Jan Valentin Saether: Oikos

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OIKOS

The Oikos series consists of fifteen photographs of the reflections in turned-off televison sets. The format of the photographs and their frames reproduce in approximately life size the television sets which are depicted. The height 55 cm of all pictures is determined by the format of the color plotter used to print the photos. The photographed reflections of the empty domestic interiors reflected in the TV-screens are distorted by the curvature of the TV-screens. Some reflections are less precise and detailed than others, due to the reflective characteristics of the glass screens. Sæther has placed the screens facing the windows of the apartments in order to ensure recognizable interiors and a minimum of the furniture and decorations of the living room. The resulting images are hauntingly empty and devoid of life - somewhat like de Chirico's metaphysical landscapes or Hopper's cityscapes. The title "oikos" is the Greek word for house, home or home life. Our word "economy" stems from Greek words for home ("oikos") and rules or laws ("nomos"). The Greek title "oikos" awakes associations to an integrated life in the domestic sphere which has disappeared in our modern times, and which has disintegrated because of the increasing power of the television media to alienate us from the rich domestic life of the past.

Einar Petterson,
Professor of Art History, University of Oslo


Oikos #01	Oikos #05	Oikos #10

Oikos #02	Oikos #06	Oikos #11

Oikos #03	Oikos #07	Oikos #14

Oikos #04	Oikos #08	Oikos #15