Trygve Skogrand - artist and writer

Sorrow and shock

2011-07-25T08:56:00.000-07:00

The whole peaceful Norwegian nation is in shock and sorrow. On friday afternoon one right-extreme man, after 9 years of planning, released his personal ragnarok on us. To express his own crazed views, he blew up a bomb in the government district, killing and maiming several people. After that, he went to a political youth camp, and executed youth after youth after youth after youth, shooting them with devilish arrogance to «market» his own beliefs. Smiling, shooting and laughing while the doomed youths fled panicking to save their lives.

Today he has told the police that he had had his hair cut, taken hours of solarium, to look good on the press photos afterwards. Smiling for the photographers on his way to the Oslo courtrooms.

What can one say. It’s utterly terrible, utterly meaningless. Mad. Wasted. Utterly sad.

Expressing this through an artwork this afternoon. Sorrow and tiredness from the unstopping media exposure.

Christmas on the Church's website

2010-12-01T03:32:00.000-08:00

The Norwegian web site nettkirken.no has chosen to prepare for Christmas this year with a display of my art combined with inspirational thoughts for each day in the advent season. The web site is co-operated by the Norwegian Church and the Norwegian Seamen's Church.

Dreaming

2010-03-28T13:03:00.000-07:00

It is so easy to spend one's life just longing. Longing to get home from work. Longing for the weekend. Longing for pay-day. Longing for Christmas. Longing for summer. Longing to become an old age pensioner.

It is so easy to spend one's life just hoping. Hoping for the big win in the lottery. Hoping that everything will change. One day.

It is so easy to spend one's life just dreaming. Watching TV. Reading a book. Watching a film. Surfing the internet. Consuming. Not thinking.

But when shall one start living?

Emerging art

2010-01-24T10:51:00.000-08:00

On my internet site www.trygveskogrand.com is a new gallery: Emerging art. Here I publish works as they are finished, and some works that are still in progress. So if you want to see the newest of the new of my art, click in and have a look!

Updating the homepage

2010-01-24T07:10:00.000-08:00

Updating the homepage today, adding scans of various works on paper to the online galleries. There is quite a lot of them, it will take more than one day to get them all scanned and published online.

Going online

2010-01-17T11:32:00.000-08:00

My artworks are gradually appearing in the Bridgeman art database. So far 26 artworks are catalogued into the database, with more to come in the following weeks. Very exciting all of it, I think!

http://www.bridgemanart.com/search.aspx?key=skogrand

Christmas designs finished

2010-01-11T13:41:00.000-08:00

One very busy week, and 62 design variations for the Christmas porcelain set delivered to the customer! Very excited and wonder: Will they like it? Has my love of Christmas been enough to make an enticing and sellable design? Feedback should come in some weeks. And then well see... Well, it was great fun doing the designs, anyway!

Christmas designs

2010-01-08T04:49:00.000-08:00

12th day was yesterday, but here I'm still hanging on to the Christmas feeling. I have got an invitation to deliver designs for a new Christmas porcelain dinner set to a producer here in Scandinavia, and have been drawing angels and stars the whole week. It's not easy to hit on a design that will: a) please the masses so that they buy it, b) is traditional, c) is original and d) is true to my own taste and heart. I have maybe a handfull that is OK after a weeks work, another couple of handfulls that is more so-so. I'll keep on working, deadline is in three days...

Reading "A Christmas Carol". Seems less a story about greed versus generosity than a story about love and the fear of loving

2009-12-21T15:16:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas

2009-12-20T13:53:00.000-08:00

So is finally Christmas here again. A celebration that I am especially fond of, and enjoys immensely!

Of course it IS a rather strange mishmash of new and old traditions, with Christian, pagan and secular elements all mixed together in a sometimes lovely and sometimes rather bizarre mix. Some Christians I know are very critical to the secular and pre-christian elements in the celebration, wanting to remove most of them and make Christmas a pure and spiritual festivity. And I understand and partly agree. Somewhat. But in my heart of hearts, I like many of those elements as well, even down to the story of the old man with the sleigh, dashing across the moonlit sky. A poetic idea in its strange way, I think.

I think this mixed-up Christmas is rather like life itself, for life is really a strange mishmash of all kinds of elements, and one must always decide and chose what is good, true, what brings love and joy to both yourself and others. And naturally: Christmas is a very vivid example of the meeting between the sacred on the commonplace, perhaps the time of year when it is most visible.

The Garden

2009-12-16T03:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I saw the movie "The Garden" by the late British filmmaker Derek Jarman. Poetic and strange, and sometimes hauntingly beautiful. Very interesting to see how he puts the Biblical characters into modern settings, to retell the Christmas Story, the story of the fall and the message of Jesu's love in a very artistic way. Sacred pilgrims into the modern everyday indeed!

It is not a movie for the everyone, perhaps, due to it's strong message for homosexual love. And it's art, not hollywood cinema, so it's quite artistic and strange, without a clear narrative line. However, I liked it and found it inspiring.

International art

2009-12-05T02:55:00.000-08:00

Well, this is really an exciting day! I have come to an agreement with an international licensing agent for my art. All the artwork from the series "We Dreamer", "Sacred Pilgrims" and "The Christmas Story" are now administered worldwide by the Bridgeman Art Library in London. They have offices in London, Paris, New York and Tokyo, so this will really be a new opening for introducing my art to new audiences. I am very happy, and very excited - what will shine forth from this?

My art on Norwegian TV

2009-12-01T13:37:00.000-08:00

From my Norwegian publisher I learned today that the writers of the dreambook published earlier this autumn will be on Norwegian television this month, and will talk about my art as well. The authors are presumably very happy with the art I contributed to the book, so that is very gratifying. Shame that I do not have Norwegian TV here in Sweden though, it would have been fun to watch.

New audiences

2009-11-25T04:56:00.000-08:00

I read a quote from Thomas Alva Edison last week, he said something that one should produce the idea, not the product. No doubt he was talking about lightbulbs, but I came to wonder if the idea could be applied to showing my art to a wider audience as well. What if I could simply make the art itself, and then leave to someone else to exhibit and distribute it! Perhaps even more widely than just a common art exhibition, - more in multiples like art books or something. Or in commissioned prints, calendars and so on. This week I am consequently reading about fine art licensing, and how an international art licensing representative could make this possible. Very exciting!

Music video!

2009-11-19T23:43:00.000-08:00

My first video-work, out now on YouTube: a music video for a moving song from the very talented (and unsigned!) artist Woodrow. What music he makes!
Take a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBkZTwLQfPQ

I'm quite satisfied with the video myself. Making a music video was very interesting. In addition to the challenge of working with moving pictures in it self, it gave the additional dimensions of relating the video to both the text and the music. Exciting and difficult, and great fun.

Moving pictures

2009-11-19T04:47:00.000-08:00

These weeks I am working with a short music video! This is my first foray into the world of moving pictures, and it is very interesting for me the way the clips I collage together seem to influence each other and twist the story of the whole work. The video is for a song called "Orandula", by the very talented artist Woodrow. I'll post a link to the YouTube version of the video when it's finished and published - in the mean time I'll keep on working on it.

New

2009-10-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

I ended up with throwing the old sketchbooks away. Time for new art, new ideas, instead of thinking about old unfulfilled plans. And actually, - it was me that got the old ideas, so I can surely get them once more if I'd like. Or something quite new.

It feels.... fresh.

From my old sketch-books: Instructions

2009-10-25T12:33:00.001-07:00

One of the ideas that I still quite like, is the "instructions"-pictures. I haven't made them yet, and do not know what they would or will look like. But program code would figure heavily, program code with instructions for human life.

The instructions could be sad, like:

IF NOT [happy] THEN GOTO [drink]
SET [mind] = [confused]

or more complex:

DO (watch.tv)
- IF NOT [mind]=[happy] THEN
DO (drink.beer)
- IF NOT [mind]=[happy] THEN
DO (fuck.anyone)
- IF NOT [mind]=[happy] THEN
EXIT

or someting quite different:

IF [tasklist] = FULL THEN
ADD [mozart]

or

IF [mindstate] = [sad] THEN
DO (eat, sleep, rest)
IF NOT [happy]
THEN WAIT

or

{SUBROUTINE experiment}
START
CASE OF lotto.prize
THEN WHAT

From my old sketch-books: Resting beside the cross

2009-10-25T12:31:00.001-07:00

The virgin Mary and the disciple John, resting under the cross after the horrible day. Without heart to leave Jesus hanging there alone in the night, they have lighted a small lamp.

From my old sketch-books: joy-machine

2009-10-25T12:27:00.000-07:00

"The machine that makes you happy and well". You just insert the human into the machine, and the machine fills the human with joy. I remembered it should have a telling contrast between the hard, large machine and the soft, vulnerable human. Well...

From my old sketch-books: Sacred geometry

2009-10-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

A strange geometric drawing of God speeding over the earth.

From my old sketch-books: Sleepers

2009-10-25T12:25:00.000-07:00

A vision of large, semi-transparent balloons floating over the landscape. In each balloon a recumbent figure, a man or woman in deep, deep sleep.

From my old sketch-books: Sleeping in the church

2009-10-25T12:22:00.001-07:00

This was an idea to illustrate the safety in the church, that one could safely sleep like a child enfolded by the faith's warm embrace. Looking at the drawing today, I think that all this is well and good - but it would be better to go outside and face the world with one's faith.

Old ideas

2009-10-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

Today I am looking through old sketch books. The oldest more that 10 years old. A strange feeling.

Old, old ideas. Art I thought I should make but didn't. Plans I maybe someday would realize, but haven't. Well, some I have and some art I have made. But these old ideas - slightly sad, slightly touching, and actually I feel more than slightly impatient with them. It's rather clogging to have all these old ideas laying around. Maybe I simply should throw all these books away? And open up for new ideas for art instead?

Or should I look through them one more time?

Proto-sacredpilgrim

2009-10-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

Looking through old sketch-books today, I found this drawing of an angel. Striding through nature, crossing deserts, under stars - intent on his purpose. The drawing was made when I was at art school. The first trace of the idea that later turned into the Sacred Pilgrims series of pictures.

Words

2009-10-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

I was trying to write a list of words that is truly important to me. Ended up with the following:

- LOVE
- SENSIBILITY
- BEAUTY
- TRUTH
- GOD
- FANTASY
- GENEROSITY / ABUNDANCE
- CHRISTMAS
- SINGING / MUSIC
- DEPTH
- SEEING WORTH

Now, what shall I do with them?

Ill-fitting numbers

2009-10-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

Some of our central constants is rather odd and doesn't quite "fit in". Doing math on a circle leaves you working with π, which is 3.14159261... (decimals on to infinity). A square is not much better, there you suddenly stumble over the square root of 2, just as long and curious. And the central geometric constant of aestethics, and nature – the golden mean – phi, is in the same way without end. Could it possibly be that our mathematics doesn't quite fit the world, when these central constants turn out so strange in the mathematical system? Or - is it simply so that
neither geometric constants nor mathematical simplicity can excactly decribe a knobbly and strange universe?

Experiencing music

2009-10-25T11:24:00.001-07:00

Could one visualize music? I imagine a kind of abstract musical terrain that one flies over and straight through. Planes that fold out, long strands twisting and soaring and weaving together. Converge to hillocks and mountains, flying through canyons and out beyond. It must be thoroughly visualized, by someone who really puts his heart into both listening to the music and creating the 3D landscape. No easy disney-sparkle here, it must be so that spectators will lose their breath. Hm..

Book out soon

2009-10-23T02:34:00.000-07:00

My series of artworks on dreams will be used as illustrations in a new book this autumn. The text is a collection of writings from the Norwegian bishop Rosemarie Köhn and the psychologist Susanne Sønderbo, together with a large collection of quotes about dreams, dreaming - and making your dream come true. The book will be released by the Norwegian publishing house Juritzen Forlag on the 13th of November.

Book home page here.

We Dreamers

2009-10-10T02:34:00.000-07:00

It's so easy to spend one's life simply longing. Longing to get home from work. Longing for the week-end. Longing to pay-day. Longing for Christmas. Longing for summer. Longing to be a pensioner.

It's so easy to spend one's life simply hoping. Hoping to win in the lottery. Hoping that everything will change. One day.

It's so easy to spend one's life simply dreaming. Sitting in front of the TV. Reading a book. Watching a movie. Surfing the internet. Escaping on a holiday to the south. Dreaming.

One has to start living instead.

More meetings between the sacred and the commonplace

2009-10-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

There seems to be more people working on the same project out there. I got the tip to look at the art of American photographer Michael Belk. He used to be a successful advertising photographer, now he creates fine art photography. Very symbolic work, of Jesus and the modern world. Interesting!

Check out his online gallery at: Journeys With The Messiah.

Dreaming about flying

2009-10-05T01:06:00.000-07:00

Working on the Dream pictures. Don't know if they will be any good - at least many of them needs MUCH more work.

2009-10-02T01:20:00.000-07:00

Dog's World

2009-10-01T03:34:00.000-07:00

Rummaging through my hard disks, I found this artwork that I made some years ago, titled "Dog's World". A world full of dogs? Strange. I remembered that I made this artwork simply for the fun of it, - however the finished work strikes me as rather sinister, actually.

Fractals

2009-09-21T10:41:00.000-07:00

Suddenly I'm fascinated by fractals again. Last time was in the early nineties, - since them I've hardly given them a thought. But now I spend hours poring through the internet, searching for fractal beauties. They fascinate me, with their nature-like beauty, haunting, mystical and strangely familiar. In my current project, about dreams and dreaming, I think they can play a major part.

Working on a new project

2009-09-17T03:19:00.000-07:00

These days I'm working on a new art project. The images shall be all about dreaming and the imagery from dreams. I'm trying to express the feeling one have when one dreams. It's not so easy to express the mystical feeling of dreams in pictures, but I am trying. It is an interesting part of life, sleep and dreaming. What is it for? Is it full of meaning? Is it the soul speaking? The sub-consious? Or is it just the brain sorting imagery, like a kind of bio-computer doing maintenance work?

Fresh from the printer's

2009-09-17T03:01:00.000-07:00

A new book I've illustrated is fresh from the printer's this week. It is a book for learning youths about the Christian faith in preparation for confirmation in the church. In the book I've used stock photos, and drawn directly on top of them on my computer, so the result is a bit like youthful scribblings with a pen in a school book. The book is called "Ærlig", that means "honest", and has lots of prayers and thoughts from 14 year old boys and girls. A fun project!

Homepage is refreshed

2009-09-17T02:52:00.000-07:00

Finally this week I got around to refreshing my homepage a bit. I find it nice to have a place on the 'net to show my work, the big thing is to keep it updated. Well, new version is out now, anyway!

You're welcome to take a look at: www.trygveskogrand.com

Virgin Mary on the subway

2009-09-16T14:24:00.000-07:00

Part of the exhibition agreement with Oslo subway, was letting them keep one of the artworks after the 6 week exhibition period. So today I've sent the artwork shown here. The artwork is called "The Escape", and is taken from my Sacred Pilgrims project. Perhaps it will be an inspiration in the running of the subway services?

Rummaging through the sketch-files

2009-09-16T14:03:00.001-07:00

Today I was rummaging through my hard disks, cleaning up and looking at old files. Among many things, I found this idea-sketch for an art series. The thought was to work with the holiness and spirituality of everyday people, showing the rush of people around us to be more than a rush: holy individuals with a soul and an important life. Well, maybe someday - this is all that has been made so far!

A lasting memory in Flakstad

2009-09-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

One of my artworks is still hanging in the church in Lofoten. After the exhibition was removed after six weeks, I left one of the pictures behind. It now hangs in the baptism room in the church. It is nice to think about it hanging there.

Home in the Church

2009-09-15T13:19:00.000-07:00

This summer my Holy Everydays series found a peaceful haven in Flakstad Church in Lofoten, far north of the Polar Circle in Norway. The old church with its rugged timber walls lies between ragged mountains and the open Arctic Ocean, and made quite a contrast to the last exhibition in the subway in Oslo. A peaceful, lovely place to exhibit!

Sunny spring days - sitting inside and illustating

2009-09-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

One nice project this spring was a large school book for the Norwegian publishing house Aschehoug. The book is ment for pupils at 7 to 8 years of age, and that allows me to be relaxingly childish in the drawings. Which suits me very fine.

Exhibition in the perfect place

2009-09-15T11:01:00.000-07:00

This year's first exhibition was in the perfect place, I feel. My Christian art is all about the meeting between the sacred and the commonplace, so to be able to have a whole gallery at the Oslo Central station's subway was a dream come true. Many of the artworks are placed in the settings of subways, platforms, downtown Oslo. All close to just this subway station, actually. So the artworks had come home.

I also like the idea of exhibiting art in non-gallery settings, so that the audience is not prepared in advance for "seeing art". I think one may see art in another way when one is "taken unawares".

My artist's blog!

2009-09-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

What an exciting page to start! Here I'll write about my ongoing projects, and my musings on this & that. Show photos of my art, and of my sketches too. Write about exhibitions. Books. A place for ideas, I think!