Karl Ove Knausgård Interview: The Other Side of Edvard Munch
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We met with the celebrated Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgård, to learn about his deep fascination and admiration for painter Edvard Munch (1863-1944), who struggled with personal loss and other people’s expectations to make iconographic works such as ‘The Scream’. In this video, Knausgård shows us an unknown side of Munch, while also telling a story about what creating is all about.
The Norwegian author shares how, when he saw a Munch painting for the first time at age 17, the “emotional, existential language” spoke to him instantly, and how Munch’s landscape paintings are very significant to him: “All his landscapes are so charged with emotions.” Knausgård goes to talk about the many motifs that were repeated throughout Munch’s career, one of which was that of his sister’s deathbed: “His life was very much about death when he grew up.” This very act of creating, even when it is something painful, can be a comfort in itself, Knausgård finds, adding that this also goes for writing. Munch’s way of connecting with the world, he continues, was painting: “You can use it to kind of confront the world and confront yourself. But you can also use it to hide from it.” Munch did both. In continuation of this, Knausgård feels that the “brave thing he did was to confront all of that inner turmoil that he had in his paintings as he did in the 1890s when he was rather young.” At this time, Munch was drinking heavily, suffered from paranoia, and had a hard time attaching himself to women - because that meant risking losing them. Ultimately, Munch had a complete breakdown and was submitted to an institution in Copenhagen for an extended period. Getting out, Knausgård observes, Munch started looking outward rather than inward in his paintings.
“If you want to get to what’s going on, then you need a form that’s not fixed. And if you try to do that you have to break down. That was what Munch was doing - he broke things down.” Knausgård also talks about creativity and form, and how Munch at a certain point got stuck in the past and in a style: “He got stuck in Munch.” This leads Knausgård on to artists and control: “In art, you have to let go somehow. That’s where the braveness comes in.”
Karl Ove Knausgård (b. 1968) is a Norwegian author, internationally recognized for his prizewinning novel ‘My Struggle’. The novel, in which the author describes his own life, is in six volumes spanning over 3,000 pages. He is also the author of a four-volume series following the seasons - ‘On Spring’, ‘On Summer’, ‘On Fall’ and ‘On Winter’ (2015-16), ‘Inadvertent (Why I Write) (2018), and ‘So Much Longing in So Little Space: The Art of Edvard Munch’ (2019). Knausgård is the recipient of several prestigious prizes including the Austrian State Prize for European Literature.
Edvard Munch (1863-1944) is a Norwegian painter and one of the most important artists of the late 19th and early 20th century. Munch was part of the Symbolist movement in the 1890s, and a pioneer of Expressionism. Among his most iconic paintings are ‘The Scream’ and ‘The Sick Child’.
Karl Ove Knausgård was interviewed by Christian Lund at Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf in connection with the exhibition ‘Edvard Munch’, curated by Karl Ove Knausgård, in November 2019. The exhibition features approximately 140 works - paintings, prints and sculptures - that have rarely if ever been exhibited. For more see: www.kunstsammlung.de/en/edvard...
Camera: Jakob Solbakken
Edited by Klaus Elmer
Produced by Christian Lund
Cover photo: A cropped version of ‘Self-portrait’ (1888) by Edvard Munch
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2020
Supported by Nordea-fonden
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Пікірлер: 43
Erik Satie - perfect way to open up.
When you spoke of his being careless with the painting. Some were outside; people walking on the prints.The thought came to me that “it is the process, not the finished project so much”. This is how I feel when I do my humble art. Once I finish a project, I’m kind of over it and want move on. It felt to me as if when Munch had expressed his feelings, his emotion, his sadness, his vision or simply documented his surroundings and observations, that that was enough. He didn’t feel he had to go any further than that. He got it down and wasn’t really interested when others did not see it as “finished”; he had done what he set out to do and was ready to move on. It is simply that some topics, for instance the death of his sister or his jealousy of losing someone for which he cared, went so deeply that visiting the topic only once was insufficient to work it out in his mind; and most likely he never did. There is definitely a lot of melancholy there. I hope that I’m not being too simplistic, but that is the feeling that I experienced from listening to your talk. I was very touched by your interpretations. Thank you for sharing your experience.
One of the best interviews I've ever seen. Thank you.
Knausgård really feels Munch’s work. and the way he set up the exhibition is wondrous from incredible paintings to the not so good ones. - from colors bursting from the canvas changing to confronting or hiding dark colors - from vibrance to the morbid. there are so many more styles of paintings than i knew about. he conveys the sweep of Munch’s work emotionally - the truth and depth of his works. he makes Munch’s paintings live. thank you so, so much for this audiovisual exhibition. it is totally deep and wondrous! 🌷🌿🌼🌱🌷
Brilliant interview. I admire the painter, the writer and the composer: perfect. So grateful for your channel.
Karl Ove Knausgaard Such a interesting man. Genius writer.
Uses painting to both access and hide from the world... was a great description.
Would Louisiana Museum of Modern Art be able to bring this exhibition to Louisiana? Both Knausgaard and Munch are personal inspirations to me. I am in Mobile and would make the trip!
Karl Ove Knausgaard is one of the only writers today that arouse envy in me. Being an aspiring writer, it both excites me and devastates me to read him. He’s just that good
Who is that beardless man, and what has he done to Karl Ove?!
@janeefremova9069
4 жыл бұрын
2020 Upgrade
Both of them share the same landscape, which forms a human being, but Edvard Munch suffered numerous losses during his life, seeing his beloved family members decimated by tuberculosis….raw impression got translated on canvas, the colors and images create havoc to a viewer, he leaves a vibrant testimony of a suffering soul, thanks for sharing your views with us🙏❤️🧑🎨🦋😅
Thank you hups. It is still live in many ways. The painting, itself sounds interesting.
it seems that munch's artistic trajectory as described by knausgaard is reminiscent of John Coltrane's search as it manifested itself in the tune My Favorite things.
Artists always paint themselves. Empty ones paint weak images. The language of their work comes from digging deep. The subject matter can vary but the soul is the same.
I have the sense that Knausgård is inspired by existentialism. He explores his Norwegian and Scandinavian cultural background. 150 years of development of the Scandinavian paradigm!
I think that he painted "The sick child" motif over and over again because he was trying to find an acceptance about loss perhaps? To move beyond his deep sadness and lonely withdrawal?.
@jeffsmith1284
4 жыл бұрын
Or maybe Munch is telling us if only unconsciously that some experiences of loss and pain we never resolve or overcome.
@syberiaok
3 жыл бұрын
Both theories are quite interesting.
I love this video but- - a common thing I see in museums is the frame creating at least 1 inch of shadow that blocks the top of most paintings D:
These theories this man states are very dubious!
Karl Ove is referring to a Deleuze essay about "form". Do anyone know the title of the essay?
@brandonsitch3807
4 жыл бұрын
I’m not sure exactly which work, but in his book about Munch, Knausgaard cites Deleuze’s book “Francis Bacon: The Logic of Sensation” and an essay of his called “Literature and Life”, so I would guess it’s in one of those
He's referring to a book by Francis Bacon where his writing about the painting before the painting. anyone who knows the title on that book?
@thelouisianachannel
4 жыл бұрын
Erik hjorth en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Bacon:_The_Logic_of_Sensation
@mcbdanielsen
4 жыл бұрын
@@thelouisianachannel Karl Ove is also referring to a Deleuze essay about "form". Do you know the title of the essay?
self-portrait in bergen is a 19th century ''selfie''.
9:39 do I ser a sort of skull 💀 in the over all painting?
@34:34
music is by who?
@thelouisianachannel
Жыл бұрын
It is a new version of original music by Eric Satie
What’s that background piano?
@thelouisianachannel
4 жыл бұрын
Gnossiennes by Erik Satie
@wes6571
4 жыл бұрын
Louisiana Channel Thanks!
I think, Karl Owe Is very brief writer. I am not.
Knausgard found in Munch his Soulmaid?
Pete Townshend of the who found himself laughing of a crucifixion of Jesus, and then he realized there had to be something there he could not understand.
@jan-martinulvag1953
2 жыл бұрын
How do you know you have created something? Its alive. Its living its own life. And when you meet that thing you are having an experience of that thing. The dark side of the moon by the Pink Floyd is an experience .
Bad painting contest : Picasso, Munch, Duchamp participated???
A passing fad.
He's not saying anything "other side" or original. We already know this story.
Bla bla bla
@jrgen7527
Жыл бұрын
Life is reflection of your own emotions. You should consider watching this again later, it’s brilliant.