¶Timglaset #3
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¶Timglaset #3. 81 Bobbilott Fika: Innehållsförteckning / Table of Contents Joakim Norling: “proverb: words fly higher than eagles” 37 ¶Timglaset #3. ¶Nonsense is the sixth sense. PROVERB: ¶This issue is dedicated to the absurd, the nonsensical and the grotesque. Jokes and puns as serious artistic endeavour, but also boredom, WORDS FLY HIGHER THAN EAGLES seriousness and earnestness used to absurd or humouristic ends. (BENGT ADLERS Q & A) ¶Some of the inspiration was provided by: Akbar del Piombo Fuzz Against Junk (book), Eric Andersen The Untactis of Music (song), Hugo Ball Karawane (poem), Jacques Carelman Catalogue d’Objets Introuvables (drawings), Ivor Cutler Lemon Flower (song), Bill Domonkos, GIF animations, Bruno Dumont P’tit Quinquin (film), Jean Ferry Traveller with Luggage (story), Robert Filliou Futile Box (artwork), Franquin Black Pages (comic), John Greaves & Peter Blegvad & Lisa Herman Kew. Rhone. (album), ¶Bengt Adlers’ CV is a bit like a history of what Peter Greenaway The Falls (film), Ernst Jandl Tohuwabohu (poem/song), was exciting in art and literature in Malmö from Lyrikvännen 6/2012 Nonsens (magazine issue), Marx Brothers’ mirror the mid-seventies and onward. For fifteen years scene from Duck Soup (film), Francis Picabia Parade Amoureuse (painting), Bengt was the curator at Galerie Leger which Erik Satie A Mammal’s Notebook (writings), Soft Machine A Concise British was internationalist in its approach and in its Alphabet (song), Emmett Williams Duet (spoken word), ZNR Garden Party own way as important for the local art scene as (song). the council-owned Malmö konsthall/art gallery. And during those same years he pursued his own ¶Editor: Joakim Norling vision as an author of experimental, conceptual ¶Design & co-editor: Kolja Ogrumov and humourous books of poetry and stories. He has remained productive as a writer, artist and curator to this day. ¶In 1977 he coined the phrase “Nonsense is the INNEHÅLLSFÖRTECKNING / TABLE OF CONTENTS sixth sense”, which has the same attributes as a perfect pop single: simplicity, intelligence and a certain amount of audacity. It is the motto strunt 3 bull 3 for this issue of Timglaset, which means that it ¶Other boxes and objects are by other Fluxus- skitsnack 5 hogwash 5 has actually been chosen two times for the same affiliated artists like George Brecht and Ben dravel 8 hot air 8 function. Typically though, the phrase itself was Vautier. Brecht’s BOOK is also brought out and I trams 9 trash 9 never published until the release of Jagumaj, a suddenly realise where Bengt got the idea for his collection of odds and ends, in 2006. own The Very Best Novel. BOOK demonstrates the smörja 11 jive 11 ¶I met Bengt in his home in central Malmö where very essence or concept of a book; the only text struntprat 14 rubbish 14 the walls are hung with paintings and objects by in the book being descriptive of the book as a sladder 17 prattle 17 some of the best contemporary Swedish artists physical object: “This is the title page.” “This is blaj 1 tripe 1 and quite a few international celebrities. A the first chapter.” Etc. cabinet in his and his wife’s study is dedicated ¶I must confess I’m a bit in awe, being in the gallimatias 20 horsefeathers babble 20 to Fluxus and Fluxus-related boxes, many of presence of so much seminal, funny and clever abrakadabra 21 poppycock drivel 21 which Bengt himself released as part of the art. And the question, how Bengt got to know persilja 23 palaver 23 Adlers Editions series of multiplies, during all these legendary Fluxus people, almost asks larv 26 rot 26 his time at Galerie Leger. He makes me laugh by itself. demonstrating Robert Filliou’s The Futile Box, ¶“I had studied art history at Lund University bladder 30 twaddle 30 a small wooden box with a lid on top. A juggler’s and got a summer job at Galerie Leger, which was skräp 32 bilch 32 ball is put into the box, but when the lid is the only gallery in town that was open during nys 36 jazz 36 closed another lid, at the bottom of the box, the summer. When I had finished my studies they goja 41 piffle 41 opens and the ball falls out. asked me to come work for them as a full time curator. Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd was one of the bullshit 43 pretense 43 artists they worked closely with and I soon got to nonsens 57 nonsense 57 know him. He means a lot to me. He encouraged me rappakalja 61 mumbo jumbo 61 and introduced me internationally. 14 Joakim Norling: “proverb: words fly higher than eagles” Joakim Norling: “proverb: words fly higher than eagles” 9 ¶A while after I had started, in 1976, I curated a ¶“It was a concious comment on the group show called Present Projects. Carl Fredrik pretentiousness of much writing on art, yes. Reuterswärd and Stefan Wewerka, whom I had also I was quite fed up with everyone quoting gotten to know, wrote a letter of recommendation, French philosophers all the time in order to saying the recipients should take my asking substantiate their theories of art. It had gotten seriously and everyone I wrote to answered and silly. It didn’t create a lust for reading, nor most of them participated in the exhibition.” for art. Somehow that thoroughness just became ¶The list of participators for Present Projects silly. I have always been deeply involved in reads almost like a who’s who of the current ¶“At that time I was really fed up with novels ¶The third volume, Poetry Try Poe & Verse Vica the pedagogics of art and there’s not much art scene at that time: George Brecht, Francois that didn’t have much of a plot but had (1982), concerns itself with the two great romantic communication going on if no one understands a Dufrêne, Öyvind Fahlström, Robert Filliou, flourishing character descriptions that went on poets Wordsworth and Poe. Its first part labelled word ...” Richard Hamilton, Edward Kienholz, Carl Fredrik and on for pages and pages and the idea behind For What Words Are Worth and the second So ¶Silliness and high-mindedness, the mundane and Reuterswärd, Daniel Spoerri + Claude Torey, The Very Best Novel and The Second Best Novel What and Another Poe M. This is Bengt Adlers the extraordinary - they trade places in almost André Thomkins, Ben Vautier and Stefan Wewerka. were to really limit myself to the very bare again trying to find the very edge of banality everything Bengt Adlers does. His writing is a Many of the artists came to Malmö for the show essentials. Then finally I wanted to write a novel through different kinds of experiments on his testament to the importance of literature and and most of them Bengt got to know personally. just the way I didn’t want it to be like, but of source material. In the process he transforms art. It’s far too important to elevate to a place Connections that proved to be crucial for Bengt’s course I got tired very quickly and so I left it Wordsworth to quite beguiling concrete poetry where it is out of reach for anyone. This is also own development as a writer and artist. unfinished without ever reaching the conclusion.” while poor Poe’s poetry is reduced to just its why Fluxus resonated with him so early on. ¶“I dared tell Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, and ¶The third in the series The Very Worst Novel rhyming words. ¶“Yes. And before I got into Fluxus I was very the other artists I got to know, about projects I (1977) thus ends halfway through the plot. The ¶In between Novelties and Poetix, as the poetry interested in Dada and they are somehow related, wanted to do and they encouraged me to develop first two though are also about imagination, trilogy is known, Bengt however made quite aren’t they? Everything is possible and everyone my thoughts. So I sent them sketches which they because if you are to get anything from them you another kind of attack on established rules of can be an artist, even though they are not commented upon.” really have to use your imagination and fill in publishing, the interview book Interviews of aware of it. It makes the everyday so much more ¶Bengt’s first major project as a writer was a the blanks. You have to invest in them. Internews (1978). interesting when everything around you can be trilogy of conceptual novels, which got released ¶“Yes, but the plot is quite banal. The kind you ¶“Sune Nordgren published the [legendary and viewed as art.” as Novelties only three years ago through the would expect in a bad romantic movie. Much of my highly influential/ed’s comment] art magazine ¶Humour is obviously important in your writing courageous efforts of OEI editör publishers. The writing is about investigating banality. Where Kalejdoskop. Sometimes he had guest editors which makes me think of the famous Maciunas first one, The Very Best Novel (1976), contains ten are the limitations to different types of writing? and at some point he asked me if I wanted to quote: “I make jokes.” A Fluxus artwork is like a chapters with titles and only one word of content When does it become banal?” edit a forthcoming issue. So I thought about it good joke. in each. In the second, The Book of Matters: The ¶In the early Eighties artist Leif Eriksson’s and after a while I got the idea to make an art ¶“That’s true, and all the people I have met, who Second Best Novel (1977), one chapter is dedicated publishing house Wedgepress & Cheese again magazine which wasn’t about art at all but with have somehow been involved in Fluxus, have been to the environments, one to the principal published a trilogy of Bengt’s, this time three the participation of contemporary artists.