Tucker Nichols In Copenhagen

I'm in Copenhagen on the invitation of Jonn Herschend and Koh-i-nor, a Danish art collective,
for an exhibition at Den Frie Museum.




In Copenhagen all your needs are met

everything is made with intention

















you will find astonishing sandwich spreads


















and distinguished headwear






































Den Frie is a special place

















maybe the nicest galleries I've ever
been in


















Of course, I chose to make work in the less glamorous parts
of the museum

Sometime I question these decisions


















I was planning to do text pieces on all the windows
in the lobby of the museum.






















but I had been making all these dot drawings back in SF and then I was
noticing how often you see dots in a grid here


















maybe it's a lego thing.


















They use dots to communicate things
in the subway without words.
Enter the train here.



















this side for going up



















haven't figured out what these ones meant yet




















don't bump into the glass

















eat this


















So, I decided to make vague advertising messages
using colored dots.
























Outside


























going in























Stairs leading up to the kitchen























directors office


















where they post press clippings

















broadcasting dot messages as if they meant something




















like it was urgent

















as it turns out, to people in Copenhagen, this actually means
"keep christiania free", the nearby anti-establishment commune area
that has it's own government and laws
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/freetown_Christiania


















I'm going there tonight to understand
what I'm supporting


I also made this bulletin board piece
in the conference room


















a map of sorts using the dots and grid
language

















like a bulletin board at the university where people speak
this graphic language of dots and grids.






















But, mostly it was an exercise
in futility of symbols, no matter
how many you put there.



I told the director it was an attempt to help
them with their future strategy and fund
raising plans


Someone put the floor cleaner in front
of it and I decided to leave it there























UPDATE:
So Christiania is a magical land and it
was true what they said about the three
dots.























The upper label translates to "your opinions and
habits are protected"


even the handstamps for the jazz club is
in on it























Shhh, the older woman said as she drew the dot on
my hand promise not to tell anyone the code.



Update 2:

the next day at the state museum I run into
this security guard whose logo really confuses
me.