Filed under: Norwegian Jungle Stories | Tags: Elitist, funded art, Norwegian Jungle Stories, Ulf Erik Knudsen
A representative of the Norwegian Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet) by the name of Ulf Erik Knudsen proudly revealed he had picked up a rhetoric trick or two from U.S election campaigns last week; Knudsen set out to counter attack the elitism of the Norwegian art scene. Knudsen had had enough of those elitist people in the Norwegian art world who thought they could serve as guardians of good art. If the Progress Party gets enough seats in the Parliament after the general election next year to form a government – either alone or through a coalition – there will be no more funds for elitist art projects, Knudsen stated. He further commented that in general, the Progeress Party does not support the funding any art. “Artists should not count on funds from the government; they should adjust to market demands. If they refuse to produce art popular with the art market, then they should get a real daytime job”, Knudsen said in an interview with a journalist from a national newspaper. When Knudsen was asked by the journalist what he meant by an elitist art scene, his answer was “It’s hard to define. But I know it when I see it”.
At Jungle Stories we suppose everything goes as long as it’s not elitist…. We hereby dedicate Jungle Stories to Ulf Erik Knudsen. God forbid any elitist postings in this blog!
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