Jeg havde fornøjelsen af at bevidne Leonora Christinas første indsejling i Rønne havn her til morgen.
Tillykke Bornholm, måtte den nye færge bringe masser af glade turister til øen!

Leonora Christina ankommer til Rønne havn from Carl Frederik Waage Beck on Vimeo.

I just finished hanging my new exhibition at Café Munchies near Forum, Copenhagen.
Now it’s time for an impromtu vernissage! Enjoy the painting of Lars Løkke Rasmussen below.
He happens to be our current prime minister btw.

The Press statement that went out is attached below the picture:

Kunstige valgplakater

Pressemeddelelse:
Med udstillingen Blah – Blah – Blah, markerer kunstneren Carl Beck sit ståsted i en international kreds af kunstnere. Som stifter af den Københavnske gren af ”the Stuckist movement” undersøger Carl Beck aktuelle samfundsmæssige problemer med afsæt i det figurative visuelle udtryk. Beskueren lades ikke i tvivl om hvad motivet forestiller, men budskabet er dog åbent for fortolkning. Hvorfor afbildes Helle Thorning Schmidt f.eks. som dominatrix med sin mand Stephen Kinnock i et bur ved siden af? Carl Beck giver med sine malerier et bud på de problemstillinger samfundet kæmper med:
”Demokratiet eksisterer ikke længere, hvis det nogensinde har gjort det! Kan hr. og fru Danmark i deres gode tro hævde at de har reel indflydelse på fordelingen af de 179 mandater? Det er en illusion, og derfor undrer det heller ikke, at mange vælger at blive hjemme på valgdagen. Magt korrumperer – det her er mit forsøg på at skrælle facaden af vores politiske system.”

Carl Beck stiller med sine kontrafaktiske portrætter af Helle Thorning Schmidt og Lars Løkke Rasmussen spørgsmålet – Ved du hvem du stemmer på?
Virkeligheden er ikke altid som facaden angiver, det er dette vi som vælgere må forholde os til.

Nedtaget under rydningen af Brorsons kirke:
Carl Beck har en række samfundskritiske udstillinger bag sig, bl.a. udstillingen ”Frelservalg” som kunne ses i Brorsons kirke, da denne var besat af en gruppe Irakiske Flygtninge. Denne udstilling tog ligesom den aktuelle afsæt i individets politiske stillingtagen. I kirken kunne man således se portrætter af såvel Barack Obama som Mahmoud Ahmadinejad der hang prominent til venstre for alteret.
Malerierne ved siden af alteret blev af sikkerhedshensyn nedtaget da politiet ryddede kirken.

Fakta:
Carl Beck er tidligere finansmand i Saxobank og officer i Forsvaret.
Carl Beck er autodidakt billedkunstner og arbejder til daglig som marketingkoordinator på Bornholm.
Carl Beck blogger om kunst og samfund på paintshooter.dk
Udstillingen ”Blah – Blah – Blah” kan ses alle dage indtil 14/6 på The Munchies – Rosenørns Allé 32, 1970 Frederiksberg C.

Springtime on Bornholm

We have finally set up camp. Not only that, I have committed to start in a new position as the social marketing guy at destinationen. It’s the perfect crime – doing what I love and getting paid for it. What’s more, the product I’m selling is the island I love – Bornholm.

Bornholm has had a tough time ever since the primary industry, fishery, shut down during the 80s. Several other major work places are now gone, tilemaking closed,  agriculture has become machine run. The population peaked at fifty some thousand after WW2, but is now around 43000 and diving.

Tourism accounts for just shy of 9% of the local economy and unemployment fluctuates wildly between winter and summer when most of the temp jobs are available.

Tourism, and its derived effects, is now one of the main job creators. Boosting tourism and attracting visitors is therefore one of the best ways of making the local economy grow organically. I’m proud to be a part of this mission, and I draw huge motivation from it.

What else could be done to boost Bornholm?
Take a look at the swedish island of Gottland. The Swedes have a better understanding of what it takes to sustain the outer rims of their country. Massive subsidies of transportation, mainly ferries, placement of higher education institutions have made it more attractive for businesses to settle and for high school graduates to stay put.

Sure help from parliament would be instrumental, but as they say, change starts from within. I’m going to work on April 4th.

It has been busy here at world domination HQ, but today was one of those days when I had the chance to spend a few hours in front of my Mac and just sit for a while, think, review previous works and develop an idea of things to come.

The past months have been consumed by those little adoring monsters who wake us up at 6 am and demand food (oatmeal) pronto. I can’t say that I am completely coherent at that time in the morning, but I do manage to mix some milk and oatmeal a stick it in the microwave oven.

But things are about to change… We’re moving to the island of Bornholm, which is located on the far side of Sweden but nonetheless still belongs to the kingdom of Denmark. Our new home is on the sourthern tip of the island, very close to what I believe are some of the most amazing beaches in the world (bar the Maldives etc..)

The Sand in Dueodde is so fine it creates dunes as it flies around.

Another major change is the fact that the twins are due to start in nursery in january which will free up a lot of creative time for my wife and I. So be prepared for an increase in the frequency of updates here on the blog.

Extra time also means I’ll have more time in the studio which I am planning on building in one of the barns (yes barn! – as in: “we bought a big farm built around a square”) , and expanding to a gallery later this summer. It’s the perfect setup, since I’ll have all of my critical facilities at home and at the same time the ability to showcase the work of myself and others.

Very soon the tiny town of Snogebæk will have it’s own cultural powerhouse, so if you’re visiting the island don’t forget to swing by us and get your daily fix of art.

In the meantime it’s Time to relax…

"Time to Relax" watercolour on A3 sized Hahnemuller torchon paper.

Wrath (Latin, Ira) is the only cardinal sin that is not necessarily associated with selfishness or self-interest.
I guess politicians find it easier to admit wrath that any of the other 6 cardinal sins. And by wrath I’m not talking out of control RAMPAGE.

I mean, who would admit to being a greedy, envious, lazy, horny, gluttonous racist?
But wrath. It sorta rings better to the ears. There’s a sort of offended rightousness in it. Everyone gets angry at times. So when a politician stands up and says “I’m mad!” it just makes us believe even more in their character and judgment.
It’s hard to be mad when you’re in government. On the contrary being in opposition creates a unique opportunity to be mad. Mad at the injustice. Mad at the grievous wrongs commited again and again by the powers that be.

The Great YODA once explained why wrath however justified is never a path to the good life: “Anger leads to Hate, Hate leads to suffering”.
I just say PIPE DOWN! and act out the good you wish for. Oops, I think I just got mad at mad people…

Theres one candidate that stands to be awarded the sin “Wrath – Ira”.

A self-proclaimed angrywoman, the award goes to Margrethe Vestager, leader of the Danish Social Liberal Party (Radikale Venstre). Let’s enjoy her remarks at the annual closing debate in Parliament, June 2 2010.

“I’m not even close to being offended. I am angry! I am so mad at the completely perspectiveless, visionless, ramdom budgetcuts in private schools, boarding schools, folk high schools, productionschools and adult education that is part of your (The Government ed.) fiscal budget.
You made your choice, but you could have chosen differently.
I am mad at the way you conduct a policy that shuts doors instead of reaching out to the whole of this beautiful country and building on our history of responsibility and initiative”.

Continue to read about the first Cardinal sin Envy

Margrethe Vestager scolds Government during closing debate.

So the day finally came when I got to play the lead part in a movie.
It’s a short film titled “Blinded” by a crew at the University of Copenhagen.
Enjoy!

Forblændet (Blinded) from Tomas Gestsson on Vimeo.

In preparing for the exhibition due next year I am often asked the question, “Why do you paint the Danish political leaders?”

True to tradition I can’t help but include some indignation in my exhibitions, and the upcoming one – “The Candidates” – won’t be an exception. The next Danish general election is due no later than November 16th 2011, and I thought an exhibition would be a brilliant occasion to zoom in on the electoral options.

Who do we want leading this nation?

Power demands humility, but sadly, power has been wielded with anything but Humility in the recent history of this country. As the opposing virtue of the most deadly cardinal sin Superbia or Pride, Humility is a rarity among politicians who fight each other to become the prom-queen of Parliament. In other words, who can look more attractive and important to the electorate?

There is one candidate that stands out however.
Defined by Dante as “love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one’s neighbour.” Pride is probably best witnessed when looking at the behaviour of the queen of a certain national socialist party a.k.a. The Danish People’s Party.
Since 2001 the DPP has had the unique power of being able to tip the scales, and thus possessed a strong bargaining position which it has not been slow to exploit at any opportunity to tighten the laws on immigrants and refugees. This can hardly be described as Humility.

For these deeds the leader of the DPP Pia Kærsgaard is awarded the sin “Pride – Superbia”, and will have her very own according portrait painted at the exhibition “The Candidates” in February.
Until then you have to make make do with a simple photo of her from the DPP campaign that is running at the moment. The painted portrait will surprise and delight, so join the exhibition!

Stay tuned to see who wins the remaining 6 awards:
Avaritia – Greed
Luxuria – Lust
Invidia – Envy
Gula – Gluttony
Ira – Wrath
Acedia – Sloth
…and who, if any, dodges the award…

Enjoy!

Continue to read about the Cardinal sin Wrath

The current way DPP shows off it's leader.

“Don’t take away My Saturdays”, 60×80 cm, acrylic and permanent marker on canvas, 2010, 6000 kr.

The Internet is doing to galleries what a bomb would do to the Fields Mall.
Sure, some brick and mortar stores still have relevance – much in the same way real world art shows still make sense. But galleries are doomed to lose their role as gatekeeper for the artist as well as the collector. Artists will find ways to host their own shows as oneoffs with established galleries or in empty storefronts. Paying the rent creates a need for cash upfront, but control and sales income remain with the artist.

As an artist, it more and more looks like a losing deal to surrender 50% of sales in return for hapless marketing and real estate on a physical gallery wall. Smart artists around the globe are now using their tech skills to connect directly with collectors as well as establish a permanent online record of their artistic activities. Instead of leaving a printed resume in a pile of similar ones at the gallery, Blogging is a powerful tool for documenting and communicating the artistic journey.

The balance of power is shifting back towards the artist and the collector. In this relationship the brand of the artist becomes everything as he performs to the dispersed audience of thousands of individuals.

But about the painting above – this is the next one in the lineup from the series “War is Coming Home” featuring scenes of war in our home country. What happens in the aftermath of terror? People stay home… Denmark is increasingly finding itself in the top of the list when terrorists want to make a statement. Maybe it’s time to rethink our foreign policy…
Enjoy!