Moderna Museet c/o Skulpturens Hus

Jaan Toomik, Father and Son (1998)

In Father and Son by Estonian artist Jaan Toomik we see how a nude man is skating in wide circles on Östersjön’s ice. A nude body in such a hostile environment makes the audience shiver, were it not for the music, a medieval chorale so beautiful that you almost forget about the cold. The song, which seems to come straight from heaven is sung by the artist’s 10-year-old son.

Katarzyna Kozyra, Bathhouse (1997)

In Bathhouse from 1997, the polish artist Katarzyna Kozyra lets the camera investigate how women act when they feel absolutely undisturbed in, a place they have come to in order to enjoy the water and warmth in a relaxed environment. Kozyra relates to the way the female body has been portrayed by painters such as Rubens or Rembrandt in Batseba bathing, but the usual erotic undertones when the male gaze looks upon the female nude through art history is not present. The voluptuous bodies present a beauty, which in our days – with the retouched bodies in adverts as our ideal – has been made invisible. The fact that Kozyra used a hidden camera at the famous Gellert Bathinghouse in Budapest caused a lot of attention and discussion. But if the women had known that someone was watching them they would hardly have been able to act as natural as they do now. 1999 Kozyra represented Poland at the Biennale of Venice with the male version of the bathing house. This time she dressed as a man in order to gain access to a world normally closed to women. Quite the opposite from the men who were constantly watching each other, the women in “Bathhouse” rest within themselves. They turn their gaze inwards rather than outwards.

Sam Taylor Wood, Brontosaurus (1995)

In Brontosaurus, English artist Sam Taylor Wood creates a feeling of melancholy by letting a nude man dance, all alone in an apartment. The music is Samuel Barber’s beautiful Adagio and it transforms the meaning and atmosphere of the situation. In reality the man is dancing to techno music.

samt Alexander Calder, Cirque (1927)

As a new member in the surrealist movement in Paris in the early 20’s, Alexander Calder built his mini circus mostly to amuse his friends. In the film we meet the ageing but still dexterous artist, who awakes the animals and people – made by metal threads – to life in a bewildering and humoristic performance.