The Scandinavian Institute of Comparative Vandalism () is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

cultural

institute An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

based in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. It was founded in 1961 by the Danish artist

Asger Jorn Asger Oluf Jorn (3 March 1914 – 1 May 1973) was a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramic artist, and author. He was a founding member of the avant-garde movement COBRA and the Situationist International. The largest collection of Jorn's works� ...

Peter Glob Peter Vilhelm Glob (20 February 1911 – 20 July 1985), also known as P. V. Glob, was a Danish archaeologist. Glob was most noted for his investigations of Denmark's bog bodies such as the Tollund Man and Grauballe Man, mummified remains of Iron ...

and Werner Jacobsen from the

National Museum of Denmark The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark, Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from S ...

and Holger Arbman of the

University of Lund Lund University () is a public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially founded in 1666 on the ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Jorn had recently left the

Situationist International The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...

, although he continued to support them financially. The stated purpose of the institute was to throw new light upon the Scandinavian culture in the age of migrations and Vikings. For several years, Jorn toured around Scandinavia and Europe with photographer Gérard Franceschi, former photographer for French writer and onetime culture minister

André Malraux Georges André Malraux ( ; ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (''Man's Fate'') (1933) won the Prix Goncourt. He was appointed ...

on his ''Musée imaginaire'' project, photographing ancient, Romanesque, Scandinavian, and Gothic figurative and decorative motifs in order to trace the connections between Scandinavian and European motifs.

Jacqueline de Jong Jacqueline Beatrice de Jong (3 February 1939 – 29 June 2024) was a Dutch painter, sculptor, and graphic artist. Biography Early life and escape (1939–1957) De Jong was born in the Dutch town of Enschede, where her father, Hans, owned ...

was also involved in several of these excursions. In 1965, the

Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 52,571 (1 January 2025).Gerard Franceschi Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this cas ...

and Ulrik Ross. Jorn was working with the publisher Skandinavisk Forlag in Odense to publish a series of books based on his research and documentation called ''10,000 Years of Nordic Folk Art'' (''10 000 års nordisk folkekunst''). Jorn gave up the project that year, however, when the press Skandinavisk Forlag refused to proceed unless the project was run by a committee of scholars, with Jorn having only one vote. He wanted total control of the subject of each volume.Anneli Fuchs, "Roots and Perspective: Asger Jorn and Tradition in Art," in ''Asger Jorn'' (Ishøj:

Arken Museum of Modern Art ARKEN Museum of Modern Art () is a state-authorised private non-profit charity and contemporary art museum in Ishøj, near Copenhagen. The museum is among Denmark's major contemporary and modern art collections, holding a variety of international ...

, 2002), 107 The Institute remained as a sort of imaginary museum, now housed in the Silkeborg Kunstmuseum, home of Jorn's art collection and archives. Jorn continued to publish articles and books on the subject of Nordic art as a tradition independent of what he called the "Classical-Latin" tradition. A publication series of theoretical texts (without illustration) in the name of the institute (''Meddelelse fra Skandinavisk institut for sammenlignende vandalisme'') encompasses four books, all by Jorn * ''Naturens Orden'' (1962) * ''Værdi og økonomi'' (1962) * ''Held og Hasard'' (1963) * ''Alfa og Omega'' (1980 posthumous)

References

Notes

* ''Comparative Vandalism: Asger Jorn and the artistic attitude to life'' by Peter Shield, Borgen/Ashgate (1998) * ''The Natural Order and Other Texts'' by Asger Jorn (Translated by Peter Shield), Ashgate (2002) Danish art Cultural organizations based in Denmark Organizations established in 1961 1961 establishments in Denmark {{Denmark-org-stub