BYU Studies Quarterly BYU Studies Quarterly

Volume 4 Issue 1 Article 6

1-1-1962

Ibsen on Art (Article by Henrik Ibsen) Ibsen on Art (Article by Henrik Ibsen)

John B. Harris

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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Harris, John B. (1962) "Ibsen on Art (Article by Henrik Ibsen)," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 4 : Iss. 1 , Article 6. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol4/iss1/6

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ibsen on artnote the first of two articles by henrik ibsen on the

nature and function of art being a letter from ibsen as thedirector of the norwegian theater in kristianiaKris tiania oslo tothe norwegian parliament dated october 25 1859 althoughthese pieces have long been available to the person who couldtravel long distances to see the manuscripts and who had aworking knowledge of norwegian these translations pre-sent essentially new material to the english speaking scholartranslation by john B harris

each man reveals himself or at least re reveals himselfwith every utterance and it is only through the study of re-corded utterances that we are able to catch the revelation ofpeople of enduring interest who are not our own contempor-aries the publication of the scholarly edition of ibsens col-lected works in 195219 5 21 has given us additional opportunity toview and review ibsen and his concepts not only through thedefinitive texts of the standard works presented to us aurbuthutdutdurjutalso through many less accessible items and a good numberof hitherto unobtainable items some published for the firsttime in the edition

in the following letter we see much that we have longknown about ibsen it comes as no surprise to us that his

focal point is drama he is known to us above all else as adramatist in this case a dramatist in the seemingly perennialneed for money for theatrical production it comes as nosurprise either to find him pointedly patriotic anyone whohas read peer cyntgynt the league of youth the wildduck etc to the end of the list of his famous dramas mostof which were written while ibsen was in willful exile fromnorway knows that they are strongly norwegian not onlyin setting but in flavor and essence so one does not evenneed to have read the earlier historical plays or be familiarwith his early political activities to know of ibsens intensepatriotism nevertheless little has been said about ibsens

henrik ibsen samlede verker eds francis bull halvdan koht didrikarup seip 20 vols hundredaarsutgave oslo gyldendalGyl dendal norsk forlagdorlag 1928-1952

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concept of the role of art in the patriotic cause a basic pointin this letter moreover we tend to isolate ibsen from theother arts because he functioned rather exclusively in thetheater during his years of fame despite the fact that he

was a painter and a poet in his younger years both this articleand the one to follow show that he not only was aware ofthe other arts but that he understood their methods and sig-nificancenific ance

both articles have a good deal to say to the modern artistand critic because they deal with problems still a part of ourartistic age this first article however seems to hold a par-ticularlyticularly pertinent message for LDS artists who are toooften guilty of being unaware of the major point ibsen is

here trying to make

from the directorship of the norwegian theater inKriskristiania2kristianiatiania

to the parliament

the significance of nationalism in the complete spiritualorientation and development of a people has in the past fif-teen to twenty years become remarkably clear and understand-able in these last few years it has become notably clearerand clearer to the common mind that political freedom aloneby no means makes a people free in spirit and in truth butthat the higher spiritual freedom comes about above all throughthe breaking of those bonds which imprison a people s under-standing of itself by way of a foreign artistic domain thatthis freedom first comes about when people have viewed them-selves and the world around them through that characteristicform and that characteristic illumination which is to us asa nation indigenous and natural the battle in the serviceof this higher freedom is fought here as in other placesby our artists and our authors the spiritual eyes of the peoplewho prior to the masses have caught a vision of it in thissituation as an absolute necessity and the battle is not foughtmerely over theories hence the results are immediately feltthrough their works our poets have taught the people tounderstand and love their own heritage with all its variations

ibid XV 224.230224230224250

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they have in true and noble forms presented pictures of thepeople s life to our eyes and in the midst of all these vari-ants in the midst of these deviant forms they have taught usto glimpse and admit of an essence which lies characteristicallyat the root the common mind of the people the character-istically basic points of view which belong to us and no otherpeople because we as opposed to the world at large makeup an entity not simply because of political agreement butbecause of common orgin common traditions common lan-guage and a common fate through good and bad times ina word because we in the full sense of the meaning are anation

and our graphic artists have not been less stimulatingthey have composed for us in colors and shapes as othershave in words they have taught us to grasp with the essenceof understanding that particular nature under whose influ-ence we have grown up and which in its distinctiveness liesso close to our spiritual character

the field of music has also been cleared and cultivated asingle eminent personality in this area has borne our coun-try s name with honor far beyond our borders now if wecould imagine that all of this work of artistic spirit were leftundone or that it had been performed by foreigners the pic-ture of the situation which would present itself before oureyes would then be dark indeed only then could we com-pletely realize the significance which lies in a national opera-tion in poesie and art it will become clear to us that in largemeasure it is from these things that our national spirit hasreceived its awakening and strength that it is from thesethings that our love for our country and our national institu-tions absorbs its most healthful nourishment that we of theseprofessions have a living obligation to create an organic unityand an obligation toward harmonious strife in peace as wellas defense against an enemy attack

this acknowledgement of lofty meaning in the nationalart for our most important and deepest interests has appar-ently been also clear in the eyes of the representatives of thepeople because lately they by means of not inconsiderable fin-ancial support on the part of the state have made it possible

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for our young struggling artists namely painters and sculp-tors of stone and wood to pursue their education for agreater or lesser period in foreign art centers moreover bymeans of travel allowances the opportunity has been giventhem to partake of that education which the study of natureand art offers be it at home or abroad our musicians alsohave been benefited by this liberality several of them havein part received instruction in foreign conservatoriesconserva tories by meansof public support and finally in previous years certain au-thors have by means of travel stipends benefited by theawakening awareness in our society of the importance of in-tellectualtel lectual achievement to our national well being

but it becomes immediately apparent that while help andsupport have been given in all of the abovementionedabove mentioned di-rectionsrections our own dramatic art has been ignored and left toitself the reason for this cannot reasonably lie in a denialor plain underevaluationunderevaluation on the part of the national assemblyof the importance of this art for it has placed its stamp ofacknowledgement on the national operation of poetry paint-ing the plastic arts and music so it is impossible for it todeny the validity of the dramatic art this art because of itsvery nature must be looked upon as an exalted comminglingcomminglingof all the foregoing arts in that it appears as a union of theelements of poetry painting plastic art and music there-fore the parliament has by supporting the foregoing artsindirectly given its acknowledgementknowledgementac of the dramatic art s

title and when its title is once acknowledged it incontestably follows that in its influence upon the people it has awider importance than any other art form for while eachof these in accordance with its basic idea presents itself moreor less abstractly poetry by words alone painting alonethrough drawing and color the plastic arts through pure formetc all of these media of artistic communication unite in thedramatic art to form a complete entity to form a straight-forward representation of life and reality cleansed and ele-vated in the manner in which the artistic ennobling processbrings it into being to understand completely the markedinfluence and significance of the dramatic art that it isindeed national one must further consider that in it the

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creating artistic personality is likewise the artistic mediumthe painter employs canvas and colors the sculptor marbleand brass but the actor simply himself his voice his move-ments his facial expressions his striding and posing in shorteverything which collectively moulds itself into a living indi-vidual characterization by which the laity justifies its conceptof that individual as opposed to all others

an artistic endeavor in this direction which is in essenceand truth national must be granted by everyone since theyhave already acknowledged the significance of a national artin general to be of the utmost importance as a principalmedium for the people to clearly find themselves to be en-nobled and taught to be strengthened and united thereforein most progressive societies the dramatic arts enjoy a highvaluation as a spiritual educational medium for the populacein manifold places the operation of the theater is made amatter of state and in general is partially supported withgenerous allotments from the official party concerning whichmore exact statistical information is enclosed

but when it is sufficiently substantiated by experienceas well as by the reasonable basis of the thing itself that noart form can so forcefully and meaningfully bear upon thedevelopment of the people as the dramatic it also necessarilyfollows that this particular art form which can with greatersuccess than any other strive toward the goal it should reachfor or at least toward that which it can reach when pressedby circumstances and weighty conditions to go off on thewrong track is forced at times to give up that goal in orderto be allowed to pursue it in general this has oftentimesproved to be the case in the theater when the official stipendhas not been great enough hence is it not quite natural thatthe results are readily apparent in our theater which is sup-ported exclusively by its daily receipts in such a circumstanceit is altogether too frequently necessary for a theater to followthe public instead of leading it to allow itself to be carriedaway by the prevailing often vitiating taste rather thangovern it if our theater possessed greater means it wouldalso be able to enlarge and improve its staff together withsupplying that staff with a more basic preparatory education

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it would be able to bestow greater care to the selection andperformance of plays to reward original authors more liber-ally and thereby promote our dramatic literature and like-wise be able in general to work in a more artistic and nationalspirit than any up to this point has seen the possibility ofdoing

the norwegian theater is a people s theater it has estab-lished as its commission to work as ffargarar as is possible for theplebeian class it has therefore an inordinate number of in-expensive seats but as a result the daily receipts are toosmall to support the institution without its resorting to an ar-tistically damaging parsimony yet no one has thought thatany change ought to be made in this regard because as I1said it is part of the plan of the theater to make itself avail-able to all this characteristic of the dramatic art should notbe ignored the works of our painters and sculptors can beowned and enjoyed only by individuals moreover their great-est and best productions most generally remain abroad wherethey were created yet the state feels obligated to support theiractivity which by its very nature cannot really be said tobenefit the people this liberality is to be sure well foundedbut the need of the theater for comparable support ought tostand established on equally firm ground the contributionswhich are given here remain in the country and the gains arethe common property of all

this bold acknowledgementknowledgementac of the need and significanceof a national theater has been declared in an unmistakablemanner throughout the land in recent times by the fact thatthe newly established subscription for the procurement of asatisfactory building for the norwegian theater has met withsympathy not only with the country s king and his familybut also with the farmer up in the mountain villages Assoon as this proposed building becomes a reality the futureof the dramatic art in our country will undoubtedly be securedbut that time still liestiesllesiles in the distant future and until thattime it is not only necessary to support the institution butalso to work vigorously and without losing sight of our artisticideal this problem is doubly difficult for the norwegiantheater to solve for conditions have developed over the years

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so that it not only has a goal to work toward but an opposi-tion to conquer in order to achieve the dramatic art in ourland must not simply learn but also forget

this humanistic and intellectual spirit wherein our nat-ional unity has taken effect throughout the land during ourperiod of independence must essentially be regarded as alever for the higher ideas which the time has called to life inour political state and amongst these stands the idea of anational theater of the first rank it is therefore in fullconfidence that we address ourselves to the norwegian par-liament in that we hereby request that a grant from the statetreasury of two thousand special kroner annually be giventhe kristianiaKris tiania norwegian theater that it may more freely andunimpeded than heretofore work in the service of art

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Harris: Ibsen on Art (Article by Henrik Ibsen)

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