Tomas Alfredson ERNST BILLGREN

information script

ERNST BILLGREN PAINTer

tomas alfredson DIRECTOR

LARS BOHMAN GALLERY STOCKHOLM FebruarY 2003 ENCOUNTER

The artist Ernst Billgren passes by the galleries located at the crown of Hornsgatan and notices in their windows the works of talented artists. Yet he cannot keep from wondering whether some of them would gain from some external direction? The quality of the work is often hidden behind some thoughtless mistake that keeps repeating itself throughout the pictures. Like that painter who kept putting green paint smears in the corner of each of his works; how much better had they not been if someone had kept him from doing this? Ernst wonders if the same observation shouldn’t apply to his own artistry as well? Wouldn’t he too with some directing avoid the (for the artist) unnoticeable mistakes? Could there be qualities hidden within the artist that he alone isn’t capable of activating? Haven’t artists throughout history, up until the advent of modernism, been “directed” by religious institutions, patrons and conventions, and didn’t they, in spite of this, churn out fantastic pieces of art? Yet making art by order was suddenly something unthinkable, a violation PUBLISHED ON THE OCCASION OF MARKET ART FAIR STOCKHOLM 2014 upon artistic integrity.

PUBLISHED BY LARS BOHMAN GALLERY

EDITED BY ANDERS WESTER

GRAPHIC DESIGN AND PRODUCTION ANDERS WESTER, FREDRIK AXELL

PRINTED BY GÖTEBORGSTRYCKERIET

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHARLOTTE ALFREDSON, TOMAS ALFREDSON, PER-ERIK ADAMSSON

TEXTS BY ERNST BILLGREN, TOMAS ALFREDSON

PRINTED AND BOUND IN SWEDEN IN AN EDITON OF 700 SWEDISH COPIES AND 300 ENGLISH COPIES

ISBN 123-45-67890-0-0

APRIL 2003 FOUR SHADES OF BROWN

Tomas Alfredson is directing the ambitious film projectFour shades of brown, written by Killinggänget. One of the characters in the film, the trotting race driver Sören H. Lindberg has in his bizarre will, made to torment his heirs, commissioned a portrait of himself sitting on a bidet, to be painted by Ernst Billgren. The writers have put a non-fictitious person in the plot. Art must ask reality for help. Tomas Alfredson has to get in touch with the real Ernst Billgren and persuade him to make the piece that the made up character desires. Ernst agrees even though the project is “artistically directed”, and he is reminded of his previous thoughts of an artist under control of a director.

JANUARY 2004 PREMISES

Ernst cannot stop thinking of the direction project and contacts Tomas to ask him to direct a series of paintings, as a return of the favour for participating in the film. Tomas agrees to do it and they decide to rent a neutral studio where the project will take place. Tomas has previously rented a warehouse from a man who turns out to have premises suitable for their needs. The project begins. Little did the duo know that it would take more than ten years to finish. MARCH 2005 THE MOTIF

Ernst and Tomas run into trouble right away. Where do they draw the line between Tomas’ role as a director and Ernst’s need for artistic independence? A lot of things are unclear. They agree to co-decide everything concerning motives. APRIL 2005 EGO

Tomas directs the yearly televised Advent Calendar, this year titled December dream, written by Klas Östergren. Ernst works as the production designer. Tomas also employs Ernst as an actor in the series so that he can get some insight on the process of directing from Tomas’ point of view. JUNE 2006 DIRECTION

During the work in process the duo keeps running into trouble trying to define the concept of “direction”. Not that artistic work usually lacks voluntary or involuntary guidance. Some form of direction is inevitable when producing art, for example when the public appreciates a certain motif; should the artist then repeat it or avoid it? Should he be influenced by others opinions of his work? Is success a corrupting force or is it a clue of which direction to head towards? Tomas remarks that in the process of making a film the unfinished work is submitted to test screenings to get some knowledge of how the viewers may relate to the finished product. But they agree not to put their work up for show before it’s done, there’s no need to publicize their doubts.

SEPTEMBER 2006 LIGHT

Ernst writes and directs the mini series AK3 and works alongside the illustrator Josef Norén, who’s recruited to contribute to the Encounter project. Josef makes a digital version of the premises and a series of images of the room in different lightning is produced. When directing AK3 Ernst assigns Tomas as one of the actors, so that he can experience what it’s like to be directed. Tomas experiences both humiliation and embarrassment. NOVEMBER 2008 PAUSE

By the initiative of Tomas it is agreed to test the effect of the physical presence of the director while the artist is working. Tomas places himself in the studio and makes comments while the painting is made. Ernst reacts negatively and is troubled and irritated when Tomas literally corrects the brush strokes. They have to end the experiment. What was supposed to enable has turned out to be an obstacle. JULY 2009 SiX MANUScRIPTs

The work takes on greater speed once it is agreed that Tomas will formulate six manuscripts, all taking place in the same room from the same perspective, but at different hours. A strict form with the potential of endless variations. The same room depicted during the day, during night, in front light, in backlight, in a previous time and perhaps in the future? In the manuscript, the director specifies the narrativity of the motif, the artist as an independent interpreter of the script. The method proves enjoyable as well as successful. JUNE 2010 Movie memories

Things evolve into a pleasant process in which the paintings draw from real and fictitious references. They put objects they own or have borrowed into the scenography, fetishes and quotes from their previous works. Little greetings, tributes to colours, objects and pictures they like or despise. The concept of an object carrying symbolic meaning appeals to them both. Both the director and the artist have the possibility to attribute their work different layers of meaning, or to keep from doing it. To draw a line between the visual and the purely symbolic proves to be both a necessary and complex task. The ambiguous way to view art as allegories that has been so prevailing in art history isn’t as natural today. How important is it that an object depicted in a painting has meaning for the viewer even if she isn’t familiar with its symbolic meaning? An unexpected problem is the matter of light. Tomas is used to working with projected light, whereas Ernst is used to reflected light. A compromise is reached to enable the characteristics of film to lend itself to painting, and the way the room is lit is put under direction. NOVEMBER 2010 LONDON

Tomas directs the motion picture Tinker tailor soldier spy. Ernst notices the unseemly details in the sceneries that later on noticeably or unnoticeably become meaningful in the film. It is decided that the church steeple in the view from the room is to be the basis of the room in all the paintings, even though it probably won’t be noticeable in the final versions.

FEBRUARY 2014 VACATION

The keys to the studio where Ernst and Tomas have worked are returned to the land lord Göran Perning. Ten years in the making the paintings are to be shown for the first time. The choice of venue is the Market Art Fair, where they won’t be shown along other, and self directed, works of Ernst’s.

LIKE A SAILOR’S WIFE

Slept a long time in the mornings, made up plans She never realised, lost weight and could do no more than pine for Him. Now She stood there, how many times she had done that She couldn’t remember, keeping watch for the boat.

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In the afternoon, the repair men are going to come and deal with the roof. An irritating leak has created a cloud formation the colour of amber which is making its way across the room. Sad and pale.