about
about
Kulturarven under lup
Smykker er en intim kunstart, og Marie-Louise Kristensens smykker inviterer i højeste grad til nærstudium. Mere end nogen anden af dagens danske smykkekunstnere er hun en fortæller. Hendes brocher og ringe kan samtidig regnes for tableauer: et arrangement af forskellige figurer og ting, sammensat af både ædle og uædle materialer.
Miniatureudgaver af kendte genstande har en særlig fascination og fortryllelse. Det er let at lade sig imponere over den håndværksmæssige dygtighed, det kræver at producere dem, men Kristensens tableauer er i tillæg både underfundige og udfordrende. Vi genkender tingene, men overraskes af sammenstillingerne og ikke mindst af at se disse motiver brugt i smykkesammenhæng. Til fitness med Erik og Ole Bent hedder for eksempel et af hendes brocher fra 2012. Kunstnerens alter ego, en kaninlignende porcelænsfigur inspireret af den amerikanske John Luries dyrefigurer, bærer en vægtstang på strakt arm. I den ene yderkant af stangen hænger en miniatureudgave af Steltons klassiske termokande og i den modsatte ende en samling af Thonets caféstole. Titlen peger på designerne bag disse designikoner: Erik Magnussen (f. 1940) og Ole Bent Petersen (1938-1998).
Erik Magnussens kande repræsenterer de klassiske værdier i skandinavisk design: en stram og brugervenlig form, som er enkel og raffineret på samme tid. Siden den blev introduceret i 1977 har den solgt i over 10 millioner eksemplarer. Noget at leve op til for designere, som er kommet efter ham!
Ole Bent Petersen står for en anden tilgang til det at være formgiver. Som guldsmed vakte han i 1981 opsigt med serien Sunshine and Night, som han lavede for Georg Jensen. Vedhængene, som symboliserede solskin, indeholdt blandt andet en samling miniaturemodeller i sølv af Thonet-stolen. Scener hentet fra dagliglivet i København lå til grund for flere af hans smykker. Cafémiljøer, gadepartier, trapper og sporvognsbilletter er blandt de motiver, han brugte i sine brocher, ringe og vedhæng. Petersen dannede ingen skole i sin levetid, men Kristensen løfter bogstaveligt talt arven. I serien CPH:DUCKS har hun skildret sit København. Det handler ikke om Thonet-stole, men grønne bænke dækket af graffiti tags. Ikke om interessant arkitektur, men bygningsstilladser pakket ind i plast. Badeanstalten Helgoland og grønne affaldsspande er også ”portrætteret” i denne serie.
Selv om den danske kulturarv har forsynet hende med mange motiver, så er Kristensens horisont videre end som så. En rejse til Sao Paulo resulterede i 2013 i en serie ringe med titlen Sao Paulo Rocks. Det er selvsagt ingen konventionel diamant, som fylder stenens plads i disse ringe. I stedet får vi forskellige fortællende scener, som hun selv har karakteriseret som ”snapshots” fra sit møde med en anden verden.
Titlerne på hendes arbejder er et kapitel for sig. De røber Kristensens humor. Måske har hendes indfaldsvinkel til det at skabe smykker mere til fælles med karikaturtegneren end med den tradition, som klassiske designere eller guldsmede er oplært indenfor? Som en karikaturtegner griber hun en situation og forstørrer og tydeliggør den. Tonen kan være kritisk, men den er altid kombineret med varme.
—
Jorunn Veiteberg
Kunsthistoriker
Cultural heritage under the magnifying glass
Jewellery is an intimate art form and Marie-Louise Kristensen’s jewellery invites us to take a closer look. She is the ultimate storyteller in the contemporary Danish jewellery world. Her brooches and rings can be considered as tableaux: an arrangement of various figures and objects in precious and non-precious materials.
Miniatures of familiar objects hold their own particular fascination and charm. It is easy to be impressed by the craftsmanship it takes to produce them, but Kristensen’s tableaux are in addition both subtle and challenging. We recognise the objects but are surprised by the various compositions and not in the least by seeing these motives in a jewellery context. Til fitness med Erik og Ole Bent (Going to the gym with Erik and Ole Bent) is the name of one of her brooches from 2012. The artist’s alter ego, a rabbit-like porcelain figure inspired by John Lurie’s animal figures, holds a barbell in its outstretched arm. A miniature version of Stelton’s classic thermos hangs from the one end of the barbell and a collection of Thonet’s café chairs hang on the other end. The title refers to the designer’s behind these design icons: Erik Magnussen (born 1940) and Ole Bent Petersen (1938-1998).
Erik Magnussen’s thermos represents the classic values of Scandinavian design: a precise and user-friendly form that is simple and refined at the same time. Ten million copies have been sold since its launch in 1977, giving current designers something to live up to!
Ole Bent Petersen represents a different approach to design. In 1981, he attracted attention as a goldsmith with his series Sunshine and Night that he made for Georg Jensen. The pendants representing sunshine consisted of, among other things, a collection of miniature models of the Thonet chair in silver. Scenes from daily life in Copenhagen provided inspiration for many of his pieces. Café life, street scenes, stairs and tram tickets are some of the motives he used in his brooches, rings and pendants. Petersen was alone in his narrative way of working in his lifetime but Kristensen literally lifts his legacy. Marie-Louise portrays her own Copenhagen in the series CPH:DUCKS. It is not about the Thonet chair but instead about the green park benches covered in graffiti tags. It is not about interesting architecture but about scaffolding covered in plastic. The bathing establishment Helgoland and green rubbish bins are also ‘portraits’ in this series.
Although Denmark’s cultural heritage provides her with many of the motives for her pieces, Kristensen’s horizon reaches even further. A trip to Sao Paulo in 2013 resulted in a series of rings with the title Sao Paulo Rocks. It is obviously not a conventional diamond that fills the stone’s place in these rings. Instead we experience different narrative scenes characterised as snapshots from her encounter with another world.
The titles of her works are a story in itself. They reveal Kristensen’s humour. Perhaps her approach to making jewellery has more in common with a cartoonist than the way in which classic designers or goldsmiths are trained? As a cartoonist, she grabs a situation and magnifies and clarifies it. Her tone can be critical but it is always combined with warmth.
—
Jorunn Veiteberg, Art Historian