Ministry Blog

The project containing involuntary pictures goes on…

Today the Minister found this most unlikely still life. The old candy slogan beside a very broken brake disc… Have a brake/have a break - what’s the difference. For the non-technical readers I can narrate that the pieces of rusted iron is (or was) parts from a broken brake-disc. The piece of cardboard with the slogan was actually lying just like that, right beside the pieces of broken brake disc.

Another involuntary image in the project of involuntary images… “Oops, darn I pressed the button”. The right foot is visible. Again… A little snapshot into the every-day reality and mess.

I’ve reached the end of the road…

Summer-time is reading-time, and every summer I try to reread a few of the best books. Have just read “The Girl, the Gold watch and everything” (by John D. MacDonald), “Glory Road” and “Citizen of the Galaxy” (both by Robert A. Heinlein).

Regarding John D. the late Ian Fleming once said “I automatically buy every John D. MacDonald as it comes out” (that is indeed a good tip). And regarding Robert A. - if you ever wondered about the epithet “Master writer”, read some of his work and you will be enlightened.

A shaky Internet-connection has been a constant problem for a long time now at the Ministry… Several steps has been taken, new router have been bought and broken down… Back to an old router, it seems sometimes that old is better… Then the data filter became a problem. Always something new… Finally the modem gave up after performing very digitally (on/off). It was deemed old and probably needed replacing so in the end it just gave up. A new modem is now purchased and installed. As well as yet a new router. Let’s keep our collective fingers crossed now for a better performance from these new technical gadgets. After half a week off-grid it feels good to be “on-line” again…

Well… even if the Minister just have got used to this winter-thing and shoveling snow - it is probable that it really is summer. During the passing week it’s been record heat - a typical night-round includes having a whiff of the atmosphere and look at the sunset. The whole north side of the sky is lit up like a sunrise, at 23.20 local time… It’s a kind of magic, the Nordic solstice night. And around Midsummer the FULL moon was hanging/rising… How often is it full moon and Midsummer at the same time? Actually! We’ve had some really hot week(s) now, almost a heatwave. There has already been more days at the beach than total last year! We like it like that. And as established in a discussion with an Australian - anything over 25 and closing in on 30 is considered a “heat-wave” in this area of the polar-region!  On a not so hot today it’s time for a bbq and some tequila! Always a Texan at heart. This is proof. Several outdoor breakfasts has been enjoyed. Freshly picked strawberries and canesugar, with newly baked bauette and a big cafe au lait. Aaahhh…. The HOT days has given rise to that there is only one thing to do - cooling off… Beer, garden hoses, lake, driving with the windows down, beaches and occasionally a sip of Cinzano-drinks with ice and lemon. The last few days the Minister have felt like Karate-kid… Wax on! Wax off! (The new car has got a few new coats of car-wax.  And of course… everything in Sweden has been revolving around the royal wedding that finally took place some weeks ago, when the weather was a bit so so and the Minister bit his tongue for no reason at all.

Today on the longest day of the year, we have report from Samara, Russia where the art project “Artnews Outdoor” is running. The Ministry is part of this project and the Minister can now be seen all over Samara and surrounding areas on different billboards. Regretfully there was no chance going there to perform a HopArt in Volga…

Samara is one of the largest cities in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia, the Volga Federal District, at the confluence  of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is also the administrative center of Samara Oblast. The embankments of the town has been compared with Lake Geneva.

Minister of Art & Jump in the Russian art project “Artnews Outdoor” in Samara. Image credit: Artnews Outdoor.

The HopArt jump in connection with the Friction International Performance Festival is now history. For the first time in Uppsala, never before further north and the first time with a fracture and forgetting the glasses. All and all a memorable event in a fantastic context. This fantastic in-midair image a la Yves Klein was taken by Boris Nieslony, I couldn’t have made it better myself!

Image credit: Boris Nieslony, E.P.I Zentrum.

Åkte genom ett regnigt land från Skåne till Uppsala, som på en pilgrimsled. Norrut genom södern - genom Bjärnum möbelcity, förbi Porrarp (!) och vidare via Vittsjös knappt skånska arkitektur. De djupa smålandsskogarnas gränsland – i ett nästan väglöst Snapphaneland. I trollskogar 12 km från Markaryd med timmertransporter balanserandes på smala, djupt skogsinbäddade vägar korsandes länsgränsen till Kronoberg. Det verkade som om regnet mer förföljde mig än följde mig norröver, men bilen blir avsköljd i alla fall…

På Rasta i Ödeshög kunde jag bara konstatera skitiga toaletter och dyr bensin, och ville man tanka i kassa fick man betala i förväg eller lämna körkortet i pant. En skylt förkunnade ”Hemlagat” – men hur kan det vara hemlagat på en restaurang, ett väghak? Lagar kocken till maten hemma hos sig för att sedan ta med sig det till vägkrogen!? Med sådana tankar passerades Gränna och jag noterade att Preem där möjligen borde flytta fram skylten med bensinpriserna från platsen efter utfarten till en plats före infarten – i ärlighetens och kundnyttans namn.

Därefter vidtog mil efter mil av den konformistiska E4:an, där de största skillnaderna ligger i viadukternas utförande och bitvis med en vägytestandard som man kan förvänta sig i en rysk satellitstat. Mer och mer öppnar sig landskapet och den omgivande och förbirusande verkligheten ljusnar bit för bit, trots det ihållande regnet. När man kommer så långt som till Stockholm väntar ett tröskande i ett makalöst trafikkaos. I huvudstaden råder nedsatt hastighetsbegränsning till 30 km/h - på motorväg (!). En av landets huvudleder förvandlas till en osande, stillastående, igenkorkad innerled - vilket bara kan beskrivas som korkat, huvudlöst och saknandes motstycke. Beror bristen på en ringväg eller förbifart runt staden på politiker utan körkort eller bara på det faktum att de aldrig kör bil själva (på grund av indraget körkort?). Eller beror det på en utbredd och handlingsförlamande inkompetens?

När man väl kommer ut ur huvudstaden öppnar vägen upp sig igen, och då man passerade Arlanda – Uppsalas flygplats – är trafikkaoset liksom regnvädret ett minne blott, som minnet av en fjärran regnstorm på en solstekt strand… Väl framme i Uppsala förundras man över denna nordliga utposts civilisationsnivå, den akademiska högborgen och detta traditionstyngda kulturnav - en nordlig oas strax utanför maktelitens skränande centrum.