Dear ADH reader, Summer is here, and for many – including us
back into the words peace & love, and
– that means festival time. Though festivals
decided to dedicate this issue to it.
don’t only indicate unlimited music, beer and mud; it also means being confronted
Making fanzines and DIY products in
with politics in some way or the other, be
general are excellent ways of expressing
it in band lyrics, on someone’s t-shirt or at
your opinions, as is music, writing, art
Greenpeace’s festival stand.
and fashion.
The best example of a festival where protest
For this issue we are looking at the
played an important role is of course the
connections
legendary Woodstock festival of 1969,
and popular culture, focusing on how the
where anti-war slogans and peace signs
music festival has been an arena where
were nearly as prominent as the music
protest and culture unite. So, arrange a
played on stage. Since then, the “peace &
demonstration, set up a fair-trade clothing
love” expression has become something of
label, start a revolution from your bed – or
a cliché, and subject to many jokes about
have a think: What can you do yourself to
the hippie movement, as well as giving
contribute to the making of peace, in some
names to several silly consumer products
form or the other?
between
political
activism
with nothing to do with the message behind the expression whatsoever.
We’ll let you keep to yourself how you make love.
But to millions of people the issue of love and peace is of course not a joke, and
All our love and wishes for an
experiencing it merely a distant dream. We
amazing summer,
think it’s about time to put some meaning
Hilde & Astri
Contents:
A Doll’s House is:
On page 4 you will find “Peace, Love
Hilde Holta-Lysell - Editor
& Dirty Knickers”, an article about
Astri Barbala - Feature Editor
festivals, music and activism.
Jan Schjetne - Graphic design
Flip on further, to page 9, and read an
Danielle DeWitt - Illustrations
article, in Norwegian, about legendary rock historian Willy B. As if that wasn’t enough, you’ll find a photo story called Two Girls, One Peace
Editorial contributors: Henriette K. Johansen Henrik Holta-Lysell
placed conveniently on lucky page 13. We’re fans of Lissie, so much so that we interviewed her and put the whole thing on
Contributing artists:
page 20.
Hilde Holta-Lysell
Remember the song “Venus in Furs”?
adollshouse.no/hilde
Well we have a photo story named after it
Tove Sivertsen
on page 28. It’s solid. Solid as gold.
tovesivertsen.com
In the spirit of the theme for this issue,
Jan Schjetne
Maja
has
photographed
story
called
“Garden
a
fashion
diggetydamn.com
of
Love”.
Danielle DeWitt
You’ll find it on page 32. We love Yoko, and after reading the article on page 36, you will too. You’ll love Barbara Kruger just as much after reading about her on page 42. And finally Hilde shows us her version of a hippie bed-in. It all happens on page 47.
cargocollective.com/EHFO Maja Casablancas polkadots-vodkashots.blogspot.com
Special thanks to: Canon, Slottsfjellfestivalen and Skeidar
Last year marked the 40th anniversary for both the legendary Woodstock festival and John & Yoko’s ‘War is over!’ campaign. Music and festivals continue to be connected to activism, but can rock n’ roll really save the world?
By Astri Barbala
There are three things
are
to making money for the poor by turning
find
great hit songs into bad ones, and Bono
at a music festival, apart from
tries to eliminate AIDS in Africa by
the obvious contents of music, tents
selling expensive trainers and computers
and booze. The first is dirty underwear.
to those who can afford it through the
You will encounter it either popping
RED campaign (though he’d rather you
up halfway buried in the mud, on your
forget about his rather extensive tax
own body (gross!), or as an unpleasant,
avoidance), dissing the hippies while
aggravating odour from your fellow
he was at it: “Philanthropy is like hippie
festival buddies. The second is flags,
music, holding hands. RED is more like
which have served as either meeting
punk rock, hip hop, this should feel like
points or annoying view blockers at most
hard commerce.”
inevitably
you
fight over being picked out to contribute
likely
to
festivals since the 60s; the latter causing them now being banned from festivals
When Bono became punk rock?
such as Glastonbury. And then there is
Yeah, I don’t know either.
the third vital part of the festival: some mentioning of peace, politics and the
But music and activism were BFFs
need for social change.
long before the thought of such splendid marketing ideas. Woodstock and the
“No artist has ethical sympathies.
hippie generation do of course come
An ethical sympathy in an artist is an
to mind first. Billed as ’three days of
unpardonable mannerism of style. All
peace and music’, the festival saw career
art is quite useless”, Oscar Wilde once
defining performances from the likes of
wrote.
Janis, Jimi and the Who, plus a lot of
Many
musical
artists
would
strongly disagree, however, as having
drugs, STDs and political slogans
an ethical sympathy is all the rage in the
being exchanged between the
pop culture camp at the moment. Political
mere half a million people
candidates compete for the coolest band
present. The mottos of
to play at their election campaigns, artists
the 1960s are still
widely recognized
its anarchist ethos, which with varied
and well-used, and
degree of successful political messages
the peace camp outside
showed its ugly head in tabloids and
the Parliament in London looks
punk fanzines alike during the late 70s
like it is taken straight out of a
and early 80s, followed by hardcore
San Francisco hippie site from 1967’s
bands like Black Flag and Fugazi who
Summer of Love. But where the words
continued throughout to the 1990s.
‘peace’ and ‘love’ seemed to mean something 40 years ago, they have now
The 80s saw new issues being
become clichéd and more connected to
dealt with, and AIDS and gay
naff consumer products than protest music,
rights were often subjects
which soon found different breeding
of
grounds and music styles. Whereas Bob
protest music. Rap
Dylan, Joan Baez and the folk singers
and hip hop was
had been connected to the civil rights
on the rise and
movement in the early 1960s, and the
songs
rock of Jefferson Airplane and John &
“Fuck tha Police”
Yoko in the later years of the decade, the
(1988) by N.W.A
1970s saw a new generation of radicals
and Public Enemy’s
playing flutes around the campfire,
“Fight the Power” (1989)
neglecting the “tune in, turn on, drop
commented on the discrimination
out” mantra, as frying ones brain would
and poverty of the black community in
be bad for the revolution. Soul music
America.
the
decade’s
such
as
had established itself as an important part of popular music, addressing the
In 1991 the formation of Rage
Vietnam War and racial discrimination.
Against the Machine was the beginning
Good
Starr’s
of many years of strong political messages
“War” (1970) and Marvin Gaye’s 1971
from the LA band, and Zach de la Rocha
album “What’s Going On”. Then there
& co. has probably been the most
was of course also the rise of punk and
important band of the last 20 years when
examples
are
Edwin
it comes to protest music. We must also
Environmental
issues have also
not forget the sexism and homophobia
gained a few fans among celebrity
being tackled by the Riot Grrrl movement
musicians, and “being green” is nearly up
and singer-songwriters like Ani diFranco,
there with ‘being skinny’ or on the list for
as well as Sinéad O’Connor’s harsh
the next Mulberry it-bag. Festivals have
criticism of the Catholic Church ruling in
been important arenas for addressing
her native Ireland.
environmentalism, taking over from the anti-war movement as the political issue
In the Noughties there was one issue
that
musicians
particularly in
to address for festival arrangers and
were
visitors alike, launching so-called “green
interested
festivals” with an emphasis on recycling
showing discontent
their
and organic food.
for:
The
American-
We know that Bono and Ms. Ono
led
bombings
think so, but can music – and music
of
Afghanistan
festivals – really make a difference?
and
Iraq,
and
There is no doubt there is a lot of image
the politics of one
building involved in the contemporary
certain
American
artist-as-activist trend. It is simply cool
president in general,
to care, and “do what I say, not what
made artists such as the
I do” seem to be a secret mantra of
Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam and Bruce
several of the involved. Many of the
Springsteen join the Vote for Change tour
so-called peace activists at Woodstock,
in 2004. The Rock Against Bush project
for example, probably wouldn’t have
was launched the same year, mobilising
noticed if the whole festival camp was
punk and alternative bands to unite
blown up by the US military, let
attempting to create a counterculture
alone have anything clever to
music movement similar to that of the
say about it apart from the
1960s.
odd “peace out, man” while
lighting
up another spliff. And the übertrendy,
Just turn on MTV and it is evident
organic food-eating earth lovers of today
that sex, drugs and violence are
would probably rather keep their frequent
much more “fun” to care about
private jet usage out of the tabloids, as
than questions of peace, poverty
well as a very un-environmentally friendly
and injustice. However, there is a lot
use-once-and-throw-away shopping habit.
of social commentary to be found within contemporary pop music, in the lyrics
The activist tradition of Bob Dylan
of everyone from Eminem to Christina
and his fellow 60s activists is not anymore
Aguilera. The personal rather than the
alive and kicking in the sense that there
political seem to be ruling the charts, to
is an explicitly political message in the
many old hippies’ disappointment.
mainstream music reaching a wide public. So, can rock n’ roll save the world, At the beginning of a new decade,
then? I’m tempted to say; the answer, my
one can wonder where the protest music
friend, is blowin’ in the wind. But I will
has gone. Musicians that aren’t in the
be a bit more precise. Musicians can
“underground” category now leave their
undoubtedly get a message out to a much
political beliefs out of the recording studio,
broader public than politicians can, both
and instead project them on stage, if they
with the messages of their songs and
do at all. So even though there are still
addressing issues from the stage on gigs
artists mentioning the evils of poverty and
and festivals. They can create awareness
war, there is not really any mainstream
around an issue in ways that actually
protest music as such.
make young people think that fighting for the world’s future is, in fact, pretty cool.
And that, if anything, is definitely a start.
B y l l i W
- tatt på senga
Willy B. Kjent som Norges mest krediterte rockehistoriker, med seks bøker og X antall utgivelser om norsk rock, blues og populærkultur på nakken. En rockearkeolog med stålpeil på norsk og internasjonal musikkscene. En karakter og personlighet, kjent på Oslo-scenen for sin (Wikipedia-sitat) ”til tider utagerende og særegne spillestil”. Vi ville ha han på forsida. Det skulle portretteres i storartet stil, og snakkes om rock n’ roll, festivaler fra svunne tider og hippieaktivisme. Men så kom livet og pustet både han og oss i nakken, og vi ble begge tatt på senga. A Doll’s House ringte Willy B. en varm sommerdag i juni. Tekst: Henriette Kværneng Johansen
- Hei, er det Willy B., kultur- og
Willy B. er nysgjerrig på A Doll’s House,
rockehistorikeren?
hvem vi er, hvor mange, hvor mange
- Ja, noe slikt ja.
utgivelser. Han synes det er bra. Det høres
Presentasjon. Agenda. Litt forklaring
helt flott ut, sier han. Han synes det er viktig
hvorfor. Når vi må ha det ferdig? Ganske
at folk gjør noe her i Norge.
snart. Hadde passet bedre å møtes uti juli
- De fleste sitter jo bare på ræva og klager
engang. For Willy B. er ikke i Oslo
over hvor ille alt er, jeg mener... Da er det
slik han pleier. Han befinner seg
bedre at folk får ting gjort.
på Gjøvik. Der har han vært i åtte uker nå. Han ligger til behandling.
Første nummeret av Yellow Submarine kom
Strålebehandling. Men han har truffet
ut i 1996, den andre og tredje i 1997, før
masse kjente og trives så godt det lar seg
nummer fire lot vente på seg, og kom ikke
gjøre.
før 2006.
- Du kan si hva du vil om sjukehusene i
- Jeg prøver å få til å ha med et langt
Norge, men når det kommer til renhold, og
intervju med en norsk artist hver gang.
en tredjedel av de som jobber her jobber jo
- Gjør du alt på egenhånd?
med det, så er de jævlig flinke. Jeg har det
- Jeg får litt småhjelp her og der, men jeg er
helt perfekt her jeg altså.
så sær, så mesteparten; ja. Siste utgave kom ut våren 2009. Om han
Om han er frisk når han drar ut derifra, det
bare kommer seg ut av sykehuset satser
vet han ikke. Han må blant annet lære seg
han på å få gitt ut neste nummer i løpet av
å gå igjen. Rent bortsett fra det skal han få
høsten.
på plass neste nummer av fanzinen sin, Jello
Han spør mer om fanzinen vår, og jeg
Submarine.
forteller litt om gjengen bak og vårt mål, hva vi vil med det hele. At vi hovedsakelig
- Den gangen her blir det 60-talls musikk det
er en gjeng bra damer som smeller sammen
går i. Jeg har fått tak i et gammalt
ei blekke med bra innhold, og en feministisk
intervju med Rolling Stones, masse
framtoning. Men at vi tillater oss å bry oss
uutgitt stoff. Det er jo å kaste
om fashion og klær og alt som følger med.
penger ut av vinduet, men nå gir
Han svarer anerkjennende.
jeg blaffen. Jeg vil heller angre på
- Hvor mange utgivelser har dere?
noe jeg har gjort enn noe jeg ikke
- Æh, jeg husker ikke helt. Jeg er bare
har gjort.
skribent.
- Jeg kommer til å kjøpe den
så svære nå vet du, på grunn av ”Exile”
fanzinen deres altså.
(Rolling Stones-skiva ”Exile on Main Street”
- Haha, det er kult. Den koster 15
fra 1972 som ble sluppet i år med diverse
kroner stykk.
nye låter, journ. anm.) Så det er dét det går
- Det er jo en vits! Min koster åtti,
i. Gammal Rolling Stones.
tenkte jeg skulle gå opp til hundre.
- Det gir deg den riktige energien? - Ja. Jeg klarer i alle fall å høre på det. Og
Han sier han kunne tenkt seg å ta en lengre
så går tida. Det er ikke sikkert jeg hadde
prat når han er på bena igjen.
hørt på det om jeg var hjemme. Da hadde
Jeg spør pent om jeg kan stille han et siste
jeg sikkert hørt på noe akustisk gitar, Bert
spørsmål.
Jansch eller noe liknende.
- Du kan jo prøve..?
- Er det litt mer chill eller er det rock n’ roll
- Ok. Hører du på noe musikk når du ligger
hele veien?
der?
- Begge deler, egentlig. Det er med
- Ja. Det var en kompis av meg som var
kassegitar, men litt småmystisk musikk,
innom her og ga meg en walkman med
egentlig. Jeg hører på så mye rart,
noen nye Rolling Stones bootlegs. De er
veit du. Jeg følger ingen andres fotspor.
ke
uk Kjenner
Wi l l y B? 1983: Norge i rock, beat & blues 1984: Norge i rock, beat & blues del 2
WILLY BAKKEN
1994: Vakre damer og blodig død : den norske
* Best kjent som Willy B.
1996: Drømmenes marked : norske ukeblader,
pocketbokas historie 1949-1994
* Født 24.juni 1951 * Norsk kulturhistoriker og sakprosaforfatter. Har skrevet allsidig og leksikalsk om populærkultur, spesielt rockemusikk og norsk triviallitteratur.
magasiner og hefter 1945-1995 1999: I Dovregubbens hall. Vol. 1 : en samling essays om norsk rock og rock i Norge 2002: Sten Nilsen : et liv med farger i svart/hvitt
Kilde: Wikipedia
Wi l l y B
forts.
Han drøyer litt. Innser at vi snakker, og at
Han gir meg mailadressa si. Jeg sier jeg skal
jeg kanskje noterer.
sende han en mail. Det kommer noen inn i
- Jeg vil heller møte deg for et intervju til
rommet. Jeg får så vidt tid til å takke, så har
nummeret etter, i stedet for å kaste bort tida
han lagt på.
vår på dette. Jeg har samlet på kvinnelige artister fra utlandet, og… Ja.
Vi håper Willy B vil ta seg tid til
- Ja, jeg vil veldig gjerne møte deg når du
å prate med oss til et framtidig
er på bena igjen og tilbake i Oslo. Hva er
nummer. Hvis ikke har dere
mailen din?
nettopp fått et innblikk i en Oslokarakter uten sidestykke. Tatt på senga mellom stråling og Stones.
uys! g u o y eace p e w d ve an o l s i e c Pea
ADOLLSHOUSE.NO
Photographs: Jan Schjetne Models: Emma C @ Heartbreak & Silje R One-pieces custom made by: Amir Kosha Amiri
LISSIE
At Illinois-jenta Lissie Maurus skulle være et av de store navna på folkpophimmelen i år, var det nok få som hadde trodd da hun som blåhåret tenåring digget gangsta rap og spyttet lærerne sine i ansiktet. Men med sin Stevie Nicks-look og såre stemme har hun lagt en trøblete ungdomstid bak seg, og kjempet seg til topps med den kritikerroste debutplata ”Catching a Tiger”.
Tekst: Henrik Holta-Lysell Foto: Hilde Holta-Lysell
Vi møter Lissie på et av de mindre
rap og var en drittunge med
fasjonable hotellene i Oslo. Hun er
stor D. Nå stråler hun av selvtillit og
fremdeles up and coming og må nok
virker svært utadvendt. Vi lurer på om
vente til neste norgesbesøk med å
det alltid har vært slik.
sjekke inn på ærverdige Grand Hotel. Vi tror derimot ikke at Lissie bryr seg
- Nei, da jeg var yngre var jeg mer
nevneverdig. Hun er ei jordnær jente
innesluttet og jeg spilte aldri låter for
fra Illinois som har jobbet hardt for å
folk. Nå elsker jeg å fremføre egne
komme dit hun er i dag. At så mange
sanger. Da jeg studerte i Paris gikk jeg
vil snakke med henne, eller høre henne
rundt og kranglet meg til å spille på
synge på en scene, var en tanke som
kafeene. Jeg ga meg ikke selv om de
virket fjern da hun solgte honning
sa nei. Til slutt ga de opp og jeg fikk
på det lokale markedet eller jobbet
spille, sier Lissie og smiler.
som servitrise på kafeen. Gitaren var derimot aldri langt unna, og folk som
Hun kommer ikke fra en musikalsk
kjøpte et glass med honning eller en
familie, så hvor hun har talentet sitt fra
kaffe, fikk ofte en låt på kjøpet.
vet hun ikke. Faren kjøpte i sin tid en kassegitar til moren, men den ble aldri
Hun møter opp en halvtime
brukt. Denne gitaren adopterte derimot
forsinket, blid som ei lerke. Nesten
Lissie i en alder av 10 år.
uten sminke, med langt lyst hår hengende over skuldrene, bh-løs og
- Jeg var helt oppslukt av den gitaren.
med hår under armene er hun som
Det var utrolig vanskelig å lære seg å
snytt ut av hippiekulturen på slutten
spille, men jeg ga meg aldri. Måtte få
av 60-tallet. Vi kunne like gjerne ha
til minst to grep, så jeg kunne lage en
sittet rundt et bål på Woodstock, hvor
sang. Tekster og melodi var ikke noe
Lissie nettopp hadde kastet bh’en på
problem så fort jeg kunne bakke de
bålet. Det virker ganske fjernt
opp med gitaren. Da jeg først lærte
at denne jenta en gang farget
meg barregrep, skrev jeg sikkert en låt
håret blått, hørte på gangsta
om dagen.
Som du sikkert har skjønt er ikke
- Det å skrive låter er terapi
Lissie nok en kjedelig blondine med
for meg, så en låt om dagen
kassegitar. Dette er ei jente med bein i
var nok nødvendig for å holde
nesa. På videregående ble hun kastet
psyken i sjakk i perioder. Noen
ut etter å ha spyttet læreren i ansiktet,
artister skriver om andres
og etter ett år på universitetet sluttet
opplevelser eller klarer å dikte
hun og dro til Los Angeles for å satse
opp historier. Jeg har derimot
alt på musikken. Hun har særdeles få
alltid skrevet personlige tekster.
likhetstrekk med mange av sine mer
Mange av tekstene gir meg fremdeles
kommersielle kollegaer. Du legger
et stikk i hjertet, selv om jeg har
kanskje ikke merke til det ved første
fremført dem hundrevis av ganger.
øyekast eller under første lytt, men etter
En sang om en ekskjæreste, for
å ha gått henne nærmere i sømmene,
eksempel. Det er ikke det at jeg har
merker du garantert tyngden og det
de samme følelsene for den personen
altoppslukende ved Lissie. Vi hadde
ennå, men jeg kommer raskt inn i
spilt oss igjennom den nye plata 20-
sinnsstemningen. Hvis dere skjønner
30 ganger før vi skulle møte henne i
hva jeg mener?
Oslo, og hadde allerede forelsket oss i den varme stemmen, som brister så
Den 27 år gamle artisten har
riktig når hun tømmer seg for følelser.
fått en pangstart på karrieren etter å
Det skal årtier med røyk og whisky for
ha samarbeidet med Band of Horses,
å slipe til et slikt stemmebånd, så å
Ed Harcourt og Jacquire King, som
kalle stemmen en gudegave er ikke en
tidligere har produsert Tom Waits,
overdrivelse. En trøblete ungdomstid
Kings of Leon og Norah Jones. Men
gjør seg også gjeldende og skaper et
veien dit har vært lang og trøblete.
inntrykk av en artist som åpner hjertet
Etter å ha ravet gatelangs i Paris, hvor
for de innerste hemmeligheter og
hun egentlig skulle studere, bestemte
tanker.
hun seg for å satse alt på et kort. Hun sluttet like gjerne på skolen og dro til Los Angeles for å bli musiker. Det skal
ganske mye stå-på-vilje til for å slå seg
kjempenervøs for hva folk kommer å
fram i den byen.
synes. Folk flest kjenner henne kun som ”den dama som spiller en rå versjon
- Jeg hadde gitt opp håpet om å ”bli
av Lady Gaga-låta Bad Romance”. Det
oppdaget” på gata, og tenkte at Los
bekymrer henne derimot ikke.
Angeles var byen å dra til hvis jeg virkelig ville få til en karriere som
- Den låta har gitt meg mye
musiker. Da jeg kom dit var jeg helt
oppmerksomhet og det er jeg
alene og kjente ingen, men det endret
takknemlig for. Det er jo ei
seg raskt. Jeg flyttet inn i et kollektiv
fantastisk låt, og Lady Gaga er
og etter en stund hadde jeg fått en
helt rå, sier Lissie. Noe uventet,
større vennekrets. Det var ikke
tenker vi.
lett å få spillejobber i LA, så til slutt fant jeg en bar som hadde
- Vi var i studio og tenkte at vi skulle
få gjester og spurte eieren
gjøre en cover. Det måtte bli en låt alle
om jeg kunne arrangere åpen
gikk og nynnet på, og vi ble raskt enig
scene en dag i uken. Etter mye
om å gjøre Bad Romance. Vi spilte
mas fikk jeg overtalt eieren,
den inn der og da, og tok det ganske
og begynte å booke band.
så på sparket, forklarer Lissie.
Oppvarmingsbandet var Lissie, he-he.
Siden dette nummeret av A Doll’s House handler om forholdet
Bookingen og åpen scene ble en
mellom musikk og protest, og særlig
suksess, og ryktet spredte seg raskt.
fredsaktivismen på 60-tallet knyttet til
Lissie ble kjent med alle musikerne
Woodstockfestivalen, lurer vi på hva
som spilte der og bygde seg et stort
Lissie legger i ordene peace and love?
nettverk. Til slutt banket plateselskapet på døra. Platekontrakt ble signert, og
- Når det kommer til musikk, så er jo
Lissie var godt på vei med å oppfylle
det en samlende kunstnerisk form,
en drøm. Nå er plata ute, og hun er
og jeg håper at min musikk har den
påvirkningen på folk. Jeg har lyst til
- Man kan få inntrykket av at
at de som er på konsertene mine føler
ungdommen er noe blaserte,
at de er på konsert sammen. Ikke
men kanskje det vil komme en
står alene for seg selv. Spørs om man
revolusjon. Dette gjelder selvfølgelig
klarer å samle 500 000 mennesker til
ikke for alle, men kanskje ungdommen
en begivenhet som Woodstock igjen,
igjen vil begynne å bry seg. Jeg er
men det er lov å håpe. Jeg var på en
redd det må en stor katastrofe til for å
konsert med Grateful Dead for ikke så
samle folk, forklarer Lissie.
lenge siden, hvor jeg opplevde noe lignende. Alle som var på konserten
Hun er et yndet intervjuobjekt, og
var utrolig blide, og tok på en måte
skravla går i ett sett. Vi skulle veldig
vare på hverandre. Ei jente spurte
gjerne sittet og skravlet lenger, men
om jeg ikke ville ha litt vann fordi
tiden er dessverre ute. Med Lissie kan
jeg så tørst ut og folk som ikke kjente
selv den mest bedritne journalisten
hverandre holdt rundt hverandre på
komme unna med et ok intervju. Vi
flere av låtene. Det var helt magisk.
slår av båndspilleren og takker for oss,
Det virker som alle har befestet seg
men først vil hun imponere med noen
i en boble om dagen, som man ikke
norske gloser.
slipper andre inn i, bortsett fra de aller nærmeste. Hadde jeg prøvd å holde
- Du, jeg hadde en svensk kjæreste en
rundt en vilt fremmed på en annen
gang, så jeg kan noen norske gloser:
type konsert ville nok reaksjonen vært
”bråne bovner”.
annerledes, sier hun og ler.
- Hæ? - You know, brown beans. He-he, it sounds like “boner” (ståpikk). - Det heter ”brune bønner”. - Oh, bråne bovner. - Yeah, that’s right.
photo
tove sivertsen
model
nicoline/heartbreak
assistant
marian strand
I And A Where And And So That And And And And my
went saw Chapel I
I
the ‘Thou
to what was used
the to
gates of shalt not’ turned to so many
I
Garden I never built in play on this
writ
the sweet
of had the the
Chapel were over the Garden of flowers
Love, seen; midst, green. shut, door; Love bore.
saw it was filled with graves, tombstones where flowers should be; priests in black gowns were walking their rounds, binding with briars joys and desires. - William Blake
Photography & Styling: Maja Casablancas Model: Ă…sa Engelstad
Yes, she’s a witch! (the magical storY of the world’s most famous widow)
Yoko Ono has been the victim of a vicious witch hunt ever since she first encountered a bespeckled Beatle from Liverpool over four decades ago. She is finally enjoying some mainstream recognition, but don’t think it makes her any less spellbinding.
By Astri Barbala
In the first few lines of their tribute anthem “Hot Topic”, electropunk band Le Tigre sings the following about the art world icon, musician, writer and activist widow of John Lennon (and fellow women artists of her generation; Carol Rama, Eleanor Antin and Carolee Schneeman): “You’re getting old that’s what they say, but don’t give a damn, I’m listening anyway[…] Please don‘t stop”. And thankfully Yoko Ono shows no signs of stopping. This, despite being ridiculed and artistically ignored for decades. The misogyny and racism-fuelled hate against Yoko Ono has seen her being blamed for everything from the Beatles’ no-show at the 1969 Woodstock Festival (rumour has it John Lennon refused to show up if the festival didn’t also book Yoko Ono’s Plastic Ono Band, an offer the festival declined) to breaking them up, and getting Lennon addicted to heroin. In short, everything that didn’t go as planned with the Beatles was Yoko’s fault, and she has even been victim of ridiculous conspiracy theories claiming she was behind her husband’s death. Not unlike what Courtney Love experienced as the wife and then widow of Kurt Cobain. But where Courtney probably fully deserves the psycho bitch title, Ono has done little wrong but being a true original in her own right. She has always been faithful to her Buddhist roots, and has been a devoted peace, AIDS and gay rights activist ever since her famous ‘bed-ins’ with her famous late husband in the 1960s. But we’ll get to that later. Born in Tokyo in 1933, the Ono family moved to New York when Yoko was 18. But this was many years after she was introduced to the world of the arts; her father packed her off to a music school for supertoddlers at the age of three. Despite the child prodigy status and bright future prospects, young Yoko ran away from her prestigious NY college to get married. With her first husband, she moved to the artsy Greenwich Village, were she was introduced to New York’s avant-garde music scene. It did not take long before she was collaborating with influential people such as fellow New Wave-pioneer John Cale, free-jazz
trumpeter Ornette Coleman and soon-to-be second husband, jazz musician and film producer Anthony Cox. But music wasn’t enough for Yoko, who soon also found a huge passion within the world of conceptual and performance art. Among the most well-known of her performance works is “Cut Piece”, first performed in Tokyo in 1964, where she invited members of the audience to cut off a piece of her clothing, until she was sitting on stage naked. It touched on subjects such as gender, sexism, loneliness and suffering, and allowed her to relate destruction to interpersonal and intimate human relations. It was at a preview of one of Ono’s London shows in 1966 that she first met John Lennon. In the beginning their relationship was purely platonic, and their friendship was based on a mutual admiration for each other. Not long after, though, the two realised they were soul mates, and became the epitome of a loved-up couple. For their honeymoon in 1969, they spent several weeks in two different hotel beds, so-called “bedins”, as a protest against the Vietnam War. Long haired and dressed in white, they invited press and friends to join them in their hotel room clad in anti-war slogans, and discussed war and peace, posed for pictures and recorded songs such as “Give peace a chance”. Yoko’s huge effect on John Lennon not only made him leave behind his first wife and firstborn son, his homeland and the most well-known band on the planet, but also his womanising ways. After the feminist Yoko in a 1969 interview proclaimed that “woman is the nigger of the world”, Lennon released a single bearing the same name. He also wrote a song dedicated to Angela Davis, and took on the role as a house husband to take care of their son Sean when he was born in 1975. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.
Some has named Ono “the coolest Beatle“, and it sure is something in that. These days, Yoko Ono is still juggling several careers at once, and she is finally being recognised for being the influential artist and activist that she is, constantly pushing boundaries in any projects she’s involved in. Her Imagine Peace project has positioned her as one of the most important celebrity peace activists of her time. So, is Yoko Ono really a witch, as many of her haters would claim? Well, she does sing like a madwoman, definitely bewitched John Lennon, and is truly “wicked” in more than one sense, so the witch references are undoubtedly there. Her brilliant remix album from 2007 bore a tongue-in-cheek answer to the people wanting her burning on a stick, and was entitled exactly Yes, I am a Witch. Despite her tight schedule, she still has time to engage with her many - and counting - fans all over the world, for example by launching a weekly Q&A session every Friday on her extremely popular Twitter page. Some of her answers are hilarious, some extremely clever, and some just plain weird. Just like Yoko herself.
a few selected QuestioNs from YoKo oNo’s twitter Q&a
ken_tanabe What would you like to be if you were born again? Anything except born again christian! (that’s supposed to be funny:)
rainybluee What was your dream? And what is your dream? My dream is for the world to start to realize how important goodness is. Because we are goodness. We are messed up because we think we are evil. And should be good at that game. It doesn’t work. The real side of us starts to feel bad and mess us up!
sierraohh Do you think that woman is still the nigger of the world, or have we progressed to a point where women are equal to men? Of course, we are not equal to men. But do we want to be equal to them? I think it is better to pursue higher.
meganbigelow What was your earliest memory of light? The light I saw when my head was out of my mom’s bod. Don’t scream! I’m not kidding. I remember when I slipped out of my mom’s bod. What can I say… You want me to be honest, don’t you?
Sqrrrlgrrl68 do you have pets? If so what kind? I am my pet. I clean and feed myself every day.
Annieakanin What would be your best advice to a young artist who wants to make a living with her art? Art is what you give to people. In giving, you should not be concerned if you can make a living at it or not. Your work will suffer in its creativity if you are thinking of making something that will sell. Do the best work you can do, and see what happens.
dopysurajit How to get rid of loneliness? Just imagine being with somebody who won’t stop being unpleasant. Thank heavens that you are not with such person, so you can at least relax and breathe!
ic e h h p T gra
a
B
ar b r a
t s i tiv
ac
r
ge u r K
f o s m n s i i S n r n e e d v e o e h S t m t Pos and
The layout in this issue of A Doll’s House owes a lot to the American conceptual artist Barbara Kruger. Her graphical critiques of postmodern culture can be seen as a presentation of what she sees as the sins of late capitalist society – not unlike how the Church in early Christian times condemned the Seven Deadly Sins. We therefore present you her work in the shape of the Seven Sins of Postmodern Society. by Astri Barbala First a little background information: Barbara
need a degree in politics to understand her
Kruger was born in New Jersey in 1945. She
harsh criticism of American patriotism, and the
started her career in the 1960s as a graphic
dangerous fruits it may bear.
designer for the magazine Mademoiselle, but soon found her place in the world of conceptual and pop art. Her work, usually a fusion of text and image in the colours red, white and black, questions the nature of a heavily media-saturated postmodern society, and criticises both its motives and its tools. It might seem like she warns us of the utter self-destruction we will face if we give in to the sins posted by her version of the Christianity’s Devil: Capitalism. Interestingly, what Kruger, an
SIN NO. 2: GREED (AND DISCIPLINARY POWER).
artist with obvious leftist sympathies, criticises as
One of the most prominent themes in Kruger’s
belonging to conservative, Christian values and
works is the greediness saturating postmodern
late capitalism, both associated with the Right,
culture. A good example is the widely discussed
has a lot in common with the Church’s Seven
Untitled (When I hear the word Culture I take
Deadly Sins:
out my checkbook) (1985). She is particularly
SIN NO. 1: (MISCONSTRUED) PRIDE.
interested in greed in terms of position of power and the different forms it takes on throughout
longest? Who prays loudest?” These are among
society, claiming in an interview that “power is the most free-flowing element in society, maybe next to money, but in fact they
the questions Kruger asks in her work Untitled
both motor each other”. This bears similarities
(Questions) from 1991, which is in the shape and
to the work of French sociologist Michel Foucault,
colour of the American flag. But instead of stars
whose theory of disciplinary power describes
and stripes, there are, of course, words. “Look
how power operates in all aspects of society,
for the moment when pride becomes contempt”
and produces so-called docile bodies; bodies of
it says in the place of the stars, and one doesn’t
passivity (see Sin no. 7).
“Who is free to choose? Who salutes the
SIN NO. 3: LUST (FOR THE MADONNA/WHORE) Many of Kruger’s works comment on the role of sex in postmodern society. But whereas the Church condemned lust in general, her works predominantly criticise how woman is portrayed as a sex object in advertising and the media, while at the same time remaining passive and virginal. Sex/Lure (1979) touches upon this Madonna/whore complex, and other works, such as Your gaze hits the side of my face (1981), comments on the objectifying of female characters in film and images.
SIN NO. 4: GLUTTONY (AND CAPITALISM’S CREATION OF NEEDS) One thing that late capitalist consumerism is particularly good at is the creation of needs and desires: It makes sure we always have a need to fulfil, be it eating, drinking or buying another pair of shoes. Her image of a beautiful woman with her mouth open, with the word “taste” written inside her mouth, point out the way advertising encourage us to indulge in food, because we deserve it. But at the same time, there is of course the subject of fat, which is not acceptable; hence the million dollar diet industry that is often, in fact, owned by the brands selling us the fattening food in the first place (see Sin no. 5 and 6).
SIN NO. 5: WRATH (AGAINST WOMEN) In the 1970s and 80s a lot of women artist, including Kruger, were concerned with developing a feminist aesthetic within the male-dominated art industry. As well as arguing that contemporary society evokes violence and self-destruction, an often revisited subject in Kruger’s artworks is that of misogyny. Her image of a woman’s face bearing the text “Your body is a battleground” has been much referred to in modern feminist theory, showing how advertising and mass media encourage women to hate their own bodies. Other examples are Untitled (We have received orders not to move) from 1982, picturing a bound woman full of nails, symbolising how women still had far to go in the battle for full liberation.
SIN NO. 6: ENVY (OF THE POSTER GIRL/BOY) Kruger‘s use of snappy catchphrases draws, as we have seen, attention to advertising’s manipulative power. “Who do you think you are?” states one of her works, and as a successful postmodern being with a strong identity you shouldn’t think you are something, but be it, like the successful beauties of the advertisements. See for example Untitled (Super rich, Ultra gorgeous, Extra skinny, Forever young)( 1997), bearing the picture of a woman with what appears to be an old-fashioned facemask made of ice cubes, one of many Kruger works that condemns the way advertising creates an envy of its photo-shopped poster boys and girls to sell more products. Others include Untitled (You are not yourself) (1984) picturing a crying woman in a broken mirror, and an image of Marilyn Monroe with phrases such as “Not skinny enough” and “Not stupid enough” written around her face (Untitled (Not stupid enough) 1997).
SIN NO. 7: SLOTH (AND POSTMODERN APATHY) If there is one sin that can sum up what Barbara Kruger criticises the residents of postmodern Western societies for committing, it is that of sloth. In several of her works, she point at the laziness and apathy created by a never-ending flow of signs. For example, the well-known Untitled (I shop, therefore I am) (1987), that interestingly also found its way to a Selfridges campaign, points out the only thing that seem to cause some form of excitement in us nowadays is buying new things.
In the past decade, there have been
it hurts the most: There is little doubt that said
several art critics claiming that the
postmodern “sins” are still somewhat dominating
work of Kruger is “dated”, and that her
contemporary Western society, but there are still
remaking of tabloid style propaganda
few who would admit the way we are products of
is irrelevant and silly. This has an obvious
the sign systems surrounding us.
connection to how the activist artist’s political artworks more or less have disappeared from
To say it with French postmodernist philosopher
the art galleries, making room for £50 million
Jean Baudrillard, who wrote widely on the topics
diamond skulls and brightly coloured images
found in the works of Barbara Kruger:
resembling hardcore pornography.
“Everywhere
one
seeks
to
produce
meaning, to make the world signify, to It might be true that advertising has changed
render it visible. We are not, however,
shape slightly since the 1980s, as has the role of
in danger of lacking meaning; quite the
women, but one can wonder if the hate against
contrary, we are gorged with meaning
her is rooted in the fact that she hits us where
and it is killing us.”
Bed Peace /hair Peace
Photography: Hilde Holta-Lysell Model, styling, makeup: Hege Golf
dress: vintage from holland bed: kersi, skeidar
top: lolita
t-shirt + jeans: model’s own
poncho: vintage from holland