artist statement - the norwegians

"the norwegians" is about an investigation of - and a reaction to my roots, norwegian society, it's people, culture and social phenomena.

these portraits allow us to investigate a registry of norwegian types . in their faces and clothing, the scientific and visual grounds are freely laid to explore and absorb the character and soul of the true contemporary and historic norwegian.

the choice of color backgrounds refer to nationalistic themes such as the red found in the flag and the identity of the historically prominent social democratic party, the royal blue of the powerful and unruly north sea and the green of the pine forests, with reference to national romanticism, nationalism and the iconic classisism of portraiture, as well as the typical everyday norwegian being you find today.

i have created an ongoing series of portraits containing 50 norwegian men, the series is ongoing as i will continue to register and investigate the theme as we develop with the times. the men i have chosen for the series "the norwegians" are mainly people who are authors, explorers, artists and various other distinct personalities, as well as "everyday" people who embody the character and substance of "norwegianess".

the series is accompanied with essays by the prize winning norwegian author thure erik lund and gerhard sander, grandson of august sander.

The Pink Project

The Pink Project is an investigation on the notions of Pink and Euphoria. Pink is not only a color, but has connotations to pleasure and an escapist sphere where the world is harmless and innocent.

The pink room has no walls. It is a space of euphoria and contains realms of the innocent state of being. We experience an adjusted state of boundless sensitivity, a gravitational field of the absolute and a horizon of lightness.
The incorporation of other colors into the notion of pink, allows for the release of pink as a known set form. Colors have an effect on our vision, psyche and the space known as the room surrounding it. The behavioral and operational waves colors have, are interlinked based on their frequency. Using colors that are similar, such as orange floating into a pink space, creates the formal state of euphoria that the title “pink” describes.
thus, a movement of a pure solidity towards the lightness of colored air, as the spectrum thins out, allows for a landscape to evolve that explores horizons and dimension on a two dimensional surface.
A color that is not “pink” can be pink. When incorporating black, green and grey in the series, I do so with an observational security in the gravitational form and movement the light and colors have as they function insynchronization.
I work with lights and colors as installation pieces with the purpose of photographing the fields and spectrums of colors that merge on a two dimensional surface, capturing the unity of textures and dimention that light and colorinhabits as it moves through space. The idea of reduction of fields of light and color to a flat plane, exemplifies “pink” as an essence of euforia .

artist statement - panel series

the light and sound series is about an exploration of the senses, the experience of a color or the feeling of sound. i work within an abstract/minimal language that lends itself to expressing the pureness of light , color and sound .the light and sound panels inhabit a vocabulary of dynamism , yet stillness which is simultaneously organic and mechanical in nature. this creates a tension in the visual expression.

i want to question the notion of essence as i remove the identity of the known object . in this reduction to essence and purity i find the vocabulary of the senses i work with.
in working withthese themes, a juxtaposition of sound and light evolved. they appear as elements that are infinite and elusive, yet are decipherable through the physics of photography , and the notion of science and mathematics.

the blurring boundaries between the spectrums of light and the graphic waves of sound lead to a linking harmony and a visual relationship that a related language creates. this exploration of the common dialect of light and sound lies in investigation and instinctual transformation of the notion of sensations and experience. In order to signify it's nature , to translate the substance of instincts and the elements , these experiences must be visually transformed.

and a visual relationship that a related language creates. this exploration of the common dialect of light and sound lies in investigation and instinctual transformation of the notion of sensations and experience. In order to signify it's nature , to translate the substance of instincts and the elements , these experiences must be visually transformed.

anne katrine senstad

 

 

contact information: 212 631 0337 cell: 917 885 7248 email: anne@senstad.com
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