportunity to make a career or provide sophisticated
background entertainment. In fact, for more than 10 years the foundations of
Galschiot’s commitment has been a synthesis of societal conditions and
cultural/artistic expression in a strategy of globalisation.
In the magazine ‘Art’ (no.5. 2000) Galschiot
wrote: “One cannot be for or against globalisation. The fact, however, is that
cultural globalisation isn’t a new phenomena, it has always been in existence……
The difference from before is probably the speed at which it is taking place.” He continues the interview by discussing
what high-art is and who is to define it. The elitist art-connosieurs have
decided that no matter where in the world one goes to an art exibition, one
sees works that are created – practically - within the same parameters. “It`s like visiting McDonalds all over the
world: Everything is recognizable and safe and ........boring.” Regarding this
fact, Galschiot says: “….it contributes to the destruction and marginalisation
of important cultures, whose status is then reduced”. Their artefacts are
reduced to cheap tourist gadgets, their original
cultures to mere entertainment. Although it was
from the very same local, and so-called ‘primitive’ cultures that many modern
high class artists, with Picasso in the lead, found new inspiration, creativity
and vitality in the first half of the 20th century.
On the Danish scene it was Asger Jorn who
worked with the incorporation of ‘primitive’ and historical signs of culture in
abstract expressionism, which was his trademark.
Galschiot’s aim is to turn the development of
culture and art away from Macdonaldisation towards a recognition of variety in
order: “to maintain Humanity`s cultural diversity.” One expression of this attitude is Jens Galschiot`s cooperation
with broad local movements and organisations, which are striving to improve
social conditions, when he exhibits abroad.
In many ways the attitude and work of Jens
Galschiot is a direct extension of the German artist Joseph Beuys` (1921–86)
request for a ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’, which implies that art functions in a social
context where: “the audience contribute with their own thoughts.”. In this
manner the artist, audience, institutions, and critics are involved in a
process in which “the work of art transforms emotional energy into a conscious
form.”
The Political Sculptures (Art In Defence Of Humanism)
In his creation of a new idiom Jens Galschiot
meets some of the greatest challenges of the basic conditions of life and human
rights, such as oppression, degradation, homicide, genocide, dishonesty,
exploitation and destruction. This is reminiscent of Berry McGuire’s old hit
from the 60`s: (“You do not believe what we are.”) We are constantly on the verge of destruction the very nature
both of our mortality and of our attempts to control nature and other human
beings by means of technological power.
Throughout his career Galschiot has taken our
20th century human-heritage (from World wars to Human-rights)
seriously, and hence depicted horror as well as beauty in his line of work.
One main line was initiated with the project:
‘My inner Beast’ from 1993, when the sculpture was erected in 20 European
cities. The sculpture was intended as a reminder to us all that Humanism is
merely a thin coating which covers the potential brutality within us. In 1995
this happening was followed up by: ‘The Silent Death’, at the U.N social summit
in Copenhagen, at which figures of children’s corpses were hung up to focus
attention on the horrifyingly high child-mortality rate throughout the
none-western world.
In June 1997 the first copy of the sculpture
“The Pillar of Shame” was placed in Hong Kong as a protest against China`s
assumtion of power over the city, as well as it`s continued oppression of basic
human-rights.
In 1999 the second one was placed in Mexico
City, and later in the province of Chipas, where the Indians are struggling to
regain the right to their land and to social benefits.
The third “Pillar of Shame” was
errected in front of the parliament in Brazil,
in memorial of the outrages commited against farmworkers and Indians on
the 17th of April 2000. Later it was transported to Belém, where an organisation of landless
peasants put it up in memorial of the ‘Eldorado Massacre’.
‘The Pillar of Shame’ is 8 metres tall and consists
of 50 distorted human faces and bodies. The intention behind it, Galschiot
says: “Is to retain the memory of an infamous deed, committed against humanity,
which must never repeat itself. In this
sense “The Pillar of Shame” is the Nobel Prize of oppression.” It is one of the 1990s most essential works
of art, as well as being one of Galschiot’s masterpieces (according to the
traditional criterions within art- criticism).
It follows an artistic tradition in which, particularly, Asger Jorn’s
painting ‘Stalingrad’ and Svend Wig’s ‘Menneskeridt’ (1956) have been the
source of inspiration, artistically as well as politically.
Galschiot`s connections in Mexico led to an
exhibition in Odense (2001), of paintings by Indian children in contrast to
those of Danish children which illustrated their entirely different visions of
life. In August the same year Galschiot invited the Mexican mural painter
Gustavo Chávez Pavón to Denmark in connection with the festival: ‘Images of the
World’. Here Pavón created a 13 square meter painting as a gift to Odense and
Aarhus - the second and third largest cities in Denmark.
At the Jubilee 2000 campaign Galschiot
delivered ‘The Messenger’, (a 5 metre tall bronze sculpture representing a
monumental Messenger from from the South. An archetypal woman with a
Masai-like stature, equipped with a cloack and staff. Two digital displays
showed the flow of money from North to South and vice-versa. Contrary to the
beliefs of most people, the South to North flow is dominant: for every dollar
transferred from North to South 12 dollars flow the opposite way. (These
figures are based on the World Bank`s own statistics.) The sculpture was
intended to incite an awareness of the fathomless debt, which inhibits
ecconomic and social development among the most impoverished development
countries. The sculpture was later the center-piece for the NGO`s activities at
the Social Summit in Geneve.
In September that year the ‘Messenger’
participated in a demonstration pleading for the cancellation of the development-countries’
debt to IMF and the World Bank at their Top- Summit meeting in Prag.
In September 2000, another happening: ‘Hands of
Stone’, was arranged in the Town Hall square in Odense, in cooperation with
Amnesty International and 2500 school-children, whose hands (modelled in stone)
covered the square, under the motto : “Children’s Rights are are the Grown-Ups`
Responsibility”.
It is characteristic - for the Danish media -
that the art-event which caused most comment and dispute, at the time of ‘The
Messenger’ happening, was Denmark’s official contribution in Venice the year
before: an installation named ‘Snowball’, which took place in The State Museum
of Art. Here one witnessed two male artists exhibit their narcissistic lack of
ethical sense by motor racing against each other. The contrast between serious
art and kitsch has seldomly been more apparent.
It seems that lack of subject matter in content
and form leads to the path of canonization in the art- institutions` Heaven,
whereas the dedication one finds in Beuys’ sculptures is not worth paying
attention to: it isn’t sufficiently entertaining.
There is another side to Jens Galschiot’ life
and work, (as we all have a dark and light side in our character): his work with
beauty as a form of artistic expression. Jens Galschiot has for several years
focused on our clothing as a major part of our outer identity. He has a strong
sensuous perceptiveness, which registers the slightest movements of, or
wrinkles in our garments. Out of his sensuality Jens Galschiot has created some
amazingly beautiful, almost meditative sculptures. He sees basic forms and
movements and converts them into a sculptural language, whether it is a knitted
sweater, a sweeping dress or a pair of crumpled jeans. Galschiot has succeeded
in transforming the vividness of textiles into the solid form of bronze, in a
way, which provides his sculptures with a sense of life and movement.
Galschiot is in charge of the entire process:
from the initial idea and sketches, the forming of wax-models to the final
casting process. Galschiot’s social engagement is an integrated part of his
workshop, an example of this is that young people have been given the
opportunity to participate in artistic and social projects, locally as well as
internationally. Thus the workshop was officially chosen to decorate the Danish
exhibition-stand at the 1992 Expo in Spain. The decoration consisted of a long
row of faces pressing through a stone -wall.
Galschiot’s fascination of objects of clothing
led to a joint-venture with the late Erik Mortensen and Jean Voigt, together
they created ‘The Ringwearers` Jacket’, a sculpture in oxidized copper 50 x 60
cm., a present to Queen Margaret II on her 50th year birthday in
1990. It was commissioned by the
Clothing Industry’s Union of Denmark and inspired by “Lord of the Rings”
(J.R.R. Tolkien), which the Queen has illustrated. It is placed in the park
surrounding Marselisborg Castle to which the public have free access, when Her
Majesty is not residing there.
During his cooperation with Jens Galschiot the
couturier Erik Mortensen (1926-`98) chose a dress (from his time in the Fashion
House ‘Scherrer’), which he asked Galschiot to make into a bronze sculpture.
‘The Octopus Dress’, as it was titled, was placed in a square in Odense in
1999. The “Octopus Dress” underwent several changes and adaptations before
Galschiot accepted it - Erik Mortensen didn’t live to see the final result. In
order for the transformation from an elegant haute couture robe to a dynamic
and living sculpture to be successful a ‘real’ model was used. A caste of her
female figure was made and emphasized in order that one could perceive the
folds through the cloth, Galschiot and Erik Mortensen shared a profound
understanding and interpretation of the connection between body, clothing, and
movement. The result has become a sort of hesitant graciousness that unfolds
itself in outdoor surroundings, where the light and weather constantly change
the character of the sculpture. To enhance the mobility of the sculpture it is
placed on a large rock - the rawness of which is balanced by the artistic
frailty of the robe.
Galschiot’s work with the expression of Beauty
reveals the other side of his deeply rooted humanistic attitude to life: there
is no beauty without horror, no darkness without light.
We need to be reminded of both to prevent us
from becoming fossilized in insipidness and consumerism. Therefore we are lucky
that living dinosaurs, like Jens Galschiot, still exist.
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