CrossTalking

Time and again humans have felt the desire to experience some affiliation, either to eg. a certain group, a nation, an ideology or a religious community. This has been expressed by many ways of actions, rituals and affiliated symbols. Their function often was to increase or to indicate cohesion and tradition. They are adopted by tales and stories whose target is to provide human existence with order and (therefore) meaning.

As a symbol, the cross - a visually simple form where a horizontal and avertical line cross each other – is historically connected to many different meanings and cultures. It is known both from buddhism, old Norse culture and from the Incas.

It is used in many flags: the Norwegian, the Swiss and not to mention the Red Cross. It was and still is (ab)used by both the Church and the State. For many of us, the US invasion of Iraq was - both in the sense of culture and economy - an example for western imperialistic thinking, rooting in old medieval crusades. By transposing the swastika into a new context, Germany’s nazis had an effective weapon in their fight for the Third Reich. Based on the ancient swastika, Hitler personally designed a new symbol in black, white and red.

Within visual art the cross has a rock-solid position – the Bible’s visual form of narration, the suprematism as well as the conceptual art are examples for the persistant addition of meaning.
Which accessory role in metaphorical and physical terms does the cross play in today’s society? A little thought experiment: is it possible to see the cross as an interface between tradition and modernity? Between different cultures, or between an existing cultural consensus and subcultures within a particular culture? Can we understand such an overloaded sign in different or new ways?

The title CrossTalking refers to a phenomenon from telephony. Cross-Talking occurs when multiple conversations can be heard on one line. In such a way I tried to arrange the exhibition. I searched for different voices which refer to the exhibition’s subject and which perhaps will cross each other in a visual conversation.

Aage Langhelle

Exhibitoncatalog as PDF

Art Critic in Fedrelandsvennen as PDF

See also: Christianssands Kunstforening