TÅLMODIGHET

In newly rich Norway, value creation is just another word for money. Culture – which is both creative and valuable – is often viewed as a cost, not a value. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, all social and cultural life collapsed. Billions of people were isolated in their homes, where home offices and homeschooling became the new global reality. One had to be patient. The German word for patience is Ausdauervermögen or endurance-capital. Most artists have little or no financial capital. But they are rich in endurance-capital. TÅLMODIGHET links the German and Norwegian notions of patience. Seen in the context of the French philosopher Pierre Bourdieu’s work La Distinction, which discussed the distinctions between the three forms of capital—financial, cultural, and social capital—patience may perhaps be viewed as the fourth form of capital.

The artwork TÅLMODIGHET is created site-specific for Norges Bank. Initially as a lecture performance at Bankplassen in 2020. At Galleri Brandstrup the artwork is “pre-positioned,” in the form of a tube cast in bronze and filled with lead. The final artwork is an identical tube cast in solid pure gold, destined to lie in the vault of Norges Bank. For eternity. Silence is golden, it is said, but that is not true. Patience is gold, for it never corrodes. Even the ancient pharaohs knew this.
The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu wrote La Distinction, which divides capital into three classes. Financial capital: All forms that can generate economic returns—money, real estate, stocks, commodities, etc. Cultural capital: Mastering society’s codes through upbringing and education. The result is prestigious, specialized knowledge as part of a “cultured society.” Cultural capital offers goods with high use value and exchange value. Social capital: All the networks one belongs to, such as family, friends, school, work, organizations. The three forms of capital are convertible, meaning they can all be “exchanged” into one of the other forms of capital.