In the exhibition, PG Thelander’s absurd graphic work Jordgubbsråtta from 1971 leads us into the spirit of the 1970s and a period-typical artistic medium. The exhibition Jordgubbsråtta shows a selection of graphics from the 1970’s from the Kalmar konstmuseum’s collection.

In contemporary art, there is a growing interest in materiality. More and more artists are interested in the craft and the knowledge of the process itself. This may apply to textiles, sculpture, glass or various graphic techniques. Norwegian artist Idun Baltzersen is a relevant example. When she began her education at the Bergen Academy of Fine Arts in 2009, not many people worked in the graphic workshop there. She was able to explore the graphic techniques quite undisturbed. She has since combined her own exploration of woodcuts with contemporary and personal questions, and today she is not at all alone in her interest in printmaking.

The 1970s were a golden age for printmaking in Sweden. Collective graphic art workshops were started all over the country and politically radical graphic art flourished. Artists wanted to make an impact and used cheap and democratic method to convey and comment on current events. Techniques for duplicating an image had long been a tool for socially critical messages – Spanish artist Francisco Goya’s graphic suite The Horrors of War, 1810–1815, is a precursor – but during the 1970s, more artists than ever before included conflicts, environmental destruction, class and labor struggles in their visual worlds.

In parallel with the strong political expressions during the 1970s, graphic art continued to be a forum for experimenting with colour, form and composition. The exhibition also shows examples of artists who were primarily driven by teaching graphic art as a technique and an independent art form.

And what about the print collection? Kalmar konstmuseum was one of many museums and art associations that purchased a lot of prints during the 1970s. They subscribed to graphic portfolios, from, among others, Grafiska föreningen. Part of the selection for the exhibition Jordgubbsråtta comes from these folders.

Image: detail of Jordgubbsråtta, PG Thelander, 1971