I was born in 1969. Around 1999, I wanted to spend time reading old magazines from the 40´s, 50´s, 60´s and 70´s more than with the TV of the day. Photos in these old papers were esthetic and fun. They charmed me with their charismatic and exciting stories of Jayne Mansfield, Churchill or Burt Reynolds. Stories in many ways were new, because their angles were. It felt as on a time journey to the near media history, which people from the previous generation had lived through. Those people are here with us, but were here already before my time as well.

After reading many old papers in the bundles, I realized, that the near history, that has been taught, was edited. The facts and figures of World politics and famous faces in entertainment as well as in political deep talk, were not all shared as tales we grew up with.

The media forgot many then known people and just stopped talking of some others. I noticed, that the photographs were more accurate about turns to take place than many written assumptions made by reporters. Many events and end-results turned up totally different than journalists had in some stories written. This was interesting to see, because knowledge to us is mainly taught by using words.

This was the beginning of my arts idea for the collage paintings. Then started a 10- year creation period, where I was almost hooked into cutting, setting, painting, and combining the images with my paint. It was as an addiction as I fell in love with the passion of this creative process making visual puzzles of decor and contents depth the same time.

Some works became pritty, but frank. Others funny, but sarcastic. Some just quiet and something.

This “Alpha Female” peace dates from 2004 and took part to Lexmark Art competition, where it made it to the semi-finals. This was the first time I entered an international art competition.

When gallery audience saw the collage works, some were shocked. As born in 1969, I adapted figures and faces together on the same surface as they might have not done. I just looked at the magazine images and in an instant moment eather chose to use it or not.

At some point my lungs were huffing due to the huge amounts of laqcue vapour I inhaled hours and hours in a day at art studio. This has happened to me many times with resin and terpentine too. I know that the room needs to be aired. But you just forget the time in creative process.

 

As I had no previous experience of the media history from 1940 to 1969, I saw them from my own generations view point. In came my taste, my will and my vision in how I combined images together along with my paint.

The influence of growing up in the 80´s was strong. MTV had just become to be all over and was inspiring and brought the world into my teenage living room to a land up Northern Scandinavia, where we had a socialistic government owned broadcasting system and were now just only opening up to Europe and the U.S.

I cut the image spontaneously from magazines where it felt so, inner feel as leader. Without analysis, I glued photos to where the visual rhythm felt right. Plywood under had an important role. Its lines gave the first “beat” or a visual something to start building the puzzle onto.

Some works became minimalistic. Others had more energy and visual dance in them. I let the mood choose. Marcel Duchamp is in my view an artist to have made a one important turning point in the contemporary art history. His image was so charismatic that very little next to it felt right.

The now changes rapid. Some person is at one point all over the media, having personal influence. Or another can be seen different in their lifetime in papers. But as soon as the news of their passing on goes global, the way how articles view them changes course. The emotions on famous faces in tragical poltical events start to represent the event itself.

Cigarette smoking was all over as almost everybody who was following fashion even to some degree did only 30 years ago. Now, in some areas totally forbidden.

Media modulates the emotional needs of the masses of the day. It becomes interesting to research through its process to go with the changes.

Old porno magazines were not porno at all but in the readers imagination. Which I think probably is more erotic than many blunt images in direct light we see today.

Also interesting were the values. Beauty queens were put into same articles as erotic models and politicians secrets were showed only in subtle photos for the viewer to eather see through or not.

One of the sadest media reputations stories I came across was the verbal abuse done on Marilyn Monroe. The way how she was put down in articles before her death in 1962, felt belittleling her artistic sparks high value. This touched my heart because I know how that feels in a smaller level. I have strong anchor due to a strong spiritual inner ground and sobriety, but to be an artist with new ideas is a hard path. No other similarities to this famous actress, but this thought in the heart I still remember.

What we see in media, can be tiny as an issue, but make our emotions recollect.

Around 2008, the energy of the intense flow of swimming in the papers started to park into a more minimalistic contents aim in my collage art works. At this time I let go of my love for this creation process. It had been intense for 10 years. Such love burns you, it takes space of all other. The flow stops at a point as creative fire needs to pause to soon start something new again.

In 2008, I made a change to go to classical paintings art school. Russian masters of St.Petersburg taught me at my age being almost 40 then for over half a year 8 hours a day. Portraits and oil paints filled my days. A new phase begun as detail and form was my new love. I lived at the school area and was in the Ilya Repin methods 100%.

I don´t make collages anymore and some arts collectors think I don´t love them like I did. Not true.

Now is 2017. I feel a new change rising in my art. This time round, the abstract.

All works in this blog in private collections and copyright protected.

#mediahistory #collageart