Ideologia II
Ideology 2

Summary/Abstract: In 2003, there were several biennial shows in Europe. It isa popular form of exhibiting art. There were biennial shows in Venice, Prague, Szczecin, and Goeteborg. In Goeteborg, there were two biennial exhibitions, the first one organised by C.M. van Hanswolff, and the second one, entitled “Nordic Art Biennial, Ideology 2”. The largest Scandinavian art review includes art by artists from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. They are interested in sociology and politics. Jonas Stampe was the director of the show. Six curators assisted him in selecting work by fifty artists. Their projects were shown at the Toeda Sten Art Centre, which is located in a big brick building near the sea port. The organisers believe that there is one ideology which dominates societies in Europe, but it assumes different forms. The organisers believe that contemporary societies in the countries of the Group of Eight accepted the idea of profit. People forget about morals and ethics. The show in Goeteborg was considered as the protest against consumerism, commercialisation of art and culture, and globalisation. The organisers wanted to worn the societies about the dangers which threaten existence in “old Europe”. They suggested that people believe in such slogans as “make war not love”, rather than “make love not war”. Even the artists seem to be mainly concerned with their own careers. They don’t react to the reductionist tendencies in culture. Museums and their curators should support those artists who don’t follow dominant aesthetic forms. The biennial supported artistic freedom and anti-globalisation. The organisers invited Subcommandante Marcos, the leader of Chiapas, who, together with his comrades, destroyed the fields of genetically altered plants. It was a collective performance at the end of which Marcos was symbolically sentenced to prison. The biennial included different kinds of art, such as painting, grafitti, comics and objects. Claus Andersen (Denmark) showed a rug which he entitled “White Abstract Picture”. The painting on the rug resembled deer scenes painted by folk artists. Odd Nerdun (Norway) showed a picture entitled “Shit Mountain”. Jan Hietala (Finland, England) showed photographs of communist murder victims in poses suggesting religious and/or sexual ecstasy. Jouni Partanen showed himself in a sarcophagus during a one-man-performance. Magnus Sigurdason showed a construction built of newspapers, magazines, and television screens.

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