Skomvaer Fyr 

Curator: We’re now looking at a drawing called "Skomvaer Fyr" by Theodor Severin Kittelsen, created using graphite. The artwork features a rather bleak seascape in black and white. What strikes you first about this image? Editor: The churning water, immediately. It feels tumultuous, chaotic. There's a raw, almost untamed energy in those waves. The crests especially, they evoke something almost primal. Curator: Absolutely. Kittelsen, though known for his fairy tale illustrations, seems to be grappling with a different kind of folklore here. We need to consider the historical context. The sea has always been a symbol of both opportunity and threat for coastal communities, particularly in Norway. Fishermen risked their lives daily; families depended on their return. Editor: It resonates deeply on a symbolic level, you're right. The vast expanse of the sea has always represented the unknown, the subconscious. In many cultures, it’s tied to cycles of life and death, representing cleansing, rebirth, and the awesome power of nature, frequently linked to femininity. The almost total absence of the sky amplifies the water. Curator: Precisely! Think, too, about the absent lighthouse. This isn’t a beacon of hope but an intimation of dread. The artist lived during a time of massive social change and perhaps, reflected a broader sense of existential uncertainty about future changes to occur. The bleak, almost monochromatic palette contributes, certainly to that overall feeling of impending change, and struggle with change. Editor: And black and white simplifies the form, and creates something graphic with it's lines. We think of the ocean, often in art, as a bright and azure surface but this particular study is absent any color which in turn impacts mood in a dramatic fashion. You also consider graphite's historic role in documentation, especially of natural landscapes and its power here. Curator: This certainly leaves a powerful, perhaps melancholic impression when viewed from the vantage of current and future discussions surrounding sustainability. The overwhelming force of the natural elements presented here seem simultaneously indifferent and all-powerful to us and current discussions regarding the state of things. Editor: This drawing invites us to confront our own fears, I think, not just about physical danger, but also about the relentless power of the natural world and its representation, something quite compelling even now.