Tag Archives: scandinavia house

NORDIC UTOPIA: BLACK ARTISTS FINDING FREEDOM IN SCANDINAVIA

William Henry Johnson paintings are a highlight of “Nordic Utopia?” show at Scandinavia House (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

NORDIC UTOPIA? AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE 20th CENTURY
Scandinavia House
58 Park Ave. at 38th St.
Tuesday – Saturday through March 8, free
212-847-9740
www.scandinaviahouse.org

One of the best gallery shows right now in New York City is the small but revelatory “Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20th Century” at Scandinavia House, which explores the surprising connection between African American jazz musicians and Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Continuing through March 8, “Nordic Utopia?” comprises painting, drawing, photography, ceramics, sculpture, music, and video by and about Black artists who left the United States for calmer pastures in Scandinavia.

“It was the first time in my life that I felt a real, free man,” visual artist and collector Howard Smith said in a 1976 interview about moving to Finland in 1984 after teaching at Scripps College in California. “So much so that one day I was walking down the street, I panicked because I suddenly realized that I had no further need for armor. I felt absolutely naked. In the United States you could not possibly walk down the street feeling free, spiritually unclothed, because you always felt that you are subject to attack. Well, here I am walking and I suddenly realize I have no armor whatsoever. I felt light as a feather — and it was frightening.” Smith, who died in 2021, has ten works on view, including several depictions of flowers, the small stoneware sculpture Female, the white porcelain Frida, and the 1986 Calligraphy Plate.

Sweet jazz floats in the air as visitors make their way through the three sections: “Creative Exploration & Cross Pollination,” “Lifelong Residency & Lasting Careers,” and “Travels & Sojourns,” encountering photos of Josephine Baker (including one by Helmer Lund-Hansen of the Black Venus in a white fur, cradling black and white baby dolls), Babs Gonzales, Fats Waller, Coleman Hawkins, and Dexter Gordon, who settled in Scandinavia from 1962 to 1976; “Since I’ve been over here, I felt that I could breathe, you know, and just be more or less a human being, without being white or black, green or yellow,” the LA-born saxophonist told DownBeat magazine.

Dexter Gordon at Jazzhus Montmarte, silver gelatin print, 1964 (photo by / courtesy of Kirsten Malone)

In Hans Engberg’s 1970 two-part documentary Anden mands land, an ex-pat writer explains, “I’m in a new man’s land. Here, I’ve found friends, buddies, and allies.” Eight surrealist paintings by New York City native Ronald Burns take viewers on a fantastical journey involving floating women, complex grids, a carousel, “Mental Costumes,” and a pair of dizzying renderings of “The Triumph of Nature.” The highlight of the show are six oil paintings by William Henry Johnson, three portraits, two gorgeous landscapes (Sunset, Denmark and A View Down Akersgate, Oslo), and the captivating Boats in the Harbor, Kerte-minde.

As the exhibition approaches its final weeks, there are a handful of special programs happening. On February 22 at 3:00, cocurators Ethelene Whitmire and Leslie Anne Anderson and scholars Denise Murrell and Tamara J. Walker will gather for a free two-hour symposium. On February 25 at 2:00 ($5), Sámi author and journalist Elin Anna Labba will discuss her book The Rocks Will Echo Our Sorrow!, about the expulsion of the Sámi from northern Norway and Sweden, in a virtual talk with moderator Mathilde Magga. On February 26 at 6:30 ($13), Scandinavia House will screen Bertrand Tavernier’s 1986 film about Dexter Gordon, ’Round Midnight, followed by a conversation with New Yorker film critic Richard Brody and Gordon’s widow, Maxine, author of Sophisticated Giant: The Life and Legacy of Dexter Gordon. And on March 5 at 5:30, ASF’s Emily Stoddart will lead a free guided tour of the show.

[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]

NYICFF 2023

Dounia and the Princess of Aleppo is one of the highlights of NYICFF 2023

NYICFF 2023
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, DCTV, Film Forum, Scandinavia House, SVA Theatre, Sag Harbor Cinema
March 3-12, $17-$20
nyicff.org

Entering its second quarter-century, the New York International Children’s Festival (NYICFF) spreads all over town March 3-19, with sixteen features and eight shorts programs, including many US, New York, and international premieres, being shown at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, DCTV, Film Forum, Scandinavia House, SVA Theatre, and Sag Harbor Cinema. The opening night selection is Jean-Christophe Roger and Julien Chheng’s Ernest and Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia, the sequel to the 2013 smash Ernest & Celestine, about a bear and a mouse; the screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers. Among the other features are Pierre Coré’s Belle and Sebastian: Next Generation (with Q&A), the continuing adventures of the beloved characters; Marya Zarif and André Kadi’s Dounia and the Princess of Aleppo (with Q&A), about a princess and some seeds; Keiichi Hara’s Lonely Castle in the Mirror, based on the YA novel by Tsujimura Mizuki; and Kajsa Næss’s Titina, a polar journey with an airship engineer and his dog, “more or less based on true events.”

Among the shorts programs are “Heebie Jeebies,” “Girls’ POV,” and “Celebrating Black Stories.” NYICFF was founded in 1997, “rooted in the belief of film as a path for young people to understand themselves and others. All programs are designed to celebrate the beauty and power of film, spark the inherent capacity of children to connect with complex, nuanced art, and encourage the creation of intelligent films that represent and celebrate unique, diverse, and historically excluded voices.”

LUNDAHL & SEITL: SYMPHONY OF A MISSING ROOM PERFORMANCE AND DISCUSSION

Lundahl & Seitl, Symphony — Tunnel Vision, performed in 2015 at Momentum 8 (photo courtesy of the artists)

Who: Lundahl & Seitl, Barbara London
What: Performance and discussion
Where: Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave. at 38th St.
When: Sunday, October 2, free with advance RSVP, performances 11:30 am – 1:30 pm and 4:00 – 5:30, discussion at 1:30
Why: “In times of challenge, how to find a good balance between resilience and resistance when adapting to a changing environment? How can we stay sensible for subtle yet powerful shifts in our being together? What is an acceptable level of reality, and for who/what do we make the sacrifice?” So ask immersive art duo Lundahl & Seitl in regard to their 2009 piece, Symphony of a Missing Room, which they reimagined as an app during the pandemic. On Sunday, October 2, Christer Lundahl and Martina Seitl will be at Scandinavia House to perform the work, in half-hour increments between 11:30 and 1:30 and 4:00 to 5:30; in addition, there will be a discussion at 1:30 moderated by curator and writer Barbara London, host of the Barbara London Calling podcast.

The free event is being held in partnership with the Consulate General of Sweden in New York; Lundahl & Seitl have previously performed Symphony of a Missing Room at the Swedish National Museum in Stockholm, the Akropolis Museum in Greece, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale in India, and the Temple of Alternative Histories at Staatstheater Kassel in Germany, among other venues. The ever-evolving work involves white goggles as participants must reconsider their inner and outer relationships with the environment and the space they are in. Admission is free with advance RSVP.

IN CONVERSATION: THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF EDVARD MUNCH

Who: Patricia G. Berman, MaryClaire Pappas, Edward Gallagher
What: Live virtual discussion and exhibition tour
Where: Scandinavia House YouTube
When: Saturday, April 2, free, 1:00 (exhibition continues at 58 Park Ave. at 38th St. through June 4)
Why: Norwegian painter and sculptor Edvard Munch “seems to have been one of the first artists in history to take ‘selfies,’” notes the introductory wall text to the Scandinavia House exhibition “The Experimental Self: Edvard Munch’s Photography.” As the free show — which has been brought back, with some wonderful design changes that provide deeper perspective, for an encore run extended through June 4 — reveals, that statement does not just refer to Munch’s penchant for self-portraiture, as demonstrated in the 2018 Met exhibit “Edvard Munch: Between the Clock and the Bed,” which included a detailed look at Munch’s depiction of himself over the years. “Munch painted self-portraits throughout his career, but with increased intensity and frequency after 1900,” Gary Garrels, Jon-Ove Steihaug, and Sheena Wagstaff write in the introduction to the Met catalog. “These ‘self-scrutinies,’ as he called them, provide insight into his perceptions of his role as an artist, as a man in society, and as a protagonist in his relationships with others, especially women. . . . Using himself as subject but always allowing technique to influence effect, Munch was able to powerfully investigate the interplay between depicting external reality and meditating on painterly means.”

Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch, “Self-Portrait at the Breakfast Table at Dr. Jacobson’s Clinic,” gelatin silver contact print, 1908-09 (courtesy of Munch Museum)

At Scandinavia House, this is evident in his fascination with photography, which he took up during two periods of his life that were fraught with physical and health issues. Munch snapped photographs between 1902 and 1910, after his lover, Tulla Larsen, shot him in the left finger, and again from 1927 to the mid-1930s, suffering a hemorrhage in his right eye in 1930. He also took home movies with a camera in 1927. As in his paintings and particularly his prints, Munch experimented with photographic images, playing with exposure length, camera angles, movement, and shadows for his Fatal Destiny portfolio and individual works. He is purposely blurry in “Self-Portrait in Profile Indoors in Åsgårdstrand,” “Self-Portrait at the Breakfast Table at Dr. Jacobson’s Clinic,” and “Self-Portrait ‘à la Marat,’ Beside a Bathtub at Dr. Jacobson’s Clinic.” He is completely naked, holding a sword in 1903’s “Edvard Munch Posing Nude in Åsgårdstrand,” a kind of companion piece to 1907’s “Self-Portrait on Beach with Brushes and Palette in Warnemünde,” in which he holds a paintbrush. The woman in “Nurse in Black, Jacobson’s Clinic,” from 1908-09, has a lot in common with Munch’s 1891 oil painting, “Lady in Black.” There are multiple, ghostly images of both subjects in 1907’s “Edvard Munch and Rosa Meissner in Warnemünde,” evoking the phantasmic bodies in several prints on view, including “Moonlight II.”

On April 2, American-Scandinavian Foundation president Edward Gallagher will moderate a special live, online presentation with curator Patricia G. Berman giving an up-close look at several photographs in the show, ASF Research Fellow MaryClaire Pappas talking about Munch’s self-portraiture, and a panel discussion on Munch’s relevance to twenty-first-century photography. You can check out the exhibit from home using the new virtual tour here.

Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch, “Self-Portrait on Beach with Brushes and Palette in Warnemünde,” Collodion contact print, 1907 (courtesy of Munch Museum)

In the Met catalog, in her essay “The Untimely Face of Munch,” Allison Morehead explains, “‘He is not attached to any school or any direction,’ wrote the Norwegian critic and art historian Jappe Nilssen in 1916, ‘because he himself is one of those who advances and creates his own school and forges his own direction.’ Surely with Munch’s complicity, Nilssen described his friend as both stereotypical avant-garde outsider and chronological anomaly, as an art history unto himself, his own school, his own doctrine, and his own teleology. Perhaps then it is little wonder that Munch made so many self-portraits from the beginning to the end of his career, regularly depicting himself in paintings, prints, drawings, and photographs, and also little wonder that art historians have found them so preoccupying.’”

The Scandinavia House show, which has added a case of vintage camera equipment and a short video by Berman and is divided into such sections as “Landscape of Healing,” “Munch’s Selfies,” and “The Amateur Photographer,” concludes with a short compilation of home movies Munch shot with a Pathé-Baby camera, in which the artist once again focuses on himself as his subject. “I have an old camera with which I have taken countless pictures of myself, often with amazing results,” he said in 1930. “Some day when I am old, and I have nothing better to do than write my autobiography, all my self-portraits will see the light of day again.” It’s fascinating to consider just what Munch, who died in 1944 at the age of eighty, would have thought of contemporary social media and the selfie, offering new opportunities to shine a light on himself.

NEW YORK POLISH FILM FESTIVAL 2021

Małgorzata Imielska’s award-winning All for My Mother is part of New York Polish Film Festival

NEW YORK POLISH FILM FESTIVAL
Through June 6, $9 rental, $50 for all films
www.nypff.com

If you missed the sixteenth annual New York Polish Film Festival at Scandinavia House last week, either because you couldn’t find the time or are not yet ready to go to indoor theaters to watch movies, you still have a chance to check out seven of the nine films from the friendly confines of your living room. Through June 6, the works, programmed by festival founder and director Hanna Hartowicz, will be available online, either as individual $9 rentals or $50 to see them all; the jury consists of Stacy Keach, Veronica K. Hartowicz, Martyna Majok, Kama Royz, Cezary Skubiszewski, and Ewa Zadrzynska-Głowacka. In Jan Komasa’s Oscar-nominated Corpus Christi (Boże Ciało), Bartosz Bielenia is mesmerizing as a violent teenager who is sent from juvie to work in a sawmill in a small town, but instead he poses as a priest and starts preaching to the community, which has been torn apart by a horrific accident. It’s about revenge and redemption not only for the village but for Poland as a whole. A hit-and-run wreaks havoc on a close-knit town in Bartosz Kruhlik’s award-winning debut feature, Supernova, a harrowing look at local justice.

Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert’s Never Gonna Snow Again (Śniegu już nigdy nie będzie), the opening night selection, is a satire about a masseur (Alec Utgoff) with magic hands, but he just might be radioactive. Magic hands also play a role in Agnieszka Holland’s Oscar-shortlisted Charlatan (Szarlatan), based on the true story of healer Jan Mikolášek (Ivan Trojan), who starts rubbing the backs of the wrong people. Jacek Bromski’s Solid Gold is a political thriller pitting powerful businessman Kawecki (Andrzej Seweryn) against undercover agent Kaja (Marta Nieradkiewicz), who have a unique history. “The world is changing,” one character notes. “It’s no longer fit for living in.” Mariusz Wilczyński’s gorgeously hand-drawn animated Kill It and Leave This Town (Zabij to i wyjedź z tego miasta) is a bleak and bluesy piece of psychological horror about loss, with music by the late Tadeusz Nalepa and a character voiced by legendary director Andrzej Wajda. Zofia Domalik was named Best Actress at the Polish Film Festival for her portrayal of a seventeen-year-old who refuses to be caged in until she finds her mother in Małgorzata Imielska’s All for My Mother (Wszystko dla mojej matki), which won the Audience Award at the Warsaw Film Festival. Several of the films include special introductions from the directors. The 2021 NYPFF is dedicated to master auteur Krzysztof Kieślowski, who made such films as Dekalog, The Double Life of Veronique, and Red, Blue, and White; he passed away in 1996 at the age of fifty-four.

WINTER PERFORMANCE FESTIVALS: ORIGIN’S 1st IRISH THEATRE FESTIVAL

Ann Blake

Ann Blake’s The Morning After the Night Before is part of eleventh annual Origins 1st Irish Theatre Festival

ORIGIN’S 1st IRISH THEATRE FESTIVAL
Multiple venues
January 9-28
www.origintheatre.org

The Origins 1st Irish Theatre Festival, now in its eleventh year, is dedicated to presenting works by Irish playwrights from around the world, both in and out of competition. This year’s schedule boasts seventeen events from Belfast, Derry, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Queens, and Manhattan, at such venues as Scandinavia House, the Playroom, the Irish Consulate, the cell, and NYU’s Glucksman Ireland House.

Alone It Stands, written and directed by John Breen, with Chase Guthrie Knueven, Ed Malone, Rob McDermott, David O’Hara, Henry Raber, and Sarah Street, 59E59, January 10-27, $35

On Blueberry Hill, by Sebastian Barry, directed by Jim Culleton, with Niall Buggy and David Ganly, 59E59, January 8 – February 3, $35

The Smuggler, by Ronan Noone, directed by David Sullivan, with Mick Mellamphy, the cell, January 14-21, $30

The Morning After the Night Before, by Ann Blake, directed by Paul Mead, with Ann Blake and Lucia Smyth, the cell, January 20-27, $30

Irish Women Lighting Up Broadway, with Geraldine Hughes, Fionnula Flanagan, and Dearbhla Molloy, moderated by Patrich Pacheco, American Irish Historical Society, $10 with RSVP, 1:00

HOLIDAY MUSIC AND COMEDY 2018

Ronnie Spector will present annual holiday show at City Winery on December 22

Ronnie Spector will present annual holiday show at City Winery on December 22

Hanukkah is about to start and Christmas is only a few weeks away, so the city is filling up with holiday-themed comedy shows, concerts, and special events. They range from classical performances at the Met and Carnegie Hall to hip-hop, soul, and rock extravaganzas at smaller clubs to Jewish takes on the season. Below is a sampling of some of the cooler events; keep watching this space for more additions.

Sunday, December 2
Hanukkah Family Day, art, music, and more for children ages three and up, with Josh & the Jamtones, Jeff Hopkins, Jewish Museum, free with museum admission (children eighteen and under free), 11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Sunday, December 2
through
Sunday, December 9

The 8 Nights of Hanukkah with Yo La Tengo, Bowery Ballroom, $40, 7:30

Monday, December 3
Tenth Annual Latke Festival, benefiting the Sylvia Center, Brooklyn Museum, $75-$120, 6:00

Holiday Cheer for FUV, with John Prine, the Lone Bellow, and Shannon Shaw, Beacon Theatre, $90.50 – $301, 8:00

Elon Gold and Modi: A Hanukkah Miracle, with Sherrod Small and Talia Reese, Stand Up NY, $20-$40, 8:00 & 9:45

Thursday, December 6
Festival of Light w/ Matisyahu and special guests the Soul Rebels and GRiZ plus friends, Brooklyn Steel, $30-$35, 8:00

The Cecilia Chorus of New York will perform Handel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall on December 8

The Cecilia Chorus of New York will perform Handel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall on December 8

Saturday, December 8
The Cecilia Chorus of New York with Orchestra: HANDEL Messiah, with soprano Shakèd Bar, tenor Michael St. Peter, bass William Guanbo Su, and countertenor Nicholas Tamagna, Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, $25-$85, 8:00

Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays, benefit for True Colors Fund, with Amanda Palmer, Angie Stone, A$AP Rocky, Bebe Rexha, Bishop Briggs, Charlie Musselwhite, Dr. Elmo, Gina Yashere, Natalie Merchant, Regina Spektor, Robert Glasper, Sara Ramirez, Shea Diamond, and the Knocks, hosted by Carson Kressley, Beacon Theatre, $50-$150, 8:00

Sunday, December 9
For the Miracles: A Holiday Celebration, with the Young People’s Chorus of New York City performing Samuel Adler’s The Flames of Freedom and Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, conducted by Elizabeth Núñez, Met Fifth Ave., Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, $65 (bring a child for $1), 3:00

Holiday Concert, featuring Scandinavian and American holiday favorites and Saint Lucia procession with traditional gowns and glowing candles, with members of the Swedish Church Choir in New York, Scandinavia House, $25, 5:00

The 12th Annual Menorah Horah Hanukkah Burlesque Show, with the Schlep Sisters (Minnie Tonka and Darlinda Just Darlinda), Sapphire Jones, Zoe Ziegfeld, the Great Dubini, Allegra, host Bastard Keith, DJ Momotaro, Rara Darling, and Madame Brassiere, Highline Ballroom, $25-$50, 8:00

Friday, December 14
Yule Dogs: A Very Mercury Christmas, with Wormburner, Christopher John Campion with Mad Staggers, and special guests Lifeguard Nights, Mercury Lounge, $12-$15, 7:00

Sunday, December 16
Unsilent Night, participatory boombox concert with Phil Kline, Washington Square Park, free, 6:00

Ingrid Michaelson’s twelfth annual Holiday Hop takes place at the Beacon on December 17

Ingrid Michaelson’s twelfth annual Holiday Hop takes place at the Beacon on December 17

Monday, December 17
Ingrid Michaelson’s Twelfth Annual Holiday Hop, Beacon Theatre, $44.50 – $64.50, 8:00

Oratorio Society of New York: HANDEL Messiah, conducted by Kent Tritle, with soprano Leslie Fagan, countertenor Daniel Moody, tenor Isaiah Bell, bass-baritone Joseph Beutel, and the Chorus and Orchestra of the Society, Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, $28-$100, 8:00

Tuesday, December 18
KTU Holiday House Party w/ Why Don’t We, Highline Ballroom, $10 (proceeds benefit Cookies for Kids Cancer), 6:00

Saturday, December 22
Ronnie Spector & the Ronettes: Best Christmas Party Ever!, City Winery, $55-$75, 8:00

Sunday, December 23
Christmas Ball — A Merry Evening of Opera, Operetta, and Christmas Songs: Talents of the World Festival at Carnegie Hall, with bass William Meinert, baritone David Gvinianidze, baritone Oleksandr Kyreiev, tenor Arsen Soghomonyan, soprano Ruslana Koval, soprano Tamar Iveri, soprano Olga Lisovskaya, and the winner of the Talents of the World International Competition, Zankel Hall, $65-$95, 7:00

Monday, December 24
A Very Jewish Christmas, with Marion Grodin, James Goff, Sam Morril, Jared Freid, and others, Gotham Comedy Club, $25, 7:00 & 9:00

Tuesday, January 1
Ninth Annual New Year’s Day w/ Joseph Arthur & Lee Ranaldo, City Winery, $20-$28, 8:00