DALAKONST 09, images & additional press

The juror Peter Johansson's opening speech



















The Salon-styled hall









The "controversial" decision of this year's juror to hang artworks in one of the halls Salon-style has caused a fuss. Two middle-aged male artists have removed their works from this wall - one even leaving a (silly) explanatory note behind which has been accepted as replacement for the removed artworks. Meanwhile, another middle-aged male artist has gone back to the museum to add a moustache and beard to his painted lady, one of the works placed in the juror's hall of "favourites", in the hopes of having the piece reassessed.

Overall, it's been interesting to follow the steady lowering of the watermark through all this, and watch certain artists do things they probably normally wouldn't (in attempts to turn the imagined spotlight back on themselves?). It's also worth noting the corresponding characteristics of these three "deserters" when one of the juror's main comments to this year's exhibition was, as he put it, the regrettably low number of participating male artists.

Personally, though, I don't share the indignation of these three, and find their acts somewhat humorous but mostly counter-productive. I have never quite understood why Peter Johansson is regarded as provocative, but given the disproportionate amount of attention generated here (and how easy it seems to provoke the local middle-aged male artists) maybe it's no longer that big of a mystery...

I can't help but feel a bit discouraged - is this as good as it gets?


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More press (in Swedish):


"Bra konst tål att ha grannar
Hittills har två konstnärer valt att i protest lyfta bort sina bidrag från utställningen Dalakonst 09 på Dalarnas Museum. Kommissarie Peter Johanssons grepp att fylla en vägg med konst från golv till tak har väckt sårade känslor. 'Johansson visar en tydlig respektlöshet mot mig som konstnär'..."
Read the article (one of the articles in the debate)

"Holst vill ha ny bedömning
Årets höstsalong på Dalarnas Museum ger inte vissa konstnärer någon ro. Nu vill Tomas Holst från Dala-Järna ha en ny bedömning av sin målning 'Hur gammal tror du att jag är'. I går gick Holst till museet med svart färg och två penslar för att måla dit mustasch och pipskägg på sin gamla gumma som står i ett skogslandskap i orange klänning..."
Read the article