Young Melancholic Society
- The Surfboard
He thus began his own exclusive association and started conjecturing what I would define a deliberate self-isolation from the collectivity through the non-intervention in the social/political debate. An individualistic, thus melancholic, attitude of resistance against a society whose communal activities are highly structured, and mainly based on consumerist activities.
Carolina Corbetta
Surf with UMS (2003)
The Young Melancholic Society is a fictional organisation working for peoples right to not have opinions and to live meaningless lives. It has been materialised several times in terms of installation on exhibitions. The work has basically resembled an office (the YMS office) and consisted of borrowed furniture and various works on paper.
To promote the society a surfboard is constructed. The board design promotes YMS. The main symbol of the organisation is the dolphin, which in spite of its highly developed sensibility, seems to appear satisfied and constantly on the move, a constant wish in all melancholic. Selected Proposals 1995 - 2005 (2002)
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Surfing for Survival
Carolina Corbetta
Last time I met Terje Nicolaisen he was running a “sign club” in a village located on a fjord in northern Norway (1). Comfortably installed in a disused shop, for three days he had been giving out materials as well as hints to the villagers who wished to fabricate their own sign with their own message.
In this peculiar workshop, Terje showed me, by drawing it on brown paper, the work he would exhibit in Tønsberg: a dolphin-shaped surfboard with the YMS abbreviation marked on it. Because of its curved silhouette the board seems rather inappropriate for riding on waves. In fact, its functionality is of no great concern as this piece is essentially a sign, an icon for Young Melancholic Society new course.
YMS is a paradoxical (and parodical) club with one member only, initiated by Terje Nicolaisen after he finished his academic studies in 1997. Joining the popular artists union known in Norway as UKS (Young Artists Society) was not an option for him at that time for reasons he clarifies: “I didn’t feel very social and obligated to share my interest with the other artists”. He thus began his own exclusive association and started conjecturing what I would define a deliberate self-isolation from the collectivity through the non-intervention in the social/political debate. An individualistic, thus melancholic, attitude of resistance against a society whose communal activities are highly structured, and mainly based on consumerist activities.
However, as Terje subsequently realised, the self-confident presumption of not having, or better, not expressing any opinion turns more easily into a social death than into a critique to society. Terje’s strategy had arrived to a dead end; it had sunk, but he found a way up metaphorically surfing between person and collectivism, between (not too deep) depth and (not too superficial) surface, between melancholy and humour.
As brilliantly examined by Klibansky, Panofsky, and Saxl in their seminal book, Saturn and Melancholy, melancholy is an enhanced perception of the self, a delicate mood that could degenerate into depression (i.e. social exclusion) if humour would not intervene with its awareness of the inadequacy of the self, making less hard to look at -and interact with- reality. Starting from those considerations, the Italian writer Italo Calvino defined lightness that special mind set in which melancholy and humour are combined together.
This is the kind of lightness I see in Terje Nicolaisen’s practice. The YMS surf is a metaphor for an alternative, provocative yet feasible way of existing as an individual within society. Not as a component of organisations, groups, parties, etc… but rather through a personal action, a constant endeavour in search of a balance. Surfing. Being lighter. But light does not mean shallow: “There is such a thing as a lightness of thoughtfulness, just as we all know that there is a lightness of frivolity. In fact, thoughtful lightness can make frivolity seem dull and heavy." (2).
In that sense, I see Terje’s surfboard as a modernized flying carpet, as a futuristic version of a winged horse. It stands for the push of imagination, the thoughtful lightness that helps us to overcome the heaviness of everyday life.
Caroline Corbetta, Patmos, August 2003
(1) “Pep Talk in Hemnesberget”, Kunst I Nordland, August 7-10, 2003
(2) Italo Calvino, Lightness in Six Memos for the Next Millennium. 1988
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Proposal for Beach in Barcelona ( Encantát de servír le, gracias), Various Flight Plans 1998-02
In Barcelona the cigarette machine is talking to you, it tells you that it was a pleasure to serve you, and that it’s grateful for it. Moreover, the people do not seem to care. I thought that if could get hold of an airplane and a banner, I would use the same message to promote Associó dels jóves Melancólics, which is the Catalonian office of Young Melancolic's Society.
I also like very much the inner city beaches in Barcelona, which is never crowded, and has a low fashion factor. I think the beach is an appropriate space for showing art; the public often are very relaxed and casual when they receive the art and they got better time to think about what they see, than if they were to walk around in a museum like MACBA. In these contemporary museums, the architecture is so present and invading that peace of mind to think is utopia.
Actually the only intention with the project was to use the art-as-vehicle to send people a nice message, something that they where used to hearing, and did not seem to unfamiliar. Maybe they would let the mind float into wondering what kind of association that was, passing by with their banner. What could possibly be the point of such an association, come to think of it I often feel melancholic, but its weird going to this club about it, alas, there could be no possible connection between young and melancholic, besides, if you’re melancholic, you wouldn’t want to go to hang out with a lot of other sad people....
Maybe the people on the beach would think like that; maybe some of them would, and I would be happy and feel my work was successful.
it was a pleasure serving you,,thank you / Association of young Melancolics
Selected Proposals 1995 - 2005 (2002)
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Til "Norsk skulpturbiennale 2003" har vi fått Dorthe Abildgaard, kurator ved
Center for Dansk Billedkunst i København. Centeret har den offisielle oppgaven å formidle dansk kunst til utlandet og utenlandsk kunst til Danmark.
Etter at Norsk Billedhoggerforening utlyste ny "Norsk skulpturbiennale" for 2003 økte antallet påmeldte denne gang til over 110 kunstnere. Biennalen vil nå bli vist på to utstillingssteder samtidig da avstanden mellom disse gjør dette mulig og er ønskelig fra institusjonenes side, i alt er 25 deltakere valgt ut. Disse institusjonene har eksteriørmessig mye til felles men innvendig gir de helt forskjellige utstillingsmuligheter. Vigelandsmuseets utstillingssaler har et stort og luftig museumspreg, mens Haugars lokaler har et helt annet, mere moderne, galleripreg.
Dorthe Abilgaard har allerede nedlagt et stort arbeid i å utnytte disse ulike mulighetene ved besøk og møter med kunstnerne. Hun har også deltatt konstruktivt i planleggingen av katalog og har i det hele vist et usedvanlig engasjement for prosjektet "Norsk skulpturbiennale". Alle som er involvert har følt hennes innsiktsfulle og inspirerende deltakelse i alle detaljer, og vi vil alle herved takke henne for dette.
Like selvfølgelig og ikke mindre, vil utstillingsarrangørene Norsk Billedhoggerforening, Vigelandmuseet og Haugar, Vestfold Kunstmuseum takke alle deltakende kunstnere i "Norsk skulpturbiennale 2003" som nok igjen må oppleve at det aldri er tilstrekkelige midler til å gjennomføre hvert enkelt prosjekt i det omfang og i den kvalitet som hver enkelt kunne ha tenkt seg. Egeninnsatsen og tålmodigheten er som vanlig stor og arrangørene er imponert over resultatet på bakgrunn av de ressurser kunstnerne har til rådighet.
Arve Bringaker
