The Nordics Unveiled

Joining Eldbjørg Hemsing for the new episode of "The Nordics Unveiled" is renowned Norwegian art historian and curator Dr. Knut Ljøgodt, unveiling the mysteries of the Nordic in Fine arts.

Show Notes

Guest of the new episode of "The Nordics Unveiled" is renowned Norwegian art historian and curator Dr. Knut Ljøgodt. Previously working at the National Gallery in Oslo, as Director at the Northern Norway Art Museum in Tromsø and Founding Director of Kunsthall Svalbard, dr. Ljøgodt is today leading the Nordic Institute of Art, which he co-founded in 2017. His curatorial work has been praised both in the Nordics and internationally. As a leading scholar on Nordic and European 19th century art, including Romantic landscape painting and history painting, he is the perfect guest to unveil the mysteries of the Nordic of fine arts.

“We have many images of the North – what do we mean by the North, is it just generally the Nordic region (Norden) or individual Nordic countries. The Swedish national anthem has the line ‘Ja, jag vill leva, jag vill dö i Norden.’ or ‘I will live, I will die in the North’, but for the Swedes the North is Sweden. When we speak about the far North, or as we like to call it today the Arctic, above the Polar circle, Svalbard, Spitzbergen, North Pole, the image about Scandinavia and particularly Arctic has been seen as mystery, part of danger, dark place.”
Dr. Knut Ljøgodt, The Nordics Unveiled

“It is interesting to look at Nordic region as a whole, rather than as specific countries. Even though we know 19th century artists were striving to create the national identity, the culture of the region is so close that it makes more sense to be discussing it as a whole, rather than seeing it in national contexts. And at the same time the challenge of course is that most of the art, music or literature history is written from the national point of view.”
Dr. Knut Ljøgodt, The Nordics Unveiled


More information about dr. Knut Ljøgodt and his curatorial work on the following link.

What is The Nordics Unveiled?

What is typically Nordic? What characterizes our history, development and who we are today?
Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing has grown up in a village of Aurdal, in the valley of Valdres where centuries old folk music tradition had influenced and inspired composers such as Grieg, Ole Bull and Halvorsen. The so called ‘Nordic sound’ is strongly inspired by nature, moods and changes. Everything from the northern lights, to deep mountains and valleys, to water. The lyrical, melancholic and often cautious optimists are a key words to explain what can often be characterized as Nordic. The clean, simple and often pictorial. At the same time, it is a courage and a force to be reckoned with, as can be drawn from Nordic fairy tales, often with a warm humor. Many of these features also appear in other artistic disciplines. How has history shaped us and what can we learn from who we are today?

Embark on the journey to the North and join Eldbjørg Hemsing in "The Nordics Unveiled", exploring the themes of Nordic mythology, folk music, Sami tradition, discovery of forgotten Nordic works in music, philosophy, architecture and nature.