About
While attending the Academy of Fine Art in Oslo from 1989 to 1993, Ole Jørgen Ness developed a range of different artistic personae. This was in reaction to the academy’s strictly monodisciplinary setup, which created problems for those who wanted to explore new techniques or work on crossdisciplinary art.
Ness works on complex installations, usually with drawing as the predominant medium and video as an auxiliary element. Opus Osiris, however, is a pure video installation. The work consists of seven monitors arranged as an arc. Each monitor features the portrait of a man, who is in fact the artist himself. “Welcome to Opus Osiris, a discussion programme for the contemporary art of today,” says the artist. He introduces himself as the host and presents the show’s panel, which consists of six people, each of whom is an alter ego of Ness himself: the primitivist Urban Ghadtspa, the surrealist Jøgen Jøgner Nexi, the symbolist Gustav Greigel, the installation artist Jon Egil Askeir, the spiritualist Nemo, and the minimalist Georg Jörgens. The debate addresses such issues as subject, identity, and authenticity in regard to the role of the artist. The discussion transpires in a serious and relatively calm fashion. Each participant is allowed to convey their viewpoints without interruption, while reactions are expressed through body language, gestures, and facial expressions. The discussion then concludes with the participants voicing their opinions on political art. The programme presents the fictitious personae in a serious and thoughtful manner throughout, highlighting the media’s crucial role in setting the frame for public discourses on art.
- Creation date:
- (1994)
- Other titles:
- Opus osiris (NOR)
- Object type:
- Video installation
- Materials and techniques:
- Videoinstallasjon
- Material:
- DVD
- Dimensions:
- Duration: 12 s
- Keywords:
- Visual art
- Classification:
- 532 - Bildende kunst
- Inventory no.:
- NMK.2006.0021
- Cataloguing level:
- Complex object/artwork
- Acquisition:
- Kjøpt 2006
- Owner and collection:
- Nasjonalmuseet for kunst, arkitektur og design, The Fine Art Collections
- Photo:
- Frode Larsen
- Copyright:
- © Ness, Ole Jørgen/BONO
Nasjonalmuseet's collection catalogue is a living resource of information gathered since the 1830's. Some records may contain language or ideas that today could be perceived as outdated, offensive or discriminatory with regard to for instance gender, sexuality, ethnicity or disability, and that may be at odds with the museum's values regarding equality and diversity.
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Other works by Ole Jørgen Ness
Sketch for a CenturyOle Jørgen Ness(2005)
PrematurOle Jørgen Ness1984
RemnantOle Jørgen Ness1984 - 2014- The Martian ChroniclesOle Jørgen Ness2001
Urban TemplatesOle Jørgen Ness2014
UhrmanOle Jørgen Ness1988
Venomous GardenOle Jørgen Ness2005
Pandemonium RexOle Jørgen NessMellom 2009 og 2010- The Vapour of Arcana CoelestiaOle Jørgen Ness2011
SjelemargOle Jørgen Ness2000
VixenOle Jørgen Ness1986
Indian OceanOle Jørgen Ness2010- 2011




























