Främling, chockerande, despot : Endre Nemes som konstnär och lärare 1940 till 1958

• Main Author: Rodenstedt, Kjell
• Format: Others
• Language: Swedish
• Published: Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för kultur och estetik 2020
• Subjects: Endre Nemes; Swedish modernism; Modern art; surrealism; teaching art; art teaching methods; art criticism; Bourdieu; Context Analysis; Art History; Konstvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-182479

This thesis is an analysis of Endre Nemes’ art and how he was received in Sweden. It will also cover his eight years as an art teacher at Valand art school. The timespan has been limited to his first eighteen years in Sweden. The thesis uses mainly Pierre Bourdieu’s The Rules of Art as a theoretical approach. Nemes was from Central European and a modern painter, he was regarded as cubist, surrealist and in the last years of the period as abstract. The first part concentrates on how his art evolved during the eighteen years and how the art critics described him. Especially four artworks have been analyzed. Context analysis is used to examine art criticism in Swedish newspapers from eight exhibitions. One result from the analysis is that during the years 1940 up until 1955 Nemes is regarded as avantgarde, a forerunner in Sweden and tended to shock the audience with his art. Even if he was very productive and had solo exhibitions, he mostly sold to other artists and early adopters. In the last years, especially after he left his job as a teacher, and became more abstract, he was just one of several artists and cannot any longer be regarded as avantgarde. The second part of the thesis covers Nemes as teacher at Valand art school in Gothenburg. Nemes was a precursor in modern art teaching. The period at Valand is interesting as it influenced both Swedish and Nemes own art. The thesis investigates what method he used as a teacher, how he was appreciated as a teacher both by his art students and by art critics in Swedish newspapers. The thesis also analyzes how Nemes impacted the student’s future way of painting. The result is that he had an impact on some of the students, but not on others. Most impact did he have on a group of students that was close to him, while other did not fully appreciate his teaching. Nemes’ method was to leave the students and their individual development as much freedom as possible, while still being strict on teaching different techniques and the importance of a careful composition. Another result was that all studied students used this knowledge in their future as independent artists.