TOWNSVILLE.homestead.com TOWNSVILLE.homestead.com/AUSTRALIAN_CITIZEN_OF_THE_CENTURY.htm Published on: 12/9/2005  Last Visited: 12/9/2005   Featured will be Ture Sjolander, an artist who works in the medium of video, with his lecture "Art in the Past, Art in the Future". He was thinking of cancelling his talk, "because art of the present is like art of the past: there has been no discovery, no pioneering, no development for 20 years". ... TURE SJOLANDER ... TURE SJOLANDER Intermedia Artist ... Catalogue text for Ture Sjolander ... " Je ne connais pas Ture Sjolander. En automne 1967 un long voyage en Amerique du Sud ne m'a permis de visiter la 5 `eme Biennale de Paris, ou il exposait, qu'a l'extreme fin de la manifestation. Mieux vaut tard que jamais. J'ai ete frappe par les oeuvres de Sjolander. Par leur esprit vraiment moderne. Par soon instinct sur, son usage poetigue des donnees technologiques des mass media: une liberation iconographique au niveau de la technologie de l'information, du langage de la communication de masse, Elle nous concerne tous, elle est plus historique que l'histoire, plus sexuelle que le sexe, plus criminelle que le crime, plus objective que n'importe quel processus d'objectivation. On atteint la notion d'une super- Expressivite de synthese, liee aux phenomenes d'alteration et de transformation des structures visuelles initiales. Cette alchimie de la vision a trouve sa pierre philosophale. ... In the short history of video animation the Swedish artists TURE SJOLANDER and BROR WIKSTROM are the pioneers. Their television art programme ' TIME ' (1965 - 1966) seems to be the first distortion of video-scan-line rasters achieved by applying tones from wave form generators. For almost ten years they have been using electronic image-making equipment for a non-traditional statement. It must be kept in mind, however that SJOLANDER and WIKSTROM have a traditional and solid artistic background. ... It is significant that the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts has decided to support SJOLANDER and WIKSTROM financially. ... Fahlstrom about Sjolander - 1961 ... Catalogue text for Ture Sjolander by Pierre Restany, Paris Oct.31, 1968. ... What has compelled TURE SJOLANDER and LARS WECK is not so much a technical curiosity as a need to develop a widened, pictorially communicative awareness. ... SJOLANDER and WECK have made silkscreen pictures from film frames. These stills are visual. But with television, screen images move and effect us as mimics, gestures, convultions. With remarkable pleasure we sense pulse and breathing in the electronic movement. The images become irradiated reliefs and contours, ever changing as they are traced by the electronic finger of the telecine. With their production, MONUMENT, SJOLANDER and WECK have demonstrated what has also been main-tained by Marshall McLuhan: that the medium of television is tactile and sculptural. ... Aapo Saask on the artist Ture Sjolander ... Decades earlier, in 1965, Ture Sjolander's electronically manipulated images were broadcasted by the Swedish Television (SVT). Among other things, Ture Sjolander was experimenting with the question of how much the portrait of a person could be changed before it was unrecognizable, something which has pioneered the amazing morph-technique that is used today. Gene Youngblood, who, alongside with Marshall McLuchan, is the most celebrated media-philosopher of today, devoted a whole chapter in his book Expanded Cinema, 1970, (Pre face by Buckminster-Fuller) to the experiments of the SVT. Expanded cinema means transgression of conventions as well as mind-expanding transgressions and new definitions. Sjolander's broadcasts were not technically sophisticated, but they were ground-breaking. The film mentioned by Youngblood is "Monument" (1968) by Ture Sjolander and Lars Weck. The other earlier televised pioneering animation were "TIME" (1965/66) by Ture Sjolander and Bror Wikstrom, and later "Space in the Brain" (1969) by Ture Sjolander, Bror Wikstrom, Sven Hoglund and Lasse Svanberg. Whereas most of the modern-day artists fade into oblivion, Ture Sjolander has found his place in the art history by the making of those films. Ture, a lad from the northern city of Sundsvall, had instant success with his opening exhibition at the Sundsvalls Museum 1961. He moved to Stockholm in the beginning of the 1960's. At an exhibition in 1964 at Karlsson Gallery his imagery upset the public so much that the gallery immediately became the trendiest place for young artists in Stockholm. In 1968, he created another scandal, when the film "Monument" was televised in most European countries. For a couple of years, Ture Sjolander was celebrated in France, Italy, Switzerland, Great Britain and the USA. In Sweden there was a lot of jealousy. The Museum of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Sweden, to name a few, bought his works, but the techniques he worked with were expensive and after a few years, he found himself without resources. Instead he started to work with celebrities such as Charlie Chaplin and Greta Garbo. They taught him that exile - mental and physical - is the only way to escape destruction for a creative genius. He moved to Australia. Ture Sjolander's works include photos, films, books, articles, textiles, tv-programs, video-installations, happenings, sculptures and paintings - all scattered around the Globe. ... Many engineers were probably working away in their cellars in those days, trying to do the same thing, but Sjolander was the first person to show his results on the air. If any of you would like to have a look at the Godfather of animation, you can find a glimpse of him by googling. He did not seek to patent his inventions and he has made no money from it. However, he has made it to the history books as one of the great precursors of art - and perhaps also of technology - of the 20th century. For the past decades, Ture Sjolander has mostly lived in Australia, but he has also worked in other countries, such as Papua New Guinea and China. After a couple of decades of silence, Sjolander's groundbreaking work was shown at Fylkingen, the avant guard media and music hide out in Stockholm in the spring of 2004. In the autumn of 2004, some of his recent acrylic paintings on canvas were exhibited at the Gallery Svenshog outside of Lund, Sweden. This was to commemorate the forty years that have gone by since his last (scandalous) exhibition at Lunds Konsthall. Many artists take a pleasure in provoking the established art world. Ture Sjolander also provokes the rest of the world. ... Ture Sjolander is eager to become a citizen of Australia - but he rejects anything to do with Britain or the Queen. "I love Australia, my greatest concern is that Australians don't love it enough. As soon it is possible to become a citizen of Australia without becoming a subject of the Queen then I will seize the opportunity" he said. In the meantime ex-artist Ture, 54, will keep his Swedish passport and keep hoping for the social changes he sees as vital for Australia in general and for Townsville i particular. "I am tired of art, painting has no relevance in this modern age" said Sjolander, whose work is exhibited in Sweden's National Gallery, Museum of Modern Art and other international galleries. "All of society has embraced technology, to improve performance and to reach as many people as possible except for the artistic world. It is blinkered and tied to the principle of one-off paintings and limited edition prints. "Perhaps it is still relevant in the Third World countries which have no access to technology but in the Western World it is finished. It is like making only one hand-written copy of a book". Ture believes that the art establishment, the galleries and curators are perpetuating an anachronism and he wants no part of it. His plan is to change the world - well, Australia at any rate. He recently sponsored a public competition to find a new name for the combined city of Townsville/Thuringgova. The winner of the $500 prize was Don Talbot of Cranbrook whose suggestion was "Queensland City". "There are many things I would like to see in Australia," he said. ... Although they have now separated, Ture continues to live in Townsville with his 20-month-old son, Matu because he thinks it is an ideal place. When he first arrived, he found that people were much friendlier if they thought he was a tourist. They would welcome him and offer help. If he said he lived here, their concern and interest shut of immediately. "S I started to pretend that I was a tourist and people in shops and buses and taxis were extremely friendly. When I saw the same person again I would tell them I was back again on holiday." Ture has abandoned this game now and hopes for a political future. His concerns are many and he is passionate about them all. Ture Sjolander not one to remain uncommitted even though some of his views may seem contradictory. On the one hand sjolanders.homestead.com sjolanders.homestead.com/KINDOFRESUME.htm Published on: 10/1/2005  Last Visited: 10/1/2005   "Swedish artists Ture Sjolander, Lars Weck, and Bengt Modin produced M o n u m e n t ( 1967 ), a program for experimental television which combined pre-recorded film, slides, and videotapes in a process that distorted images during the transmission of the image from the tape to the television. ... This following article about: "TIME" by Ture Sjolander and Bror Wikstrom, was published in Dagens Nyheter ... So the artists Ture Sjolander and Bror Wikstrom say, of current interest as they are for the coming jazz festival within the Festival of Stockholm. Some time during the three days of the jazz festival (Sept 16 - 18) the two picture experimenter's new film is shown on TV. ... Sjolander - Wikstrom are fully conscious of the topicalness of today, another reason for choosing television. ... Ture Sjolander and Bror Wikstrom hold that they by "TIME" have accomplished a total reflection of the present. ... Ture Sjolander is eager to become a citizen of Australia - but he rejects anything to do with Britain or the Queen. "I love Australia, my greatest concern is that Australians don't love it enough. As soon it is possible to become a citizen of Australia without becoming a subject of the Queen then I will seize the opportunity" he said. In the meantime ex-artist Ture, 54, will keep his Swedish passport and keep hoping for the social changes he sees as vital for Australia in general and for Townsville i particular. "I am tired of art, painting has no relevance in this modern age" said Sjolander, whose work is exhibited in Sweden's National Gallery, Museum of Modern Art and other international galleries. "All of society has embraced technology, to improve performance and to reach as many people as possible except for the artistic world. It is blinkered and tied to the principle of one-off paintings and limited edition prints. "Perhaps it is still relevant in the Third World countries which have no access to technology but in the Western World it is finished. It is like making only one hand-written copy of a book". Ture believes that the art establishment, the galleries and curators are perpetuating an anachronism and he wants no part of it. His plan is to change the world - well, Australia at any rate. He recently sponsored a public competition to find a new name for the combined city of Townsville/Thuringgova. ... Although they have now separated, Ture continues to live in Townsville with his 20-month-old son, Matu because he thinks it is an ideal place. When he first arrived, he found that people were much friendlier if they thought he was a tourist. They would welcome him and offer help. If he said he lived here, their concern and interest shut of immediately. "S I started to pretend that I was a tourist and people in shops and buses and taxis were extremely friendly. When I saw the same person again I would tell them I was back again on holiday." Ture has abandoned this game now and hopes for a political future. His concerns are many and he is passionate about them all. Ture Sjolander not one to remain uncommitted even though some of his views may seem contradictory. On the one hand he is concerned about over-developement of Townsville. He feels that it is a good size now and double the population, as some developers have promised to do would destroy the lifestyle many find attractive. ... ARTIST Ture Sjolander will spend $10.000 of taxpayers' money raising the ire of north Queenslanders. Mr Sjolander, of Townsville, a Swedish expatriate, says he will expose the harsh realities of the social issues affecting the area i a series of two-minutes segments of "electronic art" to be aired weekly on television. he will buy the air-time with a State Government arts grant. "This is not a paint brush, it is a power tool," Mr Sjolander said. "I will criticise all the things that people ignore or don't want to think about to make them aware through art. "So much art doesn't touch people anymore, or has no relevance." Mr Sjolander, a passionate and outspoken man, has been involved in art from painting to videoproduction, since 1962. He has written several internationally published books, including Garbo, a pictorial biography of movie star Greta Garbo, and was commissioned by the 70s Swedish rock phenomenon Abba to create a tapestry. Mr Sjolander was also commissioned by silent screen star Charlie Chaplin to produce an art portfolio. ... "These are all the things that happen in this area and they should be expressed in art to reflect the area," Mr Sjolander said. He believes art in the modern world should be expressed using technology and says that paintings are out-dated. He has even devised a plan to exhibit art on the walls of Townsville Airport terminal "for all the world to see". The large vacant walls in the terminal should be used to hanf paintings and tapestries, and sculptures could adorn the flight deck, the first-class lounge and the departure lounge, he said. His proposal suggest that the artworks be acquired on a six-montly basis and artists may have them on for sale. "Art can be anything at all," Mr Sjolander said. ... A PILOT project to display art on the vacant wall spaces at the Townsville airport has been proposed by local artist Ture Sjolander. ... Mr Sjolander believes that as the airport is the first point of contact for businessmen, domestic and overseas tourists and returning residents, there was no reason why the airport itself should not become an attraction. "I propose that the large vacant wall spaces be used for a semi-permanent art display which could include a number of large paintings and tapestries. " In addition to this, a small number of free standing sculptured piece could be easily be accomodated." Mr Sjolander believed the flight deck, the first class lounge and the departure lounge were other attractive areas where graphic and smaller size artworks could be displayed. "These could be accomplished with minimal installation of lighting and hanging equipment," he said. "The pilot project for Townsville airport can be realised with very little outlay, mutually benefiting the professional contemporary artists of North Queensland and the Federal Airports Corporation". From this experiment could evolve the creation of a unique airport environement which could become the blueprint for others, Mr Sjolander said. He also envisaged the formation of an art investment consultancy group under the airport corporation for future interstate exhibition exchange. Support for the venture has been pledged by Perc Tucker Gallery director Ross Searle and artist and James Cook University art teacher Anne Lord, both of whom have expressed wish to join Mr Sjolander on the selection committee for the first exhibition. ... Mr Ture Sjolander's artistic work represents more than one technique, from traditional tapestry work to visualisation of electronic computing. He is a pioneer in video-art. His work contributed to the development of the video-synthesizer. Mr Sjolander has earned an international reputation for his multimedia art work since his debut in 1960. "Mr Sjolander has also served as a member of the board of the Swedish Artists Society," former Minister for Cultural Affairs in Sweden, Mr Bengt Goransson. ... Mr Sjolander has produced television programs for Swedish Television including The Role of Photography, Time, Monument, and Space in the Brain. He is skilled in all kinds of printing techniques and is also a professional photographer. Mr Sjolander has written several internationally published books. ... Mr Sjolander has created monumental sized interior artwork for large industrial complexes in Sweden using various techniques. He has had a large number of seminars and exhibitions throughout Europe and he participated in the Fifth Biennale in Paris. He has given lectures throughout world on art and technology, includinga lecture last year at the Australian Film Institute in Sydney. One of the topics of his lectures is possible establishment of multicultural communication by satellite. This would include a three week international TV high tech and arts festival, the commersialisation of peace via satellite and the formation of an internatinal lobby group to connect all Television systems of the world. He is presently involved with negotiations with Uplinger Enterprises (USA), the organisation which organised Live Aid and Sport Aid, about establishing an annual three week satellite link up. ... Mr Sjolander has conducted research into Townsville's history and the city council have received a proposal to revise the history of the city. His research has shown the first European to land in Townsville arrived 49 years earlier then previously believed. The discovery may be celebrated with a special Townsville Day and a 220 year celebration in 1990. He is also skilled in radio productions and TV production. Mr Sjolander is interested in establishing an international artist's centre in Townsville to display exhibitions from international artists. He is a mem turesjolander.homestead.com turesjolander.homestead.com/READINGS.htm Published on: 8/23/2005  Last Visited: 8/23/2005   "Swedish artists Ture Sjolander, Lars Weck, and Bengt Modin produced M o n u m e n t ( 1967 ), a program for experimental television which combined pre-recorded film, slides, and videotapes in a process that distorted images during the transmission of the image from the tape to the television. ... This following article about: "TIME" by Ture Sjolander and Bror Wikstrom, was published in Dagens Nyheter ... So the artists Ture Sjolander and Bror Wikstrom say, of current interest as they are for the coming jazz festival within the Festival of Stockholm. Some time during the three days of the jazz festival (Sept 16 - 18) the two picture experimenter's new film is shown on TV. ... Sjolander - Wikstrom are fully conscious of the topicalness of today, another reason for choosing television. ... Ture Sjolander and Bror Wikstrom hold that they by "TIME" have accomplished a total reflection of the present. ... Ture Sjolander is eager to become a citizen of Australia - but he rejects anything to do with Britain or the Queen. "I love Australia, my greatest concern is that Australians don't love it enough. As soon it is possible to become a citizen of Australia without becoming a subject of the Queen then I will seize the opportunity" he said. In the meantime ex-artist Ture, 54, will keep his Swedish passport and keep hoping for the social changes he sees as vital for Australia in general and for Townsville i particular. "I am tired of art, painting has no relevance in this modern age" said Sjolander, whose work is exhibited in Sweden's National Gallery, Museum of Modern Art and other international galleries. "All of society has embraced technology, to improve performance and to reach as many people as possible except for the artistic world. It is blinkered and tied to the principle of one-off paintings and limited edition prints. "Perhaps it is still relevant in the Third World countries which have no access to technology but in the Western World it is finished. It is like making only one hand-written copy of a book". Ture believes that the art establishment, the galleries and curators are perpetuating an anachronism and he wants no part of it. His plan is to change the world - well, Australia at any rate. He recently sponsored a public competition to find a new name for the combined city of Townsville/Thuringgova. ... Although they have now separated, Ture continues to live in Townsville with his 20-month-old son, Matu because he thinks it is an ideal place. When he first arrived, he found that people were much friendlier if they thought he was a tourist. They would welcome him and offer help. If he said he lived here, their concern and interest shut of immediately. "S I started to pretend that I was a tourist and people in shops and buses and taxis were extremely friendly. When I saw the same person again I would tell them I was back again on holiday." Ture has abandoned this game now and hopes for a political future. His concerns are many and he is passionate about them all. Ture Sjolander not one to remain uncommitted even though some of his views may seem contradictory. On the one hand he is concerned about over-developement of Townsville. He feels that it is a good size now and double the population, as some developers have promised to do would destroy the lifestyle many find attractive. ... ARTIST Ture Sjolander will spend $10.000 of taxpayers' money raising the ire of north Queenslanders. Mr Sjolander, of Townsville, a Swedish expatriate, says he will expose the harsh realities of the social issues affecting the area i a series of two-minutes segments of "electronic art" to be aired weekly on television. he will buy the air-time with a State Government arts grant. "This is not a paint brush, it is a power tool," Mr Sjolander said. "I will criticise all the things that people ignore or don't want to think about to make them aware through art. "So much art doesn't touch people anymore, or has no relevance." Mr Sjolander, a passionate and outspoken man, has been involved in art from painting to videoproduction, since 1962. He has written several internationally published books, including Garbo, a pictorial biography of movie star Greta Garbo, and was commissioned by the 70s Swedish rock phenomenon Abba to create a tapestry. Mr Sjolander was also commissioned by silent screen star Charlie Chaplin to produce an art portfolio. ... "These are all the things that happen in this area and they should be expressed in art to reflect the area," Mr Sjolander said. He believes art in the modern world should be expressed using technology and says that paintings are out-dated. He has even devised a plan to exhibit art on the walls of Townsville Airport terminal "for all the world to see". The large vacant walls in the terminal should be used to hanf paintings and tapestries, and sculptures could adorn the flight deck, the first-class lounge and the departure lounge, he said. His proposal suggest that the artworks be acquired on a six-montly basis and artists may have them on for sale. "Art can be anything at all," Mr Sjolander said. ... A PILOT project to display art on the vacant wall spaces at the Townsville airport has been proposed by local artist Ture Sjolander. ... Mr Sjolander believes that as the airport is the first point of contact for businessmen, domestic and overseas tourists and returning residents, there was no reason why the airport itself should not become an attraction. "I propose that the large vacant wall spaces be used for a semi-permanent art display which could include a number of large paintings and tapestries. " In addition to this, a small number of free standing sculptured piece could be easily be accomodated." Mr Sjolander believed the flight deck, the first class lounge and the departure lounge were other attractive areas where graphic and smaller size artworks could be displayed. "These could be accomplished with minimal installation of lighting and hanging equipment," he said. "The pilot project for Townsville airport can be realised with very little outlay, mutually benefiting the professional contemporary artists of North Queensland and the Federal Airports Corporation". From this experiment could evolve the creation of a unique airport environement which could become the blueprint for others, Mr Sjolander said. He also envisaged the formation of an art investment consultancy group under the airport corporation for future interstate exhibition exchange. Support for the venture has been pledged by Perc Tucker Gallery director Ross Searle and artist and James Cook University art teacher Anne Lord, both of whom have expressed wish to join Mr Sjolander on the selection committee for the first exhibition. ... Mr Ture Sjolander's artistic work represents more than one technique, from traditional tapestry work to visualisation of electronic computing. He is a pioneer in video-art. His work contributed to the development of the video-synthesizer. Mr Sjolander has earned an international reputation for his multimedia art work since his debut in 1960. "Mr Sjolander has also served as a member of the board of the Swedish Artists Society," former Minister for Cultural Affairs in Sweden, Mr Bengt Goransson. ... Mr Sjolander has produced television programs for Swedish Television including The Role of Photography, Time, Monument, and Space in the Brain. He is skilled in all kinds of printing techniques and is also a professional photographer. Mr Sjolander has written several internationally published books. ... Mr Sjolander has created monumental sized interior artwork for large industrial complexes in Sweden using various techniques. He has had a large number of seminars and exhibitions throughout Europe and he participated in the Fifth Biennale in Paris. He has given lectures throughout world on art and technology, includinga lecture last year at the Australian Film Institute in Sydney. One of the topics of his lectures is possible establishment of multicultural communication by satellite. This would include a three week international TV high tech and arts festival, the commersialisation of peace via satellite and the formation of an internatinal lobby group to connect all Television systems of the world. He is presently involved with negotiations with Uplinger Enterprises (USA), the organisation which organised Live Aid and Sport Aid, about establishing an annual three week satellite link up. ... Mr Sjolander has conducted research into Townsville's history and the city council have received a proposal to revise the history of the city. His research has shown the first European to land in Townsville arrived 49 years earlier then previously believed. The discovery may be celebrated with a special Townsville Day and a 220 year celebration in 1990. He is also skilled in radio productions and TV production. Mr Sjolander is interested in establishing an international artist's centre in Townsville to display exhibitions from international artists.