Hunter's Delight by Lars Bjerre

1

LARS BJERRE

Hunter’s Delight

2

LARS BJERRE

Hunter’s Delight

Anna-Lena Werner

TriumphAL momenTs

The forest is the school, the enemies are the beasts, and thus

with reason hunting is known as the living image of war.

Juan de mateos, 1634

The setup of a hunting trophy photo could hardly be any

more absurd: The ensemble typically consists of a corpse

surrounded by proud and smiling faces. These faces be-

long to hunters and their friends, sometimes their whole

family, even babies and small kids. Concurrently, the large

animals are stretched out in front of the hunters. Their

heads are lifted and turned, so that their shallow expres-

sion directly faces the camera. smaller animals, such as

birds or rabbits, are placed in an awkwardly accurate pat-

tern on the ground. each photo serves as a macabre arti-

fact, a paradox trophy of a triumphal moment for the

seemingly well-deserved winners: The suggested harmony

and happiness abstracts, yet at the same time emphasizes

the brutality of the image.

exploring the ambiguous motif, Lars Bjerre creat-

ed an archive of hunting trophy photos that he found on

the internet – photos the hunters themselves would up-

load – and began researching the tradition of the motif ’s

history. he subsequently developed “hunter’s Delight”

(2012-2013), a wide series of small paintings based on

ØJeBLikkeTs Triumf

Skoven er skolen, fjenden er dyret, og således er det med god grund at jagten er kendt som et levende billede på krig.

opsætningen i fotografier taget efter en succesrig jagt kunne næppe blive mere absurd: Typisk ses et ensemble bestående af et lig, omgivet af stolte og smilende ansig-ter. ikke sjældent suppleres jægerne af venner, eller end-da hele deres familie med eller uden små børn og babyer. foran dem ligger de store, døde dyr. Jægerne løfter dy-renes hoveder og drejer dem, så det tomme udtryk er synligt i kameraets linse. mindre dyr, som fugle eller ka-niner, placeres på jorden i mærkværdigt præcise mønstre. hvert enkelt af disse fotografier tjener som et makabert bevis, et paradokst trofæ og viser et triumferende øjeblik for de åbenlyst selvtilfredse vindere: Billedets brutalitet bliver både mere abstrakt og samtidig fremhævet af den demonstrative harmoni og glæde.

i sin undersøgelse af det flertydige motiv har Lars Bjerre beskæftiget sig med motivets kunsthistoriske tra-dition samt researchet på internettet og skabt et helt ar-kiv af de fotografier, jægerne oftest selv uploader. heref-ter udviklede han ”hunter’s Delight” (2012-2013), en omfattende serie af små malerier baseret på de fundne

4

5

the collected photos. repeating the setting with differ-

ent characters, animals and sceneries, the composition

quickly turns into a pattern, an endless loop discharged

from the original emotion. With each repetition, the

original motif loses its cruelty and eventually the paint-

ing detaches itself from the photograph. instead, the fo-

cus shifts to Bjerre’s ironical approach, his manipula-

tions and painterly interventions. figurative and yet

roughly applied, the hunters’ faces are blurred or ex-

changed with humorous characters and items: buckets,

paper-bags, a harlequin, Winnie-the-pooh, kermit. oth-

er faces are replaced by faces of a different person, such

as John Wayne or the royal Danish family. By choosing

the medium of painting, Bjerre joins the tradition of

hunting paintings, however twisting it with the alienated

photographic motif as a reference.

fotos. Den bestandige gentagelse af opsætningen med forskellige personer, dyr og iscenesættelser lader kompo-sitionen få karaktér af et fastsat mønster, en endeløs re-petition, der er løsrevet fra den oprindelige følelse. med hver ny gentagelse løser maleriet sig fra det oprindelige foto, og motivet mister sin umiddelbare grusomhed. i stedet træder Bjerres ironiske tilgang, hans manipulatio-ner og maleriske intervention frem. Jægernes ansigter – figurative, men malet i grove penselstrøg – er gjort uty-delige eller skiftet ud med humoristiske figurer eller ting: spande, papirposer, en harlekin, peter plys, kermit. i an-dre billeder er jægeres ansigter blevet udskiftet med et ansigt fra en mediekendt person, såsom John Wayne eller personer fra Den danske kongefamilie.

i sit valg af det klassiske maleri som medie placerer Bjerre sig i den lange maleriske tradition af jagtbilleder,

men samtidig med det fremmedgjorte fotografiske motiv som reference og twist. Ligegyldigt hvor bi-zarre disse trofæbilleder måtte virke på de fleste, er det hverken et nyt eller et sjældent motiv. Jagtbil-leder er en gammel tradition i de skønne kunster, og i aristokratiet har jagten traditionelt medført høj anseelse. At jage har altid betydet mere end bare at dræbe: Jagten er ensbetydende med de-monstrativ stolthed samt et helt regelsæt af kon-ventioner vedrørende tøj, prestigeobjekter, præ-mier og sociale standarder. Jagten leverer først og fremmest en scene for en maskulin teatralsk selvi-scenesættelse, også uafhængigt af dens kontrover-

6

regardless of how bizarre hunting trophy photos

might appear to most of us, the motif is neither new nor is

it banned from the public. one reason for this is the long

history of hunting images within the arts and its prestig-

ious standing in aristocratic circles. hunting has always

been more than just the simple act of killing: Traditionally

it involves an acknowledged pride, dress-codes, prestige

objects, awards and social standards. however, not only

due to its controversial reputation as a privilege for the

wealthy and the noble, the hunt, above all, has delivered

(and delivers still) a scenery for a masculine theatrical self-

staging. increasingly since the 16th century, europe’s ar-

istocracy commissioned well known painters, such as peter

paul rubens and eugène Delacroix, to create portraits

that would show them before, during or right after the

hunt. At once, these images served as meaningful

representations of power and control and offered an

opportunity to depict the particular monarch or no-

ble man as though he were more approachable, in a

casually dressed and less formal situation in nature.

important values, such as courage, patience and

skill, were to be portrayed in these paintings. one

prominent example is “philip iV as a hunter” by

Diego rodríguez de silva y Velázquez from ca.

1636, which shows a full body portrait of the mon-

arch resting in the shadow of a tree during the hunt.

standing up straight in a comfortable position, his

head is turned to the right in an unusual half-profile

pose, while his eyes intensively focus the painter.

sielle ry som et overklasse privilegie. siden 1500-tallet har aristokratiet i europa givet kendte malere som peter paul rubens og eugène Delacroix i kommission at por-trættere dem før, under eller lige efter jagten. Disse bil-leder tjente til at repræsentere magt og kontrol, og gav samtidig en mulighed for at vise monarken eller adels-manden fra en mere tilgængelig side, iført praktisk tøj i en uformel situation i naturen. Billederne portrætterer således ligeledes et bestemt værdisæt og vigtige færdig-heder såsom mod, våbenfærdighed eller tålmodighed.

et kendt eksempel er Diego rodríguez de silva y Velázquez› ”felipe iV som Jæger” fra 1636, der viser et helfigur portræt af den spanske monark, der hviler sig i skyggen af et træ under et jagtselskab. kong felipe iV står fuldt oprejst i en afslappet kropsstilling med riffelen

7

Loosely holding the rifle in

his right hand and placing

his left hand on the hip,

king philip iV of spain

looks out of the painting

suggesting both, authority

and effortlessness. The

strength of his leadership

is also underlined by the

obedient dog that submis-

sively sits next to its owner.

famously an art and the-

atre enthusiast, king philip

iV presumably used the

theatrical advantages of the hunt’s impressive staging to

present himself as superior.

picking up on the graceful and similarly absurd set-

ting of Velázquez’ painting, Lars Bjerre incorporated the

portrait of king philip iV into one of his small paintings:

Three men, kneeling behind a massive wild pig, each carry

the king’s head, applied in the shape of a square. While

the half-profile pose is already strikingly unnatural in

Velázquez’ work, Bjerre emphasizes the artificiality with

the aesthetics of a collage.

his first obvious interest in hunting sceneries is ap-

parent in his large diptych “The hut” (2011), in which

Bjerre depicts the inside of an unknown hunter’s home,

opening the view into a dark pine tree forest. more than a

dozen of deer antlers, another prominent hunting trophy,

i højre hånd og venstre hånd placeret løst på hoften. komposition lader kongen fremstå både autoritær og ubesværet. hans ansigt er drejet i en usædvanlig profil, der tillader hans øjne at fokusere på maleren eller betrag-teren direkte. styrken i felipes lederskab understreges også af den velafrettede hund, der sidder roligt ved sin herres fødder. felipe – kendt som en stor kunst- og tea-terentusiast – har sandsynligvis ville bruge jagtens tea-tralske kvaliteter til at fremstille sig selv som den fuld-komne hersker. Lars Bjerre bruger den på én gang raffinerede og absurde opsætning i Velázquez’ maleri, idet han integrerer portrættet af kongen i et af sine små malerier, hvor tre mænd knæler bag et massivt vildsvin, hver af dem med kongens hoved påmalet i form af en firkant. Det kunstige element i den påfaldende unaturli-ge profil i Velázquez værk bliver understreget af Bjerres collage æstetik.

Bjerres interesse i jagt scenarier blev første gang ty-delig i hans diptykon “The hut” ( 2011), hvor han viser indersiden af en ukendt jægers hjem, i baggrunden en åbning til en mørk skov af grantræer. på husets trævægge hænger talrige hjortegevirer – endnu et eksempel på et typisk jægertrofæ. i serien ”hunter’s Delight” placerer Bjerre en anden form for tildækning over den mandlige protagonists ansigt – et bamsehoved. i de seneste år har Bjerre ofte beskæftiget sig med temaet i store malerier og parallelle installationer, der kredser omkring motiver med højstader for jægere og forladte skovhytter. i sine værker undersøger Bjerre forholdet mellem menneskelig

8

adorn the house’s wooden walls. played out in each of the

“hunters’ Delight” works, Bjerre places a cover on top of

the male protagonist’s head – a teddy-bear. This work is

followed by a series of large scaled paintings and installa-

tions involving the

reemerging motifs

of raised-hides and

abandoned wooden

forest sheds. in these

works Bjerre ex-

plores the relation-

ships of human in-

tervention and wild

growth, of processed

and natural wood,

of uninhabited spac-

es and quiet aggres-

sion, of nostalgia and

solitude. While the

two paintings “silent

imaginary Conversation i and ii” (2012) enter the in-

sides of a raised-hide and suggest a mysterious atmos-

phere, in “untitled” (2013) the wooden structure reap-

pears in the background as if it were a part of a stage

setting. surrounded by a snowy landscape that blurs into

the sky, the protagonist literally melts into nature – a de-

sire that seems to subliminally connect most of Bjerre’s

recent works. After all, to become one with nature is a

romantic idea. A true hunters’ delight.

indblanding og fri natur, mellem behandlet træ og natur-lig skov, ubeboede områder og stille aggression, nostalgi og ensomhed. mens de to malerier “silent imaginary Conversation i and ii” (2012) foregår indenfor og anslår

en mystisk atmosfæ-re, dukker træstruk-turen i “untitled” (2013) frem i bag-grunden som var den en del af opsætnin-gen på en scene. om-givet af et snefyldt landskab, der for-svinder ind i himlen, smelter personen på billedet nærmest ind i naturen – et ønske, der på sublim vis sy-nes at knytte næsten alle Bjerres seneste

arbejder sammen. At blive et med naturen er en roman-tisk ide, når alt kommer til alt. Jægerens sande glæde.

9

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

71

72

73

3

5

6

7

8

8

9

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

Hunter’s delight,

C-print on Alu-Dibond, 40 × 60

cm, 3 editions + 1 Ap, 2013

The hut,

oil on canvas, 151,5 × 243 cm,

(Diptych), 2012

The Lumberjack´s hut,

(instalation view),

painting: oil, rabbit skin glue

& pigment on canvas,

239 × 239 cm, 2011

instalation: Wood, nails & oil

paint, 240 × 185 × 50 cm, 2011

by Diego rodríguez de silva y

Velázquez, Philip IV as a hunter,

oil on canvas, 189 × 124 cm,

about 1636, Courtesy museo

nacional del prado, madrid

Silent imaginary conversation 1,

oil, rabbit skin glue & pigment

on canvas, 150 × 100 cm, 2012

Silent imaginary conversation 2,

oil, rabbit skin glue & pigment

on canvas, 150 × 100 cm, 2012

No title, oil, rabbit skin glue &

pigment on canvas, 170 × 300 cm

(Diptych), 2013

Hunter’s delight 1,

oil on canvas, 20 × 25 cm

2012



2012



2012



2012



2012



2012



2012



2012



2013

inDeX

page



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37



2013



2013



2013


oil on canvas, 12,5 × 12,5 cm

2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



(Diptych), 2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



2013



(Diptych), 2013

The Guide,

print on paper, framed,

30 × 24 cm, 2013

Irremediable Omission,

Birdcage, feathers & strings,

28 × 43 × 27 cm, 2013

Bird of passage (sound installation),

Birdcage & sound,

30,5 × 55,5 × 19,5 cm, 2013

Birdhouse (sound installation),

Wood, nails, pigment & sound,

31 × 13 × 22,5 cm, 2012

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

71

72

73

80

Lars Bjerre

Born in Copenhagen, 1975

master in fine Art, Central saint martins College of Art, London, 2011

Lives and works in Berlin and Copenhagen

This book is published in conjunction with the exhibition Hunter’s Delight.

publisher – kim Jørgensen

editor – Lars Bjerre

Text – Anna-Lena Werner

Translation & proofreading – marie Arleth skov

photography – Lars Bjerre

Graphic Design & image editing – malte Wetzig

edition – 250 copies

1.edition, Berlin, 2013

© 2013 studio Lars Bjerre, All right reserved

www.larsbjerre.com, [email protected]

no part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the artist.

many thanks to – kim Jørgensen, Galleri oxholm, Anna-Lena Werner, malte Wetzig,

marie Arleth skov, Dinne petersen, Justin holbech rasmussen

print – Druckerei h. heenemann Gmbh, Berlin

Galleri oxholm

ravnborggade 5, 6 & 8

2200 Copenhagen n

Denmark

www.gallerioxholm.dk, [email protected]

81

82

Date post:	06-Apr-2016
Category:	Documents
Upload:	lars-bjerre
View:	220 times
Download:	2 times

Hunter's Delight by Lars Bjerre

Documents