''Blikk'' (in English: "Glance" or "The Gaze") is a Norwegian installation artwork first created in 1970 by artist , composer Sigurd Berge and poet

Jan Erik Vold Jan Erik Vold (born 18 October 1939) is a Norwegian lyric poet, reciter, translator and author. He was a member of the so-called "''Profil'' generation", the circle attached to the literary magazine '' Profil''. Throughout his career, he has con ...

. After being recreated in 2022 by composer and curator it is now part of the permanent collection of the Norwegian National Museum.

About the work

''Blikk'' is the first multimodal artwork in Norway and is also an example of early

electronic literature Electronic literature or digital literature is a genre of literature where digital capabilities such as interactivity, multimodality or Generative literature, algorithmic text generation are used aesthetically. Works of electronic literature ar ...

. The artists referred to the work as a sensual and perceptual experiment resulting in a fusing of poetry, music and

kinetic sculpture Kinetic art is art from any medium that contains movement perceivable by the viewer or that depends on motion for its effects. Canvas paintings that extend the viewer's perspective of the artwork and incorporate multidimensional movement are ...

. Artist , composer Sigurd Berge and poet

were commissioned by the

Henie Onstad Kunstsenter The Henie Onstad Kunstsenter is an art museum located at Høvikodden in Bærum municipality in Akershus, Akershus county, Norway. It is situated on a headland jutting into the Oslofjord, approximately southwest of Oslo. History The artcentre ...

in 1969 to create a work using sound, light and motion. Irma Jæger's sculpture was the visual focus of the work. Five large metal frames formed cubes that move around a central hub. Transparent sheets with colourful geometric patterns were slotted into the frames, and lights shone through them causing colourful shadows to be cast on the ceiling and walls as the cubes move. The soundscape combines poet Jan Erik Vold's voice, reading his poetry, with electro-acoustic compositions by composer Sigurd Berge. Berge combined synthetic sounds with recordings from nature and Vold's readings. The installation is named for Vold's poem ''Blikket''. Vold's reading of the poem provides part of the soundtrack for the exhibition. The poem only includes the five words ''BLIKKET DU FANGER IKKE MEG'' (in English: "GAZE YOU WON'T CATCH ME"), which are moved around to form different meanings with each line of the poem:

BLIKKET DU FANGER IKKE MEG BLIKKET DU FANGER MEG IKKE BLIKKET DU IKKE MEG FANGER

The poem was originally conceptualised in 1964, inspired by Swedish

concrete poetry Concrete poetry is an arrangement of linguistic elements in which the typographical effect is more important in conveying meaning than verbal significance. It is sometimes referred to as visual poetry, a term that has now developed a distinct mea ...

. It was published in 1966 as ''Blikket'', displaying various combinations of the words across 32 pages:

Exhibitions in 1990 and 2005-2007

The 1969 exhibition was almost forgotten, but in 1990 a simplified version toured the Nordic countries as part of an exhibition of 1960s Nordic art. A version of this was also exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Oslo in 2005-2007.

Permanent installation (2022)

The installation was recreated by composer and curator for the reopening of the National Museum of Norway in 2022, and is now a permanent part of the museum's collection. A reviewer for

Morgenbladet is Norway's oldest daily newspaper, covering politics, culture and science, now a weekly news magazine primarily directed at well-educated readers. The magazine is notable for its opinion section featuring contributions exclusively from Norweg ...

noted that it was one of very few kinetic art works in the museum, and that it was a complex installation for its time that reaches many of our senses simulataneously.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blikk 1970s electronic literature works Norwegian electronic literature writers Kinetic art Norwegian art Collection of the National Gallery (Norway) June 2022 in Norway