Jesper Just
Encyclopedia
Jesper Just is a Danish artist, and living and working in Copenhagen
and New York
, NY. From 1997 to 2003 he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.
Just works exclusively in film, shooting on a variety of film stock, including 8 mm
, 16 mm and 35 mm. Works dating from 2003 and before were recorded in digital video
. All later works are shot on film and then transferred to HD video. The resulting images are dense and atmospheric. Their prominent soundtracks are conceived specifically for each film in cooperation with different musicians.
His works have been shown throughout Europe and the United States, including: the Hammer Museum
, Los Angeles, CA (2005), the Miami Art Museum
, Miami, FL (2007); and the Witte de With in Rotterdam, The Netherlands (2007). His most recent exhibitions opened in September 2008; they include: Romantic Delusions at the Brooklyn Museum
, Brooklyn, NY, U-Turn, the Copenhagen Quadrennial in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the Liverpool Biennial in Liverpool, UK. In 2009, Jesper Just will present a new film at Perry Rubenstein Gallery in New York, NY.
Many of his older films specifically question conventional notions of masculinity. Nina Folkersma writes: “A real man is supposed to contain his emotions, to be inviolable, intellectual, pragmatic, virile, and dominant. That, at least, is the image of man portrayed in most Hollywood films. Transgressing social and cinematographic conventional representations of masculinity is a crucial element of Just’s work.”
Just uses Hollywood conventions as a kind of backdrop for his narratives. His films surprise the viewer with unexpected plot twists and characters stepping out of their expected roles. In “Invitation to Love” (2003), for instance, a young man takes off his shoes and dances barefoot on a table for an older man.
A press release that introduced his recent exhibition, A Voyage in Dwelling, states: “Just's videos attempt to dissect the nature of human interaction and the awkwardness of relationships. As in “A Vicious Undertow” (2007) - a seductive pas de trois between a middle-aged woman, and a younger woman and man – Just often seeks to emphasize the absurdity of gender roles and the way which cultures generate them. He presents charged relationships that could be perceived as perverse and endows them with beauty and dignity.”
The film A Vicious Undertow (2006) marks a change in Just’s oeuvre. It is the first film that uses a female protagonist. This development can be followed throughout Just's newer films up to 2008. In a recent article in frieze, Eliza Williams notes: “Far from naturalistic, his films contain a deliberate ambiguity, which, while at times unsettling, allows for an emotional resonance that speaks of a meaning above and beyond mere storytelling.”
Influences of film noir
aesthetics are present in his work and Just reveres the films of iconic directors such as Ingmar Bergman
, Bob Fosse
, Alain Resnais
, Alfred Hitchcock
, David Lynch
and Michelangelo Antonioni
. He employs a reappearing cast of professional actors, dancers and opera singers (the Danish actor Johannes Lilleøre, professional mathematician H.C., musician Dorit Chrysler and Mieskuoro Huutajat
of The Finnish Screaming Men’s Choir).
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, NY. From 1997 to 2003 he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.
Just works exclusively in film, shooting on a variety of film stock, including 8 mm
8 mm film
8 mm film is a motion picture film format in which the filmstrip is eight millimeters wide. It exists in two main versions: the original standard 8mm film, also known as regular 8 mm or Double 8 mm, and Super 8...
, 16 mm and 35 mm. Works dating from 2003 and before were recorded in digital video
Digital video
Digital video is a type of digital recording system that works by using a digital rather than an analog video signal.The terms camera, video camera, and camcorder are used interchangeably in this article.- History :...
. All later works are shot on film and then transferred to HD video. The resulting images are dense and atmospheric. Their prominent soundtracks are conceived specifically for each film in cooperation with different musicians.
His works have been shown throughout Europe and the United States, including: the Hammer Museum
Hammer Museum
The Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Culture Center, or the Hammer Museum as it is more commonly known, is an art museum in the Westwood district of Los Angeles, California...
, Los Angeles, CA (2005), the Miami Art Museum
Miami Art Museum
The Miami Art Museum is an art museum located in Downtown Miami, Florida, in the United States. It was founded in 1984 as the Center for the Fine Arts, and in 1996 became the Miami Art Museum...
, Miami, FL (2007); and the Witte de With in Rotterdam, The Netherlands (2007). His most recent exhibitions opened in September 2008; they include: Romantic Delusions at the Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an encyclopedia art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 square feet, the museum holds New York City's second largest art collection with roughly 1.5 million works....
, Brooklyn, NY, U-Turn, the Copenhagen Quadrennial in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the Liverpool Biennial in Liverpool, UK. In 2009, Jesper Just will present a new film at Perry Rubenstein Gallery in New York, NY.
Artistic practice
Jesper Just's films are moody, atmospheric narratives often with ambiguous and unresolved storylines. Thematically, his film works revolve around “the complex inter-relations between sexuality, love and cinema.”Many of his older films specifically question conventional notions of masculinity. Nina Folkersma writes: “A real man is supposed to contain his emotions, to be inviolable, intellectual, pragmatic, virile, and dominant. That, at least, is the image of man portrayed in most Hollywood films. Transgressing social and cinematographic conventional representations of masculinity is a crucial element of Just’s work.”
Just uses Hollywood conventions as a kind of backdrop for his narratives. His films surprise the viewer with unexpected plot twists and characters stepping out of their expected roles. In “Invitation to Love” (2003), for instance, a young man takes off his shoes and dances barefoot on a table for an older man.
A press release that introduced his recent exhibition, A Voyage in Dwelling, states: “Just's videos attempt to dissect the nature of human interaction and the awkwardness of relationships. As in “A Vicious Undertow” (2007) - a seductive pas de trois between a middle-aged woman, and a younger woman and man – Just often seeks to emphasize the absurdity of gender roles and the way which cultures generate them. He presents charged relationships that could be perceived as perverse and endows them with beauty and dignity.”
The film A Vicious Undertow (2006) marks a change in Just’s oeuvre. It is the first film that uses a female protagonist. This development can be followed throughout Just's newer films up to 2008. In a recent article in frieze, Eliza Williams notes: “Far from naturalistic, his films contain a deliberate ambiguity, which, while at times unsettling, allows for an emotional resonance that speaks of a meaning above and beyond mere storytelling.”
Influences of film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
aesthetics are present in his work and Just reveres the films of iconic directors such as Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
, Bob Fosse
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
, Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais is a French film director whose career has extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included Nuit et Brouillard , an influential documentary about the Nazi concentration camps.He began...
, Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
, David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
and Michelangelo Antonioni
Michelangelo Antonioni
Michelangelo Antonioni, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian modernist film director, screenwriter, editor and short story writer.- Personal life :...
. He employs a reappearing cast of professional actors, dancers and opera singers (the Danish actor Johannes Lilleøre, professional mathematician H.C., musician Dorit Chrysler and Mieskuoro Huutajat
Mieskuoro Huutajat
Mieskuoro Huutajat is an internationally famous shouting choir from Oulu, Finland. They were established in 1987 and originally comprised 20 shouting men, since expanded to 30....
of The Finnish Screaming Men’s Choir).
Selected solo exhibitions
- Romantic Delusions, http://www.tampamuseum.org/exhibitions/jesper-just-romantic-delusions, Tampa, FL (May 8th - September 5th 2010)
- Jesper Just, Perry Rubenstein Gallery, New York, NY (2009)
- Romantic Delusions, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY (2008/2009)
- It Will All End in Tears, La Casa Encendida, Madrid, Spain (2008)
- Jesper Just, (touring) Witte de With, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Ursula Blickle Foundation, Kraichtal, Germany; S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium (2007)
- Jesper Just, http://www.miamiartmuseum.org/Miami Art MuseumMiami Art MuseumThe Miami Art Museum is an art museum located in Downtown Miami, Florida, in the United States. It was founded in 1984 as the Center for the Fine Arts, and in 1996 became the Miami Art Museum...
], Miami, FL (2007) - Something To Love, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2006)
- Black Box, Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC (2006)
- Something to Love, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden (2006)
- Something to Love, Herning Kunstmuseum, Herning, Denmark (2005)
- True Love is Yet to Come, Performa 05, Weiss Studio, New York, NY (2005)
- A Fine Romance, Midway Contemporary Art, St. Paul, MN (2004)
Further reading
- Amsellem, Patrick, ed. Jesper Just: Romantic Delusions. exh. cat. essay by Bill Horrigan. Brooklyn: Brooklyn Museum, 2008.
- Johnson, Ken. "Cinematic Images of Masculine Vulnerability" New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/arts/design/26just.html
- Just, Jesper, ed. It Will All End in Tears. exh. cat. Texts by Agustin Perez Rubio, Svala Vangsdatter Andersen, and Octavio Zaya. Madrid: La Casa Encendida, 2008.
- Von Olfers, Sophie, ed. Jesper Just Film Works, 2001-2007. exh. cat. Rotterdam: Witte de With, 2007.
- Knudsen, Gry Høngsmark and Holger Reenberg eds. Something to Love. exh. cat. Herning: Herning Kunstmuseum, 2005.
External links
- Images of works and texts at Jesper Just's website http://www.jesperjust.com/.
- Images, biography and list of articles on the website of Perry Rubenstein Gallery, New York, NY.
- The Village Voice, Fall Preview: Jesper Just's Schizo Enigma. Four Films at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, September 2, 2008. http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-09-03/art/fall-preview-jesper-just-s-schizo-enigma/
- The New York Times, Jesper Just, August 10, 2007. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/10/arts/design/10gall.html?fta=y
- The New York Times, Jesper Just, October 20, 2006. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9800EEDF163FF933A15753C1A9609C8B63