PASSIONS

today i walked down to nationalmuseum, my favorite place to be in stockholm. it's a beautiful building, ornate but surprisingly sober simultaneously which makes it endearing and very pleasant; possibly due to the effect of it never being very busy. i feel it's a bit of an underrated/overlooked institution. the permanent collections are always a joy but it's the top floor-front of building section that always has something going on that moves me for weeks following a visit--- last year it was "Lust And Vice" which delved into just that, in artistic depictions beginning from medieval times to today, with such incredibly inspiring curation that made the place so shockingly superior to other museums here. (maybe just for that-- shock value, which is in some ways to me a major driving force in curation in stockholm, except for that it never has any of it, instead it has a good deal of empty sensational starstruck foundation). lust and vice was very swedish in the sexual openness, presented as no biggie, and presented within such old stone walls, a juxtaposition that was at first confusing, then funny, then amazing, and then consuming. (i.e. porn from the 17th century-- this was a truly awesome exhibit). what they're doing feels unique and perfect, presenting the classics, as in every national gallery, but connecting it to today's world in a way that makes unbelievable, beautiful sense. in the context they create, everything is current. i personally love the 'classics', but the smart way they curate gives the selection a kind of universal appeal. the kind where you wouldn't worry about having to drag your man to. they're also well-rounded with mixed media, and they get you from so many different angles-- you feel the terrible despair in one work and in the next you're laughing. they find incredibly humorous centuries-old works, totally currently relevant. it is perhaps Art for Dummies, art for the layman. perhaps i am a layman. but i love this damn place.

anyway, today's visit was to the Passions exhibition, a similar broad-encompassing, wonderful compilation of how emotions have been depicted in art over the centuries. i was sucked in by many of the pieces, including a number of works about hypnosis, which is an enormously fascinating 'real magic' that enthralls and scares me, but one was particularly great-- I Can See A Woman Crying, by Rineke Dijkstra. 3 screens captured the comments and reactions of kids at the Tate Liverpool looking at Picasso's The Weeping Woman: (who was his mistress, Dora Maar)





their reactions were delightful. well, don't "kids say the darndest things"? so wonderfully imaginative, involved, lacking of course the intimidation adults often have when put on the spot about their reactions to art--- my personal belief is that there is no right or wrong "answer"/reaction. (something i often think about in museums is what the experience would be like without the guiding texts on the walls-- would we make the same connections/enjoy it as much? and the common responses to art and going to museums, "i'm not really into art"/"i just don't really get it"/"i don't know anything about it"--- and while studying it, as i did, of course gives you a different perspective, i would not say it affects your experience and i don't think it should. "naive" eyes are not invalid, and many times much more interesting. i used to love my man's comments on art and fashion.) back to Passions: i'd have happily been an elementary art school teacher. kids are so free in their interactions with art. "maybe he wanted to show what feelings look like" one said. that makes me want to drop everything and scream, or weep, or something! that kind of innocent sincerity is a treasure. here is a video i found of the work... of course it's not the same but you get a glimpse:

the experience of the exhibition is made even more interesting by the walls in one of the rooms, which are made of curved mirrors like in those terrifying, trippy mirror houses in fairs. they're disorienting, particularly as they're kind of subtly curved-- i didn't notice for a while, but adds an integral level of self-awareness to the concept.

and what do you know, here is a video about the exhibit(!), voiced by the curator Karin Sidén (in swedish with english subtitles:

An introduction to Passions from Nationalmuseum on Vimeo.

some images i took there:

i'm not incredibly taken by purely religious subjects but i've always loved the Pietà:

Bill Viola:

this is from the Light and Darkness exhibition there, separate from Passions, but i'm deeply obsessed with Jean Cocteau and this was very, very La Belle et La Bête:

well, enjoy, and if you are in stockholm do check it out.

xxN