Ane Hjort Guttu

On the occasion of Ane Hjort Guttu's 2015 Festival Artist exhibition at Bergen Kunsthall, presenting her latest film work, this substantial monograph gathers reflections on recent projects and offers insight into the artist’s work and methodology. 00Guttu’s new film Time Passes (2015), and commissioned by the institution, debates the contradictory and complex issues around the uses of and rights to public space, urban poverty and inequality, and the responsibility of the artist to produce commentary. An essay by Kim West introduces Guttu’s work as portraiture filmmaking crossing the gaze of the documentarian with a decidedly subjective point of view; Pablo Lafuente situates the work in relation to the responsibility of education and critical consciousness; and Ekaterina Degot draws out questions on the egalitarian character of contemporary art, particularly in light of the ideals highly present in the social imagination of Norway, “the last welfare state.” The texts are accompanied by visual essays and an artist interview with Halvor Haugen. This publication presents a framed view on this artist’s recent works, and takes a position on the role of the artist and the potential of art as a critical and political tool.