TRANSFERS- A QUASI SCIENTIFIC TRAVEL

Solo Exhibition, Henie Onstad Art Center, Høvik

03.06.2004 - 05.09.2004

In the large solo exhibition at the Henie Onstad Art Center, I showcased parts of my extensive project: Found, Selected and Reinstated, 182 Travelers -182 Relocations. The project was based on my collection of several thousand photographs of passersby taken over many years. This project, comprising 365 paintings, extensive photographic material, and an artist book, was later fully installed at Olavsgaard Hotel in Skjetten. At Henie Onstad Art Center, 200 of the paintings were displayed alongside accompanying photographs and text materials.

The concept originated in 1998 when I began my collection, which included 2,748 cut-out figures from my snapshots of people in motion. This collection comprised 1,009 individuals from Bergen, 755 from Berlin, 375 from New York, 234 from Oslo, 127 tourists from Prague, 102 groups from Santiago de Compostela, 93 passersby from San Francisco, and 53 from Paris. The figures were classified by the time and place they were captured, as well as by size and direction of movement.

The theme revolved around the idea of translocation. I collected figures during my own travels, and these cut-out figures were then taken on new journeys. For example, a boy spotted strolling across Torgallmenningen in Bergen in the spring of 1999 might be relocated into an orchid in the botanical garden in Berlin in the winter of 2004. This journey involved removing the original context and replacing it with new surroundings and moments. The boy traveled from one context to another, from one frozen moment to another, resembling a form of time travel as well as an exploration of a new dimensional scale—a miniature world.

The 182 figures I collected, selected, placed, and photographed anew formed the basis for the paintings. Each painting consisted of a positive and a negative part, creating a pair. The painting featuring the actual figure was stripped of its context but "anchored" to the ground with paint, with drips acting as either anchors or puppet strings. The second painting in the pair depicted the silhouette or void of the same figure placed in new surroundings. This duality evoked thoughts of photography, where such concepts are often explored. My approach to painting always began with photography, focusing on the situations and rituals surrounding the act of taking pictures.

Each pair of paintings was accompanied by a text documenting the location and time of the original capture, as well as the time and place of the re-placement. The texts included my observations and associations regarding the individuals or situations depicted, blending factual information with spontaneous reflections.

All the paintings were categorized into four main sections. Figures moving toward me (the frontal ones) were set against predominantly bluish backgrounds, while those moving away had reddish backgrounds. Figures with yellow tones moved left, while those with green tones moved right. Viewed as a whole, the work formed a pattern reminiscent of a chessboard, with alternating white and colored "squares" in four distinct color sections.

In connection with the renovation and expansion of Olavsgaard Hotel, I was commissioned to create an extensive artwork in 2002, which I completed in 2007. The project consisted of 364 paintings, each measuring 60 x 40 cm, displayed in pairs across the 182 hotel rooms. The final painting, measuring 360 x 240 cm, was centrally located in the hotel’s auditorium. Together, these images formed a cohesive composition both conceptually and aesthetically. Documentation of the project was made available as an accessible overview in the rooms and at the reception.

The entire hotel and its history were influenced by the project. The concept impacted the hotel in a partially hidden manner, as guests would only gain access to one pair of images during their stay. However, this unique pair revealed its connection to a larger whole, offering a perspective on the modern traveler.

In June 2004, I presented the completed material in this solo exhibition at the Henie Onstad Art Center. The exhibition, titled Transfers- a Quasi-Scientific Journey, featured 200 paintings along with related photographic material. This photographic documentation helped explain the process-oriented nature of the project and provided the only opportunity to see such a large number of collected images in one place. The painting pairs now hang in their final destinations: the various hotel rooms.

Text from the catalog by curator Benedicte Sunde:

The "Discoverees"

Vigdis Fjellheim has, since 1998, been building her "quasi-scientific collection" of "discoverees." This collection consists of people caught off guard by the artist’s camera lens. The individuals are classified by the dates of "discovery," sequence numbers, and further logged by location, description, and other details. Thus, she has built a collection that, at the time of writing, includes 2,748 photos. These 2,748 instant moments of people in motion are the starting points for the 200 paintings displayed in the exhibition, and in total, the series comprises 364 paintings. The paintings are intended to be included in the decoration of the newly renovated rooms at Olavsgaard Hotel. Fjellheim's "traveling" figures aim to add an extra nuance to the visitors' own journeys. The guests participate in a meta-narrative of which they are unaware. By becoming part of this conceptual project, they play a crucial role.

The Process

Fjellheim acts as an observer in control of the situation, at least at the moment she selects a person to photograph. In a moment of unawareness, Fjellheim uses her extended eye—the camera—to capture the individual. The photographed person becomes an object, a conceptual idea. Thus, Fjellheim’s photographic works enter a long tradition concerning theories of the photo as a medium; Michel Foucault, Laura Mulvey, and Susan Sontag have all discussed the controlling mechanism that accompanies the photograph. Fjellheim’s conceptual project can also be read in this context. After first capturing the individual object, she distances herself further through the elaborate process of relocation, reinsertion, and, ultimately, painting.

She collects people and photographs them in various places and surroundings. The figures move in different directions; we see them walking towards us, from behind, and sideways. Her figures are removed from their original context by cutting out the silhouettes and placing them in a new context through physical relocation. They are taken on journeys where they are set against nature, the city, and other environments before being photographed again. A crucial part of the process is the collection of cut-out figures. Fjellheim also exhibits each silhouette with text describing the location of finding, date, and other characteristics. These figures play a central role in communicating the process leading up to the paintings, and thus they are a crucial part of the entire artwork. They support the conceptual background—the idea of relocation.

The Quasi-Scientific Collection

In understanding the quasi-scientific approach, it is important to distinguish between Vigdis Fjellheim’s various "discovered" persons and their active roles at the moment they were photographed. Some are on holiday when photographed. They are tourists who have already traveled from one place to another. By taking their photo, she changes their status from individuals on the move to objects in her collection. She takes them further, as pieces of data, on a journey they are unaware of. Other "discoverees" are permanent residents, yet they also participate in journeys under Fjellheim’s control. This stage of the process she calls "relocation." Her technique should not be confused with that of a botanist. A botanist travels to collect exotic plants for scientific collections in their home country. Fjellheim does the opposite; she takes her "plants" out into the world and plants them in new geographical settings, often within the context of plants. Thus, her quasi-scientific method becomes evident. It is not actual science; Fjellheim emphasizes that this is a quasi-science, a system and method of her own making. Her classification methods are formed from a system she alone developed; people are numbered, dated, and described. She describes the various places where they are found and reinserted. What differentiates Fjellheim’s system of registration from alienation is when she describes her encounter with the various persons. She imagines the characters’ emotional state when she describes the setting, rather than maintaining the objective distance expected in scientific registration. Fjellheim describes her own embarrassment in being exposed as an object. She reacts with embarrassment; her intentions are revealed, and she has infringed on the individual's right to control over their private sphere in public space. Fjellheim does not ask for permission. If she did, the mystique around the discovered and the conceptual angle would both lose their impact. It is precisely the absence of awareness that fascinates, as opposed to the posed arrangements of individuals who know they are being photographed. Fjellheim prefers that the "chosen" do not notice her paparazzi intent and immediately records if she is caught in the act.

Excerpt from Fjellheim’s Quasi-Scientific Collection

47+48, Blue

Elderly Asian woman wearing dress and cane, found in the outskirts of Chinatown, San Francisco, in March 2002. She was one of the objects that became aware of being photographed, and she wore a somewhat threatening face. She was depicted against the sun and thus became rather dark. She is reinstated into the ornamental shrubs in front of the statue of Olav, in the roundabout across the entrance of the hotel. The monumental figure and stern expression of the statue makes her appearance somewhat less importunate.

It might be interpreted as if Fjellheim did not wish for this eye contact with her chosen objects to take place, they become insistent and present. By relocating her objects, this effect is reduced by the new surroundings, in which she again takes a photo of the figure. It is the unguarded moment in man she is after, those that, lost in their own thoughts, are just strolling from or to somewhere. These individuals, Fjellheim prefers to”discover”.

Relocation

Fjellheim’s ”Objet trouves” (found objects) are persons on holiday, tourists in urban settings as well as persons moving around in familiar surroundings. There are photos of 235 people from Bergen, and 230 from New York, and these pay visits to iconized locations, such as for instance Santiago de Compostela, and other classical urban tourist sites. Here, they gather in masses and in groups to take part in the discovery of important places – a part of the trans-modern educational journey. An educational journey might best be described as a form of self upbringing, in which a person’s choice of destination comes out of an educational desire. The idea of educational journeys arose in the 17th century, in which a long line of authors published their sketches made on their various travels. Such journeys were exclusively the privileges of the well off. In the 18th and 19th century, the educational journey had become all but obligatory. The writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe did his part to this development, by publishing his travelling portrayal Italian Journey in 1829. In addition to the regular descriptions of cultural heritage, Goethe did register, being the person of enlightenment that he was, various rare species of plants and natural phenomena on his trip to Italy. Vigdis Fjellheim’s ”discoveries” are treated as rare plants and accordingly described.

Today’s educational travels, or «memories of voyage», are mainly concentrated around the main cultural cities and their attractions. It is tempting to address this as the Tourists’ Canon, motioned by historical bonds and the innumerable travels guides that exist today. In a setting such as this, as a tourist, one is dependent on the group. We gather around the focal point, a travelling guide, or the dominant person in a group – some even goes as far as calling them travel fascists. The Travel fascists teach, lecture and control these small and energetic groups moving around under the characteristic umbrellas and silk scarves of their guides. You will find them in Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, at the Colosseum in Rome, the Parthenon in Athens and in Frognerparken in Oslo. The groups juggle their cameras, listen, eat and in rare cases – are bored. It is precisely in these situations that Fjellheim enters – the moments of unguardedness. Fjellheim enforces her powers upon these individuals. Vigdis Fjellheim’s «memories of voyage» is a restructuring of these people, they are deconstructed and rearranged in a new context. The paintings can be seen as the result of Fjellheim and her conceptual «memories of voyage».

Benedicte Sunde, 2004