Scandinavian Institute of Comparative Vandalism
Encyclopedia
The Scandinavian Institute of Comparative Vandalism is a non-profit
cultural institute
based in Denmark
.
It was founded in 1961 by the Danish
artist Asger Jorn
, Peter Glob
and Werner Jacobsen from the National Museum of Denmark
and Holger Arbman of the University of Lund, Sweden
, after Jorn left the Situationist International during one of its many upheavals. The stated purpose of the institute was to throw new light upon the Scandinavian culture in the age of migrations and Vikings. For several years, Jorn toured around Scandinavia and Europe with photographer Gérard Franceschi, former photographer for French writer and onetime culture minister André Malraux
on his Musée imaginaire project, photographing ancient, Romanesque
, Scandinavian, and Gothic
figurative and decorative motifs in order to trace the connections between Scandinavian and European motifs. Jacqueline de Jong
was also involved in several of these excursions.
In 1965, the Silkeborg
municipal government provided a building to store over 20,000 photographs taken by Jorn, Gerard Franceschi and Ulrik Ross. Jorn was working with the publisher Skandinavisk Forlag in Odense to publish a series of books based on his research and documentation called 10,000 Years of Nordic Folk Art (10 000 års nordisk folkekunst). Jorn gave up the project that year, however, when the press Skandinavisk Forlag refused to proceed unless the project was run by a committee of scholars, with Jorn having only one vote. He wanted total control of the subject of each volume. The Institute remained as a sort of imaginary museum, now housed in the Silkeborg Kunstmuseum, home of Jorn's art collection and archives. Jorn continued to publish articles and books on the subject of Nordic art as a tradition independent of what he called the "Classical-Latin" tradition.
A publication series of theoretical texts (without illustration) in the name of the institute (Meddelelse fra Skandinavisk institut for sammenlignende vandalisme) encompasses four books, all by Jorn (Naturens Orden and Værdi og økonomi from 1962, Held og Hasard from 1963, and Alfa og Omega published posthumously in 1980).
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
cultural institute
Institute
An institute is a permanent organizational body created for a certain purpose. Often it is a research organization created to do research on specific topics...
based in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
It was founded in 1961 by the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
artist Asger Jorn
Asger Jorn
Asger Oluf Jorn was a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramic artist, and author. He was a founding member of the avant-garde movement COBRA and the Situationist International...
, Peter Glob
Peter Glob
Peter Vilhelm Glob , also P.V. Glob, was a Danish archaeologist who worked as the Director General of Museums and Antiquities of the state of Denmark and was also the Director of the National Museum in Copenhagen...
and Werner Jacobsen from the National Museum of Denmark
National Museum of Denmark
The National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen is Denmark’s largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main domicile is located a short distance from Strøget at the center of Copenhagen. It contains exhibits from around the world,...
and Holger Arbman of the University of Lund, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, after Jorn left the Situationist International during one of its many upheavals. The stated purpose of the institute was to throw new light upon the Scandinavian culture in the age of migrations and Vikings. For several years, Jorn toured around Scandinavia and Europe with photographer Gérard Franceschi, former photographer for French writer and onetime culture minister André Malraux
André Malraux
André Malraux DSO was a French adventurer, award-winning author, and statesman. Having traveled extensively in Indochina and China, Malraux was noted especially for his novel entitled La Condition Humaine , which won the Prix Goncourt...
on his Musée imaginaire project, photographing ancient, Romanesque
Romanesque art
Romanesque art refers to the art of Western Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century, or later, depending on region. The preceding period is increasingly known as the Pre-Romanesque...
, Scandinavian, and Gothic
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
figurative and decorative motifs in order to trace the connections between Scandinavian and European motifs. Jacqueline de Jong
Jacqueline de Jong
Jacqueline de Jong was born in the Dutch town of Hengelo to Jewish parents. Faced with the German invasion, they went into hiding. After an abortive escape attempt to England, her father Hans remained in Amsterdam while she and her mother made for Switzerland...
was also involved in several of these excursions.
In 1965, the Silkeborg
Silkeborg
Silkeborg is a city in central Denmark. Located in Silkeborg municipality in Jutland, the city has a population of 42,724 . The development of Silkeborg as a modern city may be traced to the foundation of the paper mill by Michael Drewsen on the Gudenaa in 1844...
municipal government provided a building to store over 20,000 photographs taken by Jorn, Gerard Franceschi and Ulrik Ross. Jorn was working with the publisher Skandinavisk Forlag in Odense to publish a series of books based on his research and documentation called 10,000 Years of Nordic Folk Art (10 000 års nordisk folkekunst). Jorn gave up the project that year, however, when the press Skandinavisk Forlag refused to proceed unless the project was run by a committee of scholars, with Jorn having only one vote. He wanted total control of the subject of each volume. The Institute remained as a sort of imaginary museum, now housed in the Silkeborg Kunstmuseum, home of Jorn's art collection and archives. Jorn continued to publish articles and books on the subject of Nordic art as a tradition independent of what he called the "Classical-Latin" tradition.
A publication series of theoretical texts (without illustration) in the name of the institute (Meddelelse fra Skandinavisk institut for sammenlignende vandalisme) encompasses four books, all by Jorn (Naturens Orden and Værdi og økonomi from 1962, Held og Hasard from 1963, and Alfa og Omega published posthumously in 1980).