Atlantica - 01.06.2001, Side 20

18 A T L A N T I C A
Odd Nerdrum is not an artist. The very
mention of the word makes him flinch.
Born with an extraordinary talent for paint-
ing, which has been compared with that of
Rembrandt, Nerdrum decided several
years ago that the word ‘art’ did not apply
to his paintings. Controversial in his home
country, where his classical paintings did
not go down well with art critics who pre-
fer modernistic, minimal installations,
Nerdrum subscribed to the concept of
‘kitsch’. He describes it as the antithesis of
modern art, "the ruler of modernism's
hell".
My meeting with Nerdrum was to take
place at Kjarvalsstadir art museum, where
he was busy setting up his exhibition the
day before the opening. I wandered into
the obscurity of the exhibition hall, the
dimmed lights a trademark of Nerdrum’s
exhibitions. His astounding, classically
beautiful, but almost nightmarish paint-
ings were lit up in the darkness, becoming
even more striking to the eye. Nerdrum
cuts an imposing figure, and with his
eccentric looks he lives up to his given
name. His grey hair falls in unruly waves
across his electric blue eyes, his tall stature
swathed in a long painters robe. In his
right hand, he permanently clutches a
worn plastic bag, its contents a mystery. I
followed him with quick steps as he strode
around the exhibition rooms.
How do you feel about exhibiting in
Iceland for the first time?
I feel a little sadness because I love Iceland
as a tourist. Now I feel that, before, Iceland
was just for myself, but now I have to
share something with the Icelanders. I like
to take, I don't like to give, you see. I like
Iceland when I can use it for my own inter-
est.
So when you speak of using the Icelandic
landscape, do you add the subject to the
landscape or the other way around?
Oh no, I compose them together. I mostly
use naked models so it gets very cold for
them. I love Iceland not only for the land-
scapes, but for the mentality here.
Icelanders are completely different to
Norwegians. Icelanders are much more
wild, they are more optimistic. You have
more of the old pagan tradition in your
blood, Norwegians are much more tame.
Do you have favourite places here?
The first thing I do when I come to Iceland
is to go to the great Geysir. I'm like that, I
don't really want to see new things, but
things I have already seen, again and
again. Snæfellsnes also, I have to see
again and again. The same with Krýsuvík
and Landmannalaugar. I want to remem-
ber every detail, so that I can paint the
landscapes there from my mind.
When people refer to you as an artist, you
quickly correct them. Is art a bad word?
Art is not a terrible word. It's a good word.
But you have to apply it in the right places.
Art is a critical analysis. You analyse things
with art and the talent is not so important.
Sometimes you can say that talent is a
problem because the skill closes your
eyes. The masterpiece is not allowed in the
art world, because you become so taken
with the cleverness of the painting that
you don't think about what's behind it. In
airmail
Distinctly Odd
Norwegian kitsch painter Odd Nerdrum has long
been inspired by the timeless and haunting landscapes
of Iceland. Anna Margrét Björnsson caught up with the
enigmatic painter at Kjarvalsstadir, the location of his
first exhibition, in the country of his visions.
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