Recently, illustrator Johanna Martinsen Brygfjeld (29) was able to unveil a drawing she has been working on for over seven months: The Dicktator. A drawing taller than herself and of at least 40,000 tiny penises. – I’ve got tendinitis. It is not allowed to draw several penises for a while, she laughs. The unveiling took place in her apartment in Oslo in the form of a video on Instagram and Facebook. In one week, it has received over two million views on Facebook. Unveiling Monday 19 February 2024. Johanna has also tried to share the video on Tiktok, where she has the most followers, but it was more or less censored because of the penises. Johanna Martinsen Brygfjeld @drittdama Thought it would take a weekend It’s now two years since Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, the joy of donating to Ukraine has decreased, and attention has fallen. Johanna Brygfjeld has a Ukrainian colleague, so it was extra important for her to do something. – I have dyslexia, and therefore drawing has become my way of expressing myself, she says. It all really started with a slightly silly idea in collaboration with my little brother. – I said I wanted to draw a portrait of penises, but who would deserve it? – You have to draw Putin, he said. Then it turned out like this. Brygfjeld found a picture of the president on the internet, and started working in the illustration program on the tablet. – I thought it would take a weekend. But the program made it possible to draw small. Very little. – Did you have any regrets along the way? – Yes … that I made it so big! It’s not so cool to go around and say I’ve got tendinitis after drawing too many penises, she laughs. Art critic: – Banal The feedback from people, including in the comment fields on Instagram and Facebook, has been positive. But art critic at news, Mona Pahle Bjerke, is not impressed. – You get the message: Putin is a dick, an asshole. But none of this lives in the idiom, she says. – She doesn’t bring out the ugly, lust for power, the bad in Putin. He almost looks at us with kind, blue eyes. The art critic wishes Brygfjeld had drawn Putin with a personal style, as street artists and newspaper cartoonists like to do. – This is a bit flat, banal. It is not a presence of an artistic hand, she says. news’s art critic, Mona Pahle Bjerke, misses a stronger line. The reason why Pahle Bjerke is so critical is that what is shared on social media has become part of today’s art scene, and should be taken seriously. – Don’t you think this has some kind of effect on people when it reaches so many? – I think the time has passed for a work of art, a chronicle, an illustration, to change public opinion. We become numb from all the impressions. I’m afraid a picture on Instagram will drown. HERE WE TALK: Illustrator Christian Bloom has drawn Donald Trump as a dirty baby. Photo: Christian Bloom/news – Funny and apt – Penis-Putin is a good drawing! I thought it was funny and apt. That’s what Halvor Harsem says, above average interested in aesthetics and known as @KongHalvor with 80-100,000 followers on social media. – I think that Johanna is an activist more than a great artist, so it would be wrong for me to judge the drawings by artistic qualities, he says. – But the message is the most important thing, which comes across in a very nice way here. Harsem also believes that Brygfjeld can engage the younger people with the drawing. Culture commentator: – Dictators crack down hard on artists The illustrator herself was in doubt for a long time whether she should publish the video at all – and whether it should be under her own name. – But we have freedom of speech in Norway, so I decided to do it. I have made up my mind that I will not visit Russia, says Brygfjeld. Culture commentator at news, Inger Merete Hobbelstad, says that portraying those in power in a derogatory way is a well-used and powerful tool. – For dictators, it is important to appear strong and competent. Therefore, they crack down hard on artists who drag down this impression. Inger Merete Hobbelstad, cultural commentator at news. Willing to cooperate with Ukrainian organization Johanna Brygfjeld says that it was mostly intended as a stunt, but that she greatly appreciates that it is being considered seriously. – Do you think it will have any effect? – I hope so. I myself experience that illustrations can motivate people to share content on social media and possibly put some pressure on the world leaders. – What are you going to do with it now? – Oh. I do not know. For now, it only takes up space in my apartment. But if it is sold, I would like to find a Ukrainian organization to cooperate with. Illustrator Johanna Martinsen Brygfjeld (29) is relatively big on social media such as @drittdama, especially TikTok. She is from Korgen in Nordland, but lives in Oslo. Photo: SYNNØVE SUNDBY FALLMYR / news What do you think? Art or just bullshit? Art! I love this. This is just nonsense. Don’t know Show result Listen to Johanna in Nyhetsmorgen:
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Johanna Martinsen Brygfjeld (29) has drawn Putin in 40,000 penises – news Culture and entertainment
