Catalogue > Un extrait vidéo au hasard

National Treasures Explained! (Pine Tree Stump) Through three fictional video guides, National Treasures Explained! dives into a wild exploration of iconic Norwegian paintings, delivering a satirical rewriting of art discourse and cheekily suggesting there's only one correct way to interpret each masterpiece. Dealing with an abstract modernist artwork, Pine Tree Stump takes a less direct, more mystical route towards total explanation, claiming that the painter has gone missing altogether and retracing his footsteps on the day of disappearance, all by way of experimental storytelling. The film was originally produced for the opening exhibition of the new National Museum of Art in Oslo, and is part of a trilogy of video guides to iconic Norwegian paintings, the other two being Ashes (Edvard Munch) and The Bridal Procession on the Hardanger Fjord (Tidemand & Gude). During that exhibition, the films could be watched next to the original paintings. The film features original music composed by Isa Holmgren and performed by the folk choir Blåne. The coat of arms is created by illustrator Espen Terjesen.

Tor-Finn Malum Fitje is a Norwegian video and sound artist based in Oslo. He holds an MFA from the Royal Academy of Art in Stockholm, a BFA from Konstfack and a Bachelor in Film Production from Bergen University. His work has been exhibited at The National Museum in Oslo, Gallery of Photography in Oslo, Kunsthall Stavanger and the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm. Video artist and writer Thomas Anthony Hill holds an MA in Comparative Literature from the University of Bergen. He has collaborated with Tor-Finn Fitje for over a decade, and together they have created several films including Hyphenic (2018) the Ad Nauseam project (2019-2022), currently consisting of 14 essay films.