AM: \u2026 I don\u2019t think I\u2019m a person who can do that, but I wish I knew what I wanted and had a plan. I just started working like hell. I\u2019ve had plenty of time to work with art, but I\u2019m really tired at the same time.<\/p>\n
A: I tried to come up with a plan. Is it possible at all to make art for a living, can you control your own career? I got a very specific advice: Not to get a day job. That seemed relevant. I wanted to spend all my time on my art. I followed that advice consequently, and I\u2019m happy I did, but I\u2019ve also ended up spending a lot of time and energy worrying about money. I should have spent that energy on something better.<\/p>\n
AM: These questions are really subjective. I couldn\u2019t follow an advice like that. I have a family and I need to make money.<\/p>\n
A: That\u2019s exactly why I could do it. I only had myself to worry about. Now that that\u2019s changing, I have to think about my priorities. I surprised myself with the thought that it might not be a big deal if I can\u2019t be a full time artist. Then I noticed that thought freed me of some of my proudness, and that\u2019s quite a relief. But there is something else as well. The fact that I can work on my art full time has led me to spend a lot of time by myself. I miss colleagues, routines, being part of something bigger. I\u2019ve had all the freedom I could wish for, but I\u2019m not sure I\u2019ve managed to use it.<\/p>\n
J: This is about your expectations of being an artist. Perhaps you demand too much? You have to be flexible and pragmatic in addition to keeping focused. But you\u2019re saying it has changed in only three years, it\u2019s not like you\u2019ve been sticking to that plan for fifteen years and almost starved to death. That says something about how hard it is to start working as an artist. I worked alone in my studio a lot this time last year. I enjoyed it, but it was also really lonely and heavy. I\u2019m happy with the job I have now, which is closely related to the art scene. I don\u2019t have time to work on my own projects at the moment, but I think there will be time for that again later.<\/p>\n
AM: Perhaps good advices aren\u2019t really good for anything? I know many of the current MA students, and I notice I\u2019m still just as confused as they are.<\/p>\n
A: Yes, three years ago I imagined those who were a few years ahead of us were confident and knew what they were doing. That\u2019s not true.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
AM: \u2026 jeg tror ikke jeg er en person som kan \u2013 men jeg skulle \u00f8nske at jeg ville et sted og hadde en plan. Jeg begynte bare \u00e5 jobbe jeg, som faen. Jeg har f\u00e5tt rik anledning til \u00e5 jobbe med kunst. Men jeg er ogs\u00e5 ganske sliten.<\/p>\n
A: Jeg pr\u00f8vde \u00e5 finne en slags oppskrift. Er det i det hele tatt mulig \u00e5 leve som kunstner, i hvilken grad kan man styre sin egen karriere? Jeg fikk et konkret r\u00e5d: Ikke f\u00e5 deg en pengejobb. Det virket relevant for meg. Jeg skulle bruke all tida p\u00e5 \u00e5 lage kunst. Jeg fulgte det r\u00e5det konsekvent, og jeg er glad for det, men samtidig har det medf\u00f8rt at jeg har brukt masse tid og enorme krefter p\u00e5 \u00e5 bekymre meg for \u00f8konomien. Den energien burde heller v\u00e6rt brukt konstruktivt.<\/p>\n
AM: Problemet er at disse sp\u00f8rsm\u00e5lene er s\u00e5 subjektive. Jeg kan ikke ta et s\u00e5nt r\u00e5d. Jeg har familie og er n\u00f8dt til \u00e5 tjene penger.<\/p>\n
A: Det var derfor jeg kunne ta det valget, jeg hadde bare meg selv \u00e5 tenke p\u00e5. N\u00e5 som det endrer seg, m\u00e5 jeg prioritere strengere. Jeg ble overraska over \u00e5 tenke at det kanskje ikke er en katastrofe \u00e5 m\u00e5tte ta en ekstrajobb. S\u00e5 merka jeg at det gjorde at \u00e6rgjerrigheten slapp litt taket, og det er egentlig ganske deilig. Men det er noe annet ogs\u00e5. Det at jeg kan jobbe med kunst hele tida, har f\u00f8rt til at jeg har v\u00e6rt veldig mye aleine. Jeg savner kolleger, rammer, \u00e5 v\u00e6re en del av noe st\u00f8rre. Jeg har hatt all mulig frihet, men jeg vet ikke om jeg greid \u00e5 utnytte den.<\/p>\n
J: Det handler jo om dine forventninger til \u00e5 v\u00e6re kunstner. Stiller du litt for h\u00f8ye krav? Kanskje det g\u00e5r an \u00e5 v\u00e6re fleksibel og pragmatisk i tillegg til \u00e5 v\u00e6re m\u00e5lretta. Men du sier det har forandra seg i l\u00f8pet av tre \u00e5r, det er ikke s\u00e5nn at du har v\u00e6rt knallhard og konsekvent i femten \u00e5r og d\u00f8den n\u00e6r av sult. Det sier mest om hvor vanskelig det er \u00e5 jobbe p\u00e5 fulltid med kunst som nyutdanna. Jeg jobba mye aleine p\u00e5 atelieret p\u00e5 denne tida i fjor. Det var deilig, men ogs\u00e5 innmari ensomt og tungt. Jeg er veldig forn\u00f8yd med \u00e5 jobbe s\u00e5 relatert til faget som jeg gj\u00f8r i jobben min n\u00e5. Jeg f\u00e5r ikke utvikla mitt eget arbeid, men jeg tenker at det kommer seinere igjen.<\/p>\n
AM: Gode r\u00e5d kan kanskje egentlig ikke brukes? Jeg har en del \u00e5 gj\u00f8re med MA-studentene fortsatt, og jeg merker at jeg er like forvirra n\u00e5 som da jeg var student.<\/p>\n
A: Ja, for tre \u00e5r siden trodde jeg i st\u00f8rre grad at de som l\u00e5 noen \u00e5r foran oss hadde kontroll og selvtillit og visste hva de holdt p\u00e5 med. Det er ikke sant.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
This conversation was written by Ytter for this year\u2019s MA catalogue, published on the occasion of the MA exhibition 2013 at Bergen Kunsthall<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" AM: \u2026 I don\u2019t think I\u2019m a person who can do that, but I wish I knew what I wanted and had a plan. I just started working like hell. I\u2019ve had plenty of time to work with art, but I\u2019m really tired at the same time. A: I tried to come up with a … Continue reading Plan A<\/span>