Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Tillvaratagna effekter. Om Jan Håfströms konstnärskap och konstnärsroll

Sundberg, Martin LU (2005)
Abstract
In this thesis the oeuvre of the Swedish artist Jan Håfström (born 1937), from his debut in 1966 until 2002, is presented for the first time in a comprehensive approach. Concepts linked to modernism and postmodernism are used as a frame and the art works are discussed in a comparative way, placing the artist in an international context. Previous research and theories dealing with material iconography, originality, and the outsider are employed.



The thematic study is divided into three major parts dealing respectively with materials, references, and the role of the artist (even though this is not a biography). Håfström is mainly a painter using acrylics in a way that emphasizes his presence in the act of painting. By... (More)
In this thesis the oeuvre of the Swedish artist Jan Håfström (born 1937), from his debut in 1966 until 2002, is presented for the first time in a comprehensive approach. Concepts linked to modernism and postmodernism are used as a frame and the art works are discussed in a comparative way, placing the artist in an international context. Previous research and theories dealing with material iconography, originality, and the outsider are employed.



The thematic study is divided into three major parts dealing respectively with materials, references, and the role of the artist (even though this is not a biography). Håfström is mainly a painter using acrylics in a way that emphasizes his presence in the act of painting. By applying a patina and using old cloth to provide for a structured surface, the works are made to look older than they are. Thereby the artist creates an authentic connection to his personal life, for instance the previous daily usage of the textiles, and to his studio. Even the titles are used by the artist to underscore his line of thought. Håfström's changes in style have been compared to pop art, new realism, minimalism, and land art. He often uses a reduced style similar to minimal art but he constantly accentuates links to European culture, especially to German romanticism, and concepts of time referring to geology. His constructed ruins in natural settings form an important part of his oeuvre, linked as they are to romanticism as well as to Robert Smithson's land art. The author argues that these changes in style are not random, but often related to particular artists in a way that in this context is termed elective affinity. The view is put forward that the artist constructs his own canon of forerunners. Mythical links between life, espeically childhood, and art are presented by Håfström, thereby emphasizing the deeply personal in art and embedding the reduced forms in diverse experiences. It is argued that Håfström's artistic concepts are developed with close inkage to writers like Gunnar Ekelöf and Paul Celan, connecting to the suture and the fragment as preconditions for the creative process.



Attentive to postmodernist lines of thought, Jan Håfström's role as an artist nevertheless seems to cling to modernist thought where presence and originality are esteemed. His work is interpreted as an attempt to re-establish the role of the artist previously declared absent or even dead in postmodernist thinking. Furthermore, the author argues that Håfström's oeuvre can and should be understood as a whole, a kind of palimpsest where the canonization of his own works is part of the process. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Popular Abstract in Swedish

I denna avhandling presenteras för första gången den svenske konstnären Jan Håfströms (född 1937) konstnärskap från debuten 1966 fram till 2002 på ett omfattande sätt. Koncept knutna till modernism och postmodernism används som en ram och den komparativa diskussionen placerar konstverken i en internationell kontext. Tidigare forskning och teorier kring materialikonografi, originalitet och outsidern används.



Den tematiska studien är indelad i tre huvuddelar som behandlar material, referenser och konstnärsrollen (även om detta inte är en biografi). Håfström är främst en målare som använder akrylfärg på ett sätt som understryker den egna närvaron i det skapande ögonblicket. Genom... (More)
Popular Abstract in Swedish

I denna avhandling presenteras för första gången den svenske konstnären Jan Håfströms (född 1937) konstnärskap från debuten 1966 fram till 2002 på ett omfattande sätt. Koncept knutna till modernism och postmodernism används som en ram och den komparativa diskussionen placerar konstverken i en internationell kontext. Tidigare forskning och teorier kring materialikonografi, originalitet och outsidern används.



Den tematiska studien är indelad i tre huvuddelar som behandlar material, referenser och konstnärsrollen (även om detta inte är en biografi). Håfström är främst en målare som använder akrylfärg på ett sätt som understryker den egna närvaron i det skapande ögonblicket. Genom att patinera verken och använda slitet tyg för att framhäva ytstrukturenskapas ett konstgjort intryck av ålder. Konstnären framkallar en autentisk förbindelse till det personliga livet, til exempel genom tygets tidigare användning, och till ateljén. Även titlarna används för att understryka det egna tankekomplexet. Håfströms stilväxlingar har föranlett jämförelser med popkonst, nyrealism, minimalism och land art. Han tillämpar ofta ett reducerat formspråk påminnade om minimalismen, samtidigt som han ständigt betonar kopplingar till europeisk kultur, framförallt tysk romantik, och till tidsliga koncept knutna till geologi. Hanskonstruerade ruiner i naturlig miljö är en viktig del av konstnärskapet länkade såväl till romantiken som till Robert Smithsons land art. Författaren argumenterar för att stilväxlingarna inte är tillfälliga, utan snarare relaterade till enskilda konstnärer som kan betecknas som valfrändskaper. Åsikten förs fram att konstnären skapar en egen kanon av föregångare. Mytiska förbindelser mellan liv (främst barndomen) och konst presenteras av Håfström, vilket leder till det djupt personliga i konsten och bäddar in olika upplevelser i det reducerade formspråket. Den konstnärliga strategin, vilket diskuteras av författaren, är utvecklad i nära anslutning till poeter som Gunnar Ekelöf och Paul Celan, vilket leder till suturen och fragmentet som förutsättningar för den kreativa processen.



Medveten om postmodernistiskt tänkande tycks Håfströms konstnärsroll inte desto mindre knuten till modernistiska koncept där närvaro och originalitet uppskattas. Hans arbeten tolkas som ett försök att återetablera konstnärens roll som av postmodernistiska tänkare förklarats frånvarande eller till och med död. Dessutom argumenterar författaren för att Håfströms konstnärskap ska förstås som en helhet, ett slags palimpsest där kanoniseringen av den egna konsten är en del av processen. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • Lektor Werner, Jeff, Högskolan på Gotland
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Modernism, Pop art, New realism, Minimal art, Romanticism, Ruins, Originality, Word and image, Elective affinity, Canon, Outsider, Artist's role, Material iconography, Jan Håfström, Swedish contemporary art, Postmodernism, Art history, Konsthistoria
pages
444 pages
publisher
Makadam förlag
defense location
Institutionen för konst- och musikvetenskap Biskopsgatan 5 Hus Josephson Sal 314
defense date
2005-05-27 10:00:00
ISBN
91-7061-016-9
language
Swedish
LU publication?
yes
id
d455c1da-1a6a-48f8-85fe-2381e6ed4f20 (old id 25132)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 10:27:26
date last changed
2018-11-21 20:58:52
@phdthesis{d455c1da-1a6a-48f8-85fe-2381e6ed4f20,
  abstract     = {{In this thesis the oeuvre of the Swedish artist Jan Håfström (born 1937), from his debut in 1966 until 2002, is presented for the first time in a comprehensive approach. Concepts linked to modernism and postmodernism are used as a frame and the art works are discussed in a comparative way, placing the artist in an international context. Previous research and theories dealing with material iconography, originality, and the outsider are employed.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The thematic study is divided into three major parts dealing respectively with materials, references, and the role of the artist (even though this is not a biography). Håfström is mainly a painter using acrylics in a way that emphasizes his presence in the act of painting. By applying a patina and using old cloth to provide for a structured surface, the works are made to look older than they are. Thereby the artist creates an authentic connection to his personal life, for instance the previous daily usage of the textiles, and to his studio. Even the titles are used by the artist to underscore his line of thought. Håfström's changes in style have been compared to pop art, new realism, minimalism, and land art. He often uses a reduced style similar to minimal art but he constantly accentuates links to European culture, especially to German romanticism, and concepts of time referring to geology. His constructed ruins in natural settings form an important part of his oeuvre, linked as they are to romanticism as well as to Robert Smithson's land art. The author argues that these changes in style are not random, but often related to particular artists in a way that in this context is termed elective affinity. The view is put forward that the artist constructs his own canon of forerunners. Mythical links between life, espeically childhood, and art are presented by Håfström, thereby emphasizing the deeply personal in art and embedding the reduced forms in diverse experiences. It is argued that Håfström's artistic concepts are developed with close inkage to writers like Gunnar Ekelöf and Paul Celan, connecting to the suture and the fragment as preconditions for the creative process.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Attentive to postmodernist lines of thought, Jan Håfström's role as an artist nevertheless seems to cling to modernist thought where presence and originality are esteemed. His work is interpreted as an attempt to re-establish the role of the artist previously declared absent or even dead in postmodernist thinking. Furthermore, the author argues that Håfström's oeuvre can and should be understood as a whole, a kind of palimpsest where the canonization of his own works is part of the process.}},
  author       = {{Sundberg, Martin}},
  isbn         = {{91-7061-016-9}},
  keywords     = {{Modernism; Pop art; New realism; Minimal art; Romanticism; Ruins; Originality; Word and image; Elective affinity; Canon; Outsider; Artist's role; Material iconography; Jan Håfström; Swedish contemporary art; Postmodernism; Art history; Konsthistoria}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  publisher    = {{Makadam förlag}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  title        = {{Tillvaratagna effekter. Om Jan Håfströms konstnärskap och konstnärsroll}},
  year         = {{2005}},
}