Finally Siri Stolt-Nielsen
01-15-2015
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Siri Stolt-Nielsen – “Finally” - Review by Lars Elton
10-19-2014Siri Stolt-Nielsen – “Finally”English text – Blomqvist – 25. October 2014Title: The explosive bodyText by Lars EltonDrawing is considered to be the simplest and most fundamental form of art. It opens for a vast variation of different expressions. During recent years we have seen a lot of detailed and slowly drawn works of art. Luckily artists like Siri Stolt-Nielsen convince us that drawing is also the “rudest” and most direct form of visual communication.The drawing encompasses direct contact between man and the media. The line on the paper is the result of the shortest route from brain to hand. The contact is direct and superfast. Drawing can be both raw wildness as well as the joy of subtle detailing, technical descriptions and poetic fantasies. Siri Stolt-Nielsen shows us that a drawing can be made totally unfiltered and immediate.The renaissance of drawingIt is wonderful to be part of a time when drawing is experiencing a renaissance. It attracts the attention of young artists, and this phenomenon gives us the opportunity to remind ourselves how close the drawing is to our humanistic core. Children draw from the day they can hold a pencil, while many adults doodle and scribble while their thoughts wander. To draw is an essential contribution to the act of growing up and to develop as a human being. Every child draws, but very few get the opportunity to develop their talent.Within this new enthusiasm for drawing, many artists are preoccupied with making drawings so detailed that patience, concentration and long hours of labour are required. In relation to this fact I find it liberating to meet an artist who makes drawings with an attitude of wild abandon. One who lets the line run free at the crossroads of the perceivable world and the vulnerable undertones of the creative unconscious. Siri Stolt-Nielsen is an artist who manages to create a visual world that knocks out the viewer with its strong lines and free expression.The line from SchieleSiri Stolt-Nielsen’s drawings have a very special quality. From the very first line she adds rawness to her drawings of the human body. This quality draws your attention to one of the iconic figures of modern art history.But Siri Stolt-Nielsen is not an Egon Schiele copycat. In my opinion the expression she has developed is hers and hers only. Her characteristic, drawn line separates itself from anything else, Egon Schiele included. Her drawings hold a sensibility that opens up unknown and surprising views of the human body. Her drawn line can be light and fragile, but it very often also combines weight and fullness in a way that may seem aggressive. Often the lines are gathered in such high density that they threaten to exceed the limits of the sheet.Several of Siri Stolt-Nielsen’s drawings are densely populated. Their connection to works like “The gates of hell” by Auguste Rodin, and several works by the Norwegian artist brothers Gustav (for instance the giant sculpture “The Monolith” and the relief “Hell”) and Emanuel Vigeland (the decorations in his mausoleum are filled with people) are obvious. Just as in these works, many of Siri Stolt-Nielsen’s drawings are filled to the brim with human figures piled on top of each other. Still, there is balance to the chaos. The same applies to the drawings where one body occupies the sheet alone. Here, the drawing’s rawness is balanced by the composition. A subtle sense for detail brings a relative peace to the motifs.Direct exposureIt is in this combination of balance and rawness that I experience Siri Stolt-Nielsen’s strength. Just like Egon Schiele she doesn’t mince matters and shows the female body’s breasts and sex in a direct and exposing manner. Neither of the two artists beautifies or romanticizes the female sexual parts. On the contrary, they appear as desirous and hungry body parts that may erll eat their sexual partners for breakfast. At the same time the drawings are not necessarily sexual. They are first and foremost sensual interpretations of the experience of being human.In his own time Egon Schiele’s direct and truthful depictions of female sexuality were regarded as both frightening and appalling. The idea that a woman could be an active and desiring sexual person was seen as dangerous. The Austrian Schiele (1890-1918) died young, and left a body of work that was regarded as so difficult that it took generations before his genius was recognised.Anger and frustrationStill, today, many find this way of depicting the human body repulsive. You can’t be prudish if you want to enjoy Siri Stolt-Nielsen’s drawings. But if you are open minded, these drawings give new perspectives on the body and the experiences it brings. It is not at all coincidental that it is in precisely this field of expression that Siri Stolt-Nielsen has found her way.As a dyslexic child she scribbled and drew all the time. As a grown up, these activities manifested themselves in a universe of interpretations, with drawing acting as a channel for anger and frustration. Her family background from a proud ship owner family has its significance, and through her work as ambassador for the humanitarian organization Human Rights Watch she is witnessing so much evil that she simply has to find a place to let off steam.What she does is to attend the Open Studio in London every Friday in order to draw. During these sessions she makes six drawings at the same time as others make three. Her hand races over the paper. The impulses come directly from her heart – not from her brain. It is her feelings that are worked out on the sheet. When she sees a body she may nearly draw with her eyes closed. According to her own analysis the drawings she makes are more expressions of feelings rather than analyses of bodies and anatomy.Art and therapySome might say that Siri Stolt-Nielsen’s drawings may be disregarded as mere therapy; as exercises in a psychological labour on a wounded soul. The relations between art and therapy have been an issue for generations. There is little doubt that many artists find nourishment for their art in their personal history. It is like the legendary, French-American artist Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010) said in 1962 about artists and therapy; “That's why artists repeat themselves – because they have no access to a cure, (…)”.But it would not have been art if therapy was its only goal. Nobody lives and creates in a vacuum and every artist works with the ballast she or he carries with them. It is in the moment when that experience is lifted to a higher level that their work becomes art. It has to be put into a frame where its content and execution adds something new and different to the reality of the artwork, and in turn to our understanding and perception of the artwork and the world.History and futureSiri Stolt-Nielsen has also chosen to present a specific group of paintings in this exhibition. Created approximately 20 years ago, they are included in order to say something about her history. They are skilfully enough executed, but in my opinion they lack the intensity that makes the drawings so interesting.The paintings were made in a period when she had small children; when the artist/mother experienced how vulnerable small children are. These paintings can be seen as expressions of the mother’s caring role, where the thought of the child’s vulnerability can become a constant worry. The small bodies are often portrayed in foetal position, and the tree branches symbolizing the body’s veins. Because of their universal theme these paintings will most certainly touch many spectators, but in my opinion they are unresolved.To me these paintings represent a historical backdrop that serves as a confirmation of the artistic quality of Siri Stolt-Nielsen’s drawings. They can also be seen in relation to the discussion on art and therapy. The tale about how the drawings came to life is only one piece of information amongst others – approximately on the same level as the kind of paper she uses, or that she draws with both pencils and charcoal.The defining question that allows these drawings to be recognized as art is the intensity you find in their expression, the surprise they give us, and the effect their experience has on the audience’s lives. To me Siri Stolt-Nielsen is a thoroughbred artist. Her drawings process the sensible world in a manner that exceeds all realistic expectations.Therefore, it is no wonder that she calls her exhibition “Finally”: Finally she has found the courage to expose herself as the artist she is. Now she has only one thing to do: she must give herself the time needed to further develop her special artistic talent.Lars Elton is a freelance journalist, critic and editor. He is most known as the art- and architecture critic of VG, Norway’s largest newspaper. He writes on art and culture in a wide variety of publications. lars@elton.noHuman Rights Watch
03-18-2013
Human Rights Watch is one of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For more than 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world.
Mission Statement:Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice. We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable. We challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law. We enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all.
