The Art Academy Oslo 9 February 26

Still sitting beneath a glacier philosophising

about the mysteries of life and art?, and are you getting anything out of

it? Because there should be som<e> advantages in

hiding away with one’s dreams and allowing impulses to take

command. I am sitting here just now leafing through Goya’s

“Caprichos.” – he presumably locked himself up with his papers.

It must be the right thing to do. For you cannot

imagine how devastating it is to race around this cursed

city – and on top of that to be saddled with responsibilities – far-removed from one’s

work. Aside from the “professor’s position” (!) which in itself

is distracting enough, there is also a multitude of things that

must be attended to, committee meetings, and all sorts of undertakings, to which

in the guise of Committee member I am forced to sacrifice my time.

In addition there are all the artist conflicts that come with

these difficult times – artists have sprung up like mushrooms. To such a degree

that the democratic form of governing in Norwegian art may be

threatened. (When the manger is empty, etc.) But everything is fine as long

as we, we who I must be permitted to say are aware of our right to

have an opinion[,] continue to stand together not only regarding the ~~{...}~~ selfless – but also

the talented representatives. It is especially relevant now and that is the

particular reason for my letter today, the National Gallery’s

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