A Short Visit to Kragerø – Part 1: A Master of Satire and Caricatures
Gracela Einarson
Kragerø is a town on the coast of Telemark in southern Norway. It is known for its many summer tourists and several art galleries. My husband’s father, Odd Einarson, lived here from 1960 to his death in 1991. He was a famous Norwegian cartoonist who made controversial satire before and after World War II. When my husband and I visited the town some days ago, there was a memory exhibition of his drawings in the Kragerø Art Association’s premises.
The gallery was well-visited, and I am proud of my husband´s father for the legacy he left. His important satirical drawings are still relevant. He made caricatures of half a million Norwegians, each drawn in 3-4 minutes in his rolling atelier car.
Posing in front of a large photo of Odd Einarson in his atelier car that was also one of the first Norwegian mobile homesAt the gallery, with the commissioned staff of the Kragerø Art AssociationI accidentally met some friends at the exhibitDeciphering the messages of his drawings
Let’s look at some of the hundreds of political drawings he made:
Hitler caricature, 1934, shooting himself in the backCulture of Europe— a bad tree carrying bad fruits, referring to the bible quote, “By their fruit, you will recognize them.”Two ways of bearing the crossA media binocular that turns black into whiteWhich way will humanity choose, to be eradicated like the dinosaurs or not?Curious and discerning of the works of a great artistCaricature 1960Odd Einarson was also the editor and publisher of a controversial satirical magazine in 1946/47. He was against the reintroduction of the death penalty after the war and pointed out that “only the one who is clean can throw the first stone” and referred to the way Jesus solved conflictsI am in awe of the powerful messages depicted by the drawings still applicable today. Here, the deathbed of the Freedom of SpeechMy husband in front of the satirical magazine “Trollspeilet” “The Troll Mirror” where the son of the Devil asks his father: “Do people know that it was you who made the borders between them?¨Biography of Odd Einarson: “The Warm Front,” edited by my husbandFlipping through his entire life story…
Odd Einarson’s satirical drawings were too much for the authorities in Norway after World War II, and he was denied the right to publish his views. Instead, he built a mobile home, traveled the whole country, made caricatures of people, made a good living from that, and became a legend.
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2 responses to “A Short Visit to Kragerø – Part 1: A Master of Satire and Caricatures”
Wow …amazing
Thank you Bren 🙂 It’s nice to discover new places along with their art and history 🙂