Photos from Danmark, Issue V – A Parisian Interlude

One of the benefits of living in Danmark is the easy access to all those other European countries. Since Daneland pretty much shuts down in July due to its’ inhabitants strict observance of taking AS MUCH VACATION AS POSSIBLE, I decided to partake as well by spending 5 days in Paris. “Just 5 days off?” my co-workers asked me incredulously. “That’s ALL?”. Yes, and it was fantastic. So instead of photos from Danmark, here is documentation of my time in Paris, divided into the categories of found art and fancy art (you know, art in a museum).

Found Art

Patterned garage door graffiti. Found in central Paris.
...yeah, for those who know how to work wormholes. And kern. Wall art in east Paris.

Continue reading “Photos from Danmark, Issue V – A Parisian Interlude” →

Photos from Danmark, Issue III

The archetype of a Danish man. Stately, although difficult to engage in conversation.
Where the Royal Family hangs out. Lucky them, but surely they could afford some better kerning?
Little metal chickens hopping up to heaven - photo of art inside a shop.
LOOK FORWARD TO A SAFE TIME - exhibit at Gl. Strand "Mit Navn er Jørgen Leth".
A funeral.
Summer clouds look like an ice flow in reverse.

This Is A Circle

Every morning I wake up to a giant piece of ceiling stucco above me. It is centered over my bed and 4 feet wide, so I don’t even have to twist my head to see it. Hello, good morning, it says to me. I’m still here.

Lately I’ve been rising earlier than my alarm, so I lie awake in the morning sun tracing the circle with my eyes, practicing the shape over and over, as if I were training for something, perhaps a professional circle drawing contest.

So, as I frequently do with things stuck in my brain, I put this circle on paper, cave man style and to the power of 10. Yowza.

Cave man aztec style pattern circle illustration with neon 80s color scheme.
Click image to zoom.
Close up.

Photos from Danmark, Issue II

Not sure who the subject is - art from Charlottenborg Kunsthal.
I bet my pioneer rabbit would be best friends with this guy - art from Charlottenborg Kunsthal.
A winding crooked tool of sorts - art from Charlottenborg Kunsthal.
Good for government workers, or those who don't want to get much done - art from ARKEN.
You can't see it, but these are lithoprints of lots of tiny chocolate bars - art from Charlottenborg Kunsthal.
I'm not sure what this is, but I wish it was a my party dress for New Year's Eve - art from Charlottenborg Kunsthal.
Modern electric light pioneer wheel - art from ARKEN.
Just your average ratio of Danish flags to Danish summerhouses - 2:1.

Photos from Danmark, Issue I

Så har jeg boet i Danmark knap en måneds tid, og har faldt godt på plads i en dejlig stor lejlighed på Åboulevard. En del tid har gået med at orden det praktiske ting som følger med når man flytter, men jeg har også haft nogle chancer til at komme ud og se byen lidt. Her er nogle snapshots fra marts i København.

Bird in the sky, transatlantic flight.
I thought I was moving to Danmark, but it turns out I now live in Kebabistan.
Urban tattoo / graffiti on a statue.
The Danes are so organized that they have a check-out system for watering cans in the local cemetery.
Grød. Also known as its more pronounceable counterpart: oatmeal. This is the fanciest grød/oatmeal I've ever had.
Fancy grød deserves a fancy little seating area.
Old, new, and of course a character from the Simpsons.
Hand painted type on wheat-pasted book pages, found in Nørrebro.
A local Shepard Fairey piece. Or, as Portlanders would describe it: put a bird on it!

Horizon at Kalø Slot

This is the only picture I took over a 2 week trip to Danmark this December. Not very representative, as the winters in Denmark are cold, dark, colder, and darker, with only about 6 hours of daylight and rain that drives at you from the top the side AND the bottom. This wonderful walk to visit Kalø Slot was a slice of reprieve, and probably another fraction adding to the mythic allure of Denmark as the country of smiles and peace.

Fictive Reality by Gregory Crewdson

While in Danmark over the holidays I visited the National Library in Copenhagen to see a photography exhibit by Gregory Crewdson. The library is nicknamed “The Black Diamond” after its 1999 addition of black marble that juts over the water. Split up the center of the coal structure are undulating balconies that connect the inside of the library to the outside harbor seamlessly. Moving back through the library is like peeling back the skin of an onion, as the more historic section of the library is fully intact and like stepping through a time warp to a century ago.

Photos of the library by Jan Lykke.

Outside view of the library at night.
Looking into the library and up the channel that connects the new addition to the old building.

I was vaguely familiar with Crewdson’s work beforehand, knowing that his signature was to create elaborately produced photos. The exhibit was a great mix of showing the process he uses to set up his scenes (much like filming a movie with constructed sets, fake snow and fog machines) and a wide range of his work (from photos of Americana to ghost towns to fireflies). While I personally subscribe more closely to a “keep it real” policy, Crewdson’s ability to finely tune the details of a scene to the nth degree is exquisite. While these hyper-realistic scenes are entirely staged fiction, the talent to envision these photos is nothing but real. Here are a few photos from the exhibit that made me shiver, aptly named “In A Lonely Place”. Continue reading “Fictive Reality by Gregory Crewdson” →

The Phoenix is Closer than it Appears

One of the exhibits I saw this summer at Ålborg’s art museum, Kunsten, is a piece by Thilo Frank called “The Phoenix is Closer than it Appears”. Frank focuses on creating collaboration between the artist’s work and the public.

This piece is a giant glass cube with a swing inside. One person is allowed inside at a time, creating a strange feeling of isolation while being surrounded by a gajillion mirror images of yourself.

Glass cube exterior at Ålborg kunstmuseet by Thilo Frank.
What you see on the outside...
Glass cube interior at Ålborg kunstmuseet by Thilo Frank.
What you see on the inside...