The Arena of the Body 25.05 – 01.09
Step into the asymmetrical wooden labyrinth and explore the interior of the installation. Venture out on the water and experience new perspectives on the landscape in the mirror of the steel cage. Grasp the white and red rubber handles and try out the unusual steel sculptures. The exhibition is about the relationship between the human body and the surrounding world. Three works by Thilo Frank (b. 1978) and Lea Guldditte Hestelund (b. 1983) have been acquired for this summer exhibition, while Jeppe Hein’s (b. 1974) Cage and Mirror has been moved out to a newly established platform in the lagoon which surrounds The Art Island. They invite us to sense, interact and become aware of things through the body and stage our expectations of bodily activity and our view of bodily norms. Go exploring in ARKEN’s sculpture park The Arena of the Body is the fifth outdoor exhibition in the series Art in Sunshine. Besides the new works you can experience a number of outdoor works from ARKEN’s collection. At the water’s edge there is a herd of horseshoe crabs, and in the sand stand oversized conches with human faces. Find the map of the sculpture park in the folder and go exploring in the green arena. Enjoy!
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Participation and activity are in focus in ARKEN’s summer exhibition The Arena of the Body, in which new, striking works transform the landscape into an experience-rich arena. Map Thilo Frank Jeppe Hein Lea Guldditte Hestelund Nanna Debois Buhl Peter Bonnén Eva Steen Christensen Eva Steen Christensen Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset Olafur Eliasson Antony Gormley Tue Greenfort Jeppe Hein Astrid Myntekær Øivind Nygård Amalie Smith Lawrence Weiner Summer events
04 06 08 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38
Øivind Nygård
Peter Bonnén
Olafur Eliasson Thilo Frank The path that runs from Ishøj Station to ARKEN
Ish
ion
tat
S øj
Lawrence Weiner Elmgreen & Dragset
Nanna Debois Buhl Jeppe Hein
Antony Gormley Eva Steen Christensen
Parking
Tue Greenfort
ARKEN
Eva Steen Christensen Nanna Debois Buhl Amalie Smith
Nanna Debois Buhl
Lea Guldditte Hestelund
Lea Guldditte Hestelund
Jeppe Hein
Astrid MyntekĂŚr
Beach
Thilo Frank
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You and I, wandering on the snake’s tail,
Wood, stainless steel wire, zinc coated steel, aluminum, sensor controlled light-system. Acquired 2017
2016
From a distance the installation is impossible to comprehend and decode. You have to narrow the distance and move in along the narrow path, around the inner spiral of the work. Once you have explored the work with your own body, the installation reveals its true form: a wooden construction formed of 45 wooden frames irregularly positioned around an empty core. As the sun moves across the sky the installation will change expression. When the beams of the sun strike the wooden slats a dynamic shadow pattern arises in the grass around it. When the darkness falls the lamp in the middle of the work will be lit and will create another shadow play. Thilo Frank has created an architectural dislocation that intrudes on the everyday events in Strandparken. In the encounter with the work the initiative is left to you. You can challenge your normal patterns of motion, go exploring and see yourself, the others and the natural surroundings from new perspectives.
Jeppe Hein
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Cage and Mirror, 2011
Steel, mirror, suspension. Gift from The Merla Art Foundation, 2016
With its curved steel bars Cage and Mirror looks like a cage for locking up wild, exotic animals, but if you step out on the platform and into the cage, you encounter the round mirror that hangs in the middle of the work. There you can see your own reflection merging with fragments of ARKEN’s surroundings. But only briefly, for the mirror rotates with the force of the wind, the individual images disappear quickly and new ones arise. For passing moments water and sand, the white building and the other artworks in the sculpture park are captured. Perhaps you will also see other visitors in the reflections. One thing is certain: rather than isolating you from the surrounding world like a trapped animal, the work sets you free to see the surroundings in a new way. Cage and Mirror shows you how you form your own worldview with your sheer presence and your individual gaze.
Body pump, crossfit, circle exercise and spin. In the course of the past few years terms like these have sneaked into our vocabulary, and fitness exercises have become part of many Danes’ everyday life. So there’s nothing odd about Lea Guldditte Hestelund’s two sculptures reminding you of the gym and the culture of fitness. Try grasping at the rubber handles of the sculptures: which muscles are they designed to exercise? The title The Compensators is close to the word compensation. A compensation is a replacement for something lost and is often intended as help or support. But these sculptures can be used neither for physical training or support. As they stand there, one on the beach dunes and
Lea Guldditte Hestelund 10
The Compensators, I The Compensators, II
Stainless steel, rubber and polyurethane. Acquired 2018
2018
the other on the way down into the water, the unusual steel bodies rather take the form of living figures. Perhaps the paradoxical and powerless sculptures are to be interpreted as a critical comment on our body culture. They make us aware of society’s body norms and remind us that different bodies have different possibilities.
Nanna Debois Buhl
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intervals and forms of stones of stars,
Camera-less photographs based on William Henry Fox Talbot’s and August Strindberg’s photographic techniques. Acquired 2017
2017
Three monumental photographs are mounted on the outer walls of ARKEN. They are photographic registrations of nature on The Art Island. Perhaps you recognize the motifs? Nanna Debois Buhl has gathered the material on walks in the landscape around ARKEN. She has given nature a voice by enlarging plants and animals and capturing dust and sand. The photographs were made without a camera. Inspired by William Henry Fox Talbot’s and August Strindberg’s cameraless methods from the 1840s and the 1890s she has created the photographs without using a lens, with the sole aid of light and light-sensitive surfaces. In the micrography the insect wing is registered with the aid of a microscope. In the photogram the stiff grass is laid directly on the photographic paper, which is illuminated. In the celestography dust and sand have left their direct imprint on the light-sensitive paper. Each in its own way, they play with proportions and map the island’s flora, fauna and particles.
Peter BonnĂŠn
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Two Sarcophagi, 1997
Corten steel. Acquired with support from Annie og Otto Johs. Detlefs’ OJD, 2005
The identical brownish-red sculptures stand firmly planted in the grass. Try walking around them, between them, run your hands over the rust surface. Knock carefully on one of the sides. What does it make you think of? Does the work arouse an emotion in you? Or do you just experience two boxes in rust-treated steel? The title may evoke thoughts of rituals around death: sarcophagi are tombs in which knights or royal figures are laid to rest. For the artist Peter Bonnén the work is not necessarily about religion or metaphysics, but about form and materiality. Peter Bonnén’s minimalist work should be experienced through the body, by physically moving around the work and investigating the forms from all conceivable angles. All the same the artist gives us – with the title and the coffin-like shapes – an opportunity to play and fantasize our way into the sculpture.
Eva Steen Christensen
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Fragments of Paradise,
Marble. Acquired 2015
2015
Two massive marble blocks have drifted ashore on The Art Island. Originally the nine-ton marble blocks come from the famous marble quarry at Carrara in Italy where Michelangelo fetched his marble 500 years ago. If you walk up close and touch the surfaces of the stones, you feel incised patterns. The patterns come from various cultures, among other things Indian ornamentation and a Persian carpet, which has the ancient mythical tale of the Garden of Eden as its motif. Turn your gaze towards the horizon and imagine the long voyage: from the Indian coast through the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. Now the blocks lie here, in Ishøj, as testimony to the different cultures in a Nordic landscape. Today cultures, traditions and narratives are merging together. We travel, move away and settle in other countries. Every experience leaves its traces and helps to shape us. Where do you come from? What has left traces in you? And where do you dream of travelling to?
Eva Steen Christensen
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SHELL, 2018
Steel. Gift from Gallery SPECTA, 2018
A dress, a conch or a Roman building? SHELL lies in the water among seaweed and sand and takes several forms. What does the shape remind you of? The arches of the construction could recall Roman buildings, for example the Colosseum in Rome, where the colossal round building is constructed from similar arches. The arched formations may also recall the structure on a seashell and the interior of the construction resembles the inside of a conch. Eva Steen Christensen often adapts familiar forms so they lose their original functionality. The work was originally created for the sculpture biennale SommerSkulpturSøby2018 on Ærø and has since been given its place here at the edge of the lake where the opening of the sculpture gathers things that drifts in with the water.
Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset
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Powerless Structures, Fig. 101, 2012
Bronze. Gift from Annie & Otto Johs. Detlefs’ OJD, 2013
Long live the child! Elmgreen & Dragset’s sculpture is a modern version of an equestrian statue. The traditional equestrian statue is a historical symbol of power that celebrates kings and warlords. They have been set up in prominent places in the European capitals for so long that we do not really notice them. The boy on his rocking-horse is not retrospective, however, but reflects our own time. The child is a new ideal of our times, a symbol of the human being capable of self-realization and of connecting with the world through play and creativity. In Elmgreen & Dragset’s art, criticism of power structures often goes hand in hand with an acerbic, humorous gaze at current society and our interhuman relations. The sculpture stood on Trafalgar Square in London for 18 months before it travelled to Ishøj. Now the Copenhagen western suburban region has its own equestrian statue, which welcomes visitors to ARKEN and The Art Island.
Olafur Eliasson
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8900054, 1996
Stainless steel. Gift from Hvidovre Kommune og Kulturby 96, 2002
Go for a climb in Olafur Eliasson’s dome-shaped sculpture 8900054. The two steel constructions stick up from the ground like the tips of icebergs. Consider how little of the world we actually see. Olafur Eliasson has been inspired by a molecular structure that he has blown up in size. But the angular network of the sculpture also recalls the ‘geodesic dome’, the architectural construction that the American engineer Richard Buckminster Fuller patented in the 1950s. The structure is used for giant stadiums because it is so solid. The title 8900054 does not refer to anything in particular; it just sounds technical and scientific. The year the sculpture was made, three scientists won a Nobel Prize for discovering a new molecular group with dome-shaped carbon molecules. In these molecules the atoms form pentagonal and hexagonal rings – exactly as they do in this sculpture.
Antony Gormley
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Another Time V, 2007
Cast iron. Gift from The Merla Art Foundation, 2011
A man stands erect, having come to a halt, and now stands motionless among the dunes while he silently looks out over the landscape. From a distance the human figure looks very true to life. It is in fact cast from Antony Gormley’s own body. If you go up close, you are in no doubt. On the man’s naked body there are clear traces of the casting process. Note the line along the side of his body which divides the sculpture into front and back. There is something unresolved and mysterious about the appearance of the figure. This also points to the length of time it has stood here. The dark brown iron surface is broken up by reddish rust, and traces from nature have been deposited on the surface of the sculpture. He stands unbudging, with both legs planted firmly in the sand, but what is he gazing at? The title Another Time V points to a time and place different from our own reality. The sculpture is rooted in a here and now on The Art Island, and at the same time gazes out into the infinity of the horizon.
Tue Greenfort
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Limulus Polyphemus – A Living Fossil, 2017
Reinforced concrete. Gift from the artist, 2017
A herd of horseshoe crabs is on its way up the banks of the lagoon. Do you recognize the species? It’s a rare sight! Normally these crablike animals do not live in these latitudes. As a species the horseshoe crabs are more than 400 million years old, and they are therefore called ‘living fossils’. Their history goes further back than mankind’s, and with their presence here on The Art Island they remind us of our own temporality and mankind’s short lifetime on the earth. Follow the direction of your gaze from the horseshoe crabs to the Avedøre power plant on the horizon. When waste is burnt at power stations, fly ash is produced. The ash cannot be broken down and for several decades has been used in making concrete. The ash is also encapsulated in the concrete the horseshoe crabs are cast from. Tue Greenfort thus creates a connection between The Art Island and the Avedøre plant; between an ancient animal and a present-day problem.
Jeppe Hein
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Modified Social Bench U,
Powder-coated aluminium. Acquired with support from The Agency for Culture and Palaces, 2015
2008
On Jeppe Hein’s bench you can rest your legs, take a break from the art and enjoy the view. And yet... First you have to consider what place you want to occupy and from what level you want to enjoy the view. The lowest, the middle or the highest step? With its modified expression the original function of the bench has been rethought. The bench is not exclusively a resting place but creates a social space with room for wonder, play and interaction. The hierarchic structure affects the normal dialogue of equals: who is to sit where and why? Who is for example to look down on whom? Since 2006 Jeppe Hein has worked with his Modified Social Benches, and you see them in urban spaces all over the world in several forms, colours and variants. Common to the benches is their changeable expressions. They turn a focus on the interactions between a work of art and the objects that we use in our everyday life.
Astrid MyntekĂŚr
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The Hermit, 2018
Foam, metal, polyurethane, resin and acrylic. Acquired 2018
Close to the water lie three oversized, pink conches as if they have just been washed up on the shore from the depths of the sea. If you get close to the sculptures you can see human faces that grow out of the spiral interiors of the shells. The conches are strange hybrid creatures – half animal, half human. In the encounter of climate, evolution, mythology and science-fiction, Astrid Myntekær explores the relationship between nature and humanity. Conches are fragile, mutable creatures whose bodies are transformed in interactions with the surroundings, and they therefore bear traces of global warming. Acidification of the oceans creates radical changes in their ecosystems, and like the coral reefs the conches lose their colours and patterns because the calcium decomposes. Today the brightly coloured conch is a dying species. Astrid Myntekær’s work points to the fragility and uncertain future that nature and mankind share. The hybrid creatures appear fleshly and sensual, at once alienating, ominous and seductive.
In the grass, along the path to ARKEN, a foreign form appears: shining white, stringent and smooth, almost hovering over the green grass. The title of the work is Stadium and refers to the shape of the sculpture. But something is different. The shape is different from the typical sports stadium, where the events are played out at the bottom of the construction so the spectators can follow them from the adjacent grand-
Ă˜ivind NygĂĽrd
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Stadium, 1995
Painted steel. Gift from Ragnvald & Ida Blix Fond, 1996
stands. Like the Colosseum in Rome or the Sports Park in Copenhagen. Øivind Nygård has turned the shape on its head and inside out. Try turning your back to the sculpture and sitting on it as if it is a grandstand. What do you experience now? The landscape, the light, the scents and the sounds? The expression of this minimalist sculpture is so concise – or minimal – that it comes to be about its surroundings.
Amalie Smith
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51 e.DSO, 2018
Sound piece 25 min. Acquired 2018
Hostile drones, mutated animals and endless rain. With the audio work 51 e.DSO Amalie Smith invites you on a walk in the landscape around the museum to listen to a dystopian science-fiction narrative set in another age: we are in Year 51 after The Last Oil. Move out into the landscape on your own and listen to the three characters of the story, who have lived at ARKEN for two years. The museum has long since been closed down and has been turned into a bank for manmade art, like the seed banks that have already been established. For it has become clear that humanity will not survive the many disasters that threaten us. What kind of art is to be preserved for the future? How is human history to be passed on to a future without human beings – who will listen? The work interweaves the Biblical survival story of Noah’s Ark with current issues of climate changes and art history. In the story, however, hope of survival has finally been extinguished, and the work of categorizing art is the only point of reference for the three characters. The work 51 e.DSO can be heard directly via www.51edso.info You can borrow a player and headphones from ARKEN’s ticket counter.
Lawrence Weiner
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THE WEIGHT OF THE LIGHT / FROM ABOVE / BROUGHT TO BEAR ON THE FROTH / OF THE WAVES ON THE SEA, 2007
Paint on wall. Acquired with support from the New Carlsberg Foundation, 2007
How would you describe Strandparken, the park that surrounds ARKEN? How do you experience the interaction of sand dunes, water and wild-growing plants? At the entrance to the museum, on the metres-tall facade, the American artist Lawrence Weiner put words to his experience. The large letters and symbols together form a sculptural poem that has been created for ARKEN with a starting point in elements like sea and light. Lawrence Weiner often uses language as his artistic material. He is one of the striking figures in the conceptual art that arose in the 1960s. Conceptual art is not an expression of the artist’s own feelings or the unique execution of a work. It is rather the idea that is central to the work. This also applies to Lawrence Weiner’s work for ARKEN. Here you yourself must interpret the artist’s idea and create your own subject on the basis of the abstract descriptions of the poem.
THE ARENA OF THE BODY 25 May – 1 September 2019 The Arena of the Body is free and the exhibition is open all day every day in the period 25 May until 1 September The exhibition has been supported by
Curators: Christian Gether, Stine Høholt and Lisa Sjølander Andresen Assistant: Rebekka Laugesen Graphic design: Siri Carlslund Translation: James Manely Copyright: ARKEN Museum of Modern Art and the artists Photos: Torben Petersen: pp. 6-12, 14-32 and p. 36. David Stjernholm: p. 34. Tina Agnew: p. 13
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ts n e v e r ts e n e m v Sum mer e vents Su m m e r e Sum Summer Art School Summer Art School for children age 8-12 will be held 2-7 July and 6-11 August. With inspiration from the exhibition The Arena of the Body we will, among other activities, create spaces for play and exploration. Read more about Summer Art School at https://uk.arken.dk/ families/ Book in advance at undervisning@arken.dk Art Walks in The Arena of the Body Explore The Arena of the Body and the other artworks in the sculpture Park with ARKEN’s art guides at 2pm every Sunday in June and July. The walks start outside the main entrance of ARKEN and take about 50 minutes. Free of charge.
ARKEN Skovvej 100 DK-2635 Ishøj + 45 43 54 02 22 info@arken.dk Tuesday – Sunday: 10 am-5 pm Wednesday: 10 am-9 pm Mondays: Closed Read more at uk.arken.dk and follow us on: facebook.com/ arken.museum and on Instagram: @arkenmuseum