Silje Hjemdal is an MP for the Norwegian Progress Party. She visits The Cave to talk about her party's suggestion to reduce the budget for arts and culture by fifty percent.Critics warn of "American conditions" if all stipends for "artists" are trashed.But what if this is exactly what we need to raise the level?⭐ Watch the BONUS-material where Hjem…

Belonging to each their value system, Magnus Vanebo and Jan-Ove sit down to discuss the differences between Art and Kitsch.▶ Full video: https://bit.ly/3rGG0oHThis is a preview of an episode from the 🔥 Dark Flame series. To get access to the full conversation and more exclusive material, become a $5 patron at https://patreon.com/caveofapellesThe co…

Jan-Ove Tuv, Sebastian Salvo, and Bork Nerdrum sit down to talk about the "shapeshifters" who study classical painting with Odd Nerdrum, only to knee bend to conventional contemporary art when they go out into the world on their own.Why do these painters betray their talent and what can be done to reverse the trend?▶ Full video: https://bit.ly/36Ak…

Our guest for the evening is the Norwegian painter Kristine Onsrud. Many young, figurative painters can probably relate to her art school trauma, but there are probably few who have experienced that their painting got stabbed with a pair of scissors by their so-called colleagues. This is exactly what happened to Onsrud, who eventually left the Lond…

The Memorosa Order is a group of painters that follow strict dogma. Its members include Sebastian Salvo, Öde Nerdrum, William Heimdal, Nic Thurman, Javier Adams, Kristine Onsrud, and Cassander Straumsgaard.In this episode, Sebastian Salvo sits down with Jan-Ove Tuv to discuss the dogmas in more detail.▶ Full video: https://bit.ly/3hcinABBork Nerdru…

Jan-Ove Tuv and Carl Korsnes sit down to talk about the literature of Charles Dickens.▶ Full video: https://bit.ly/3gXGTp9This is a preview of an episode from the 🔥 Dark Flame series. To get access to the full conversation and more exclusive material, become a $5 patron at https://patreon.com/caveofapellesThe conversation was produced by Bork S. Ne…

Magnus Vanebo is an artist, studying at The National Academy of Art in Norway (better known as KhiO). He visits The Cave to talk about his personal experience with Cancel Culture.Last year, as the academy wanted to increase Social Justice training, and saw «structural racism» everywhere, Vanebo objected — in the beginning as the only one (out of mo…

Einar Duenger Bøhn and Jan-Ove Tuv discuss the apollonian and dionysian aspects of human beings in relation to Nietzsche's book, "The Birth of Tragedy".Could this be why the Western world is collapsing?▶ Full video: https://bit.ly/2THzUHFThis is a preview of an episode from the 🔥 Dark Flame series. To get access to the full conversation and more ex…

Öde Nerdrum and Jan-Ove Tuv discuss the current situation of the modern institution we know as "the museum", where it came from, where it is going, and what to do about it.▶ Full video: https://bit.ly/3yv5p7EThis is a preview of an episode from the 🔥 Dark Flame series. To get access to the full conversation and more exclusive material, become a $5 …

Jonas Landstad is a painter with a keen interest in the Mediterranean mystery cults. Defending timelessness is more important than ever, as gatekeepers of culture, probing your moral purity, aim for total control. The solution might just lie in the individual communion with eternal principles. According to Landstad, this is exactly what happened in…

Bork Nerdrum, Jan-Ove Tuv, and Sebastian Salvo sit down to discuss mankind's broken links in history and how inherited traditions might reveal surprising details about the past.The sculpture group referred to in this discussion is the "Seated Poet and Two Sirens", which is owned by the Getty Museum. Is it Greek or could it be a link to an unknown p…

Jan-Ove Tuv and Sebastian Salvo sit down to talk about the meeting between opposites as a tool to make great stories. ▶ Full video: https://bit.ly/3ayLtXmThis is a preview of an episode from the 🔥 Dark Flame series. To get access to the full conversation and more exclusive material, become a $5 patron at https://patreon.com/caveofapellesThis conver…

The young architect Kristian Hoff-Andersen explains the appeal of classical architecture. Is it good because it is «traditional», or because it emulates nature and thus relates to human beings? Do we like it because it is "old-fashioned" or do we quite simply need timeless surroundings?Hoff Andersen shares amazing success stories about newly made c…

Öde Nerdrum, Jan-Ove Tuv, and Sebastian Salvo discuss the values of Kitsch.This is a 10 minute preview of an episode from the 🔥 Dark Flame series. To get access to the full conversation and more exclusive material, become a $5 patron at https://patreon.com/caveofapellesThis conversation was hosted by Jan-Ove Tuv, Öde Nerdrum, and Sebastian Salvo, a…

Aristotle said that a big mistake poets commit is to speak in "their own voice", but what is the alternative? Öde Nerdrum gives his view on what painters, writers and musicians should do to make the most out of their respective disciplines.This is a 10 minute preview of an episode from the Dark Flame series. To get access to the full conversation a…

After studying with Odd Nerdrum in the early 2000s, Knoop devoted her time to the frescoes of Pompeii and Antique sculptures. Spending a year in Italy, she copied masterworks in public collections, and shares her experiences. She talks about the importance of androgyny, clichés - and why you should paint self-portraits. This conversation was hosted…

In Sweden, a student group called «Brown Island» feels the presence of a majority of middle class, white students is «problematic». Its members are also traumatized by the name of the exhibition space at The Art Academy. As it turns out, the white walls of «The White Sea» are soaked in racism (a lot of white people have been in the room throughout …

Jan-Ove Tuv and Carl Korsnes discuss the holistic and psychological aspects of Herman Melville's Moby Dick.This is a 10 minute preview of an episode from the Dark Flame series. To get access to the full conversation and more exclusive material, become a $5 patron at https://patreon.com/caveofapellesThis conversation was hosted by Jan-Ove Tuv and Ca…

How did the modern concept of Art come about and how did Enlightenment thinkers pave the way for modernism? The Cave of Apelles reviews Larry Shiner's book "The Invention of Art" (2001).You can also read Bork Nerdrum's full review of the book in Sivilisasjonen:https://sivilisasjonen.no/english/54175/the-invention-of-art-the-book-that-will-redefine-…

A feminist pledge seeks to correct the gender imbalance of museums, foundations and private collections. It is backed up by an organization representing over 100 culture-related organizations. However, their «fairness» hides a core tenet of Critical Theory: objective knowledge does not exist, but is merely "a male, Eurocentric construct". In the en…

The anonymous person behind the social media account "The Squander Ombudsman" (Sløseriombudsmannen) has become a national phenomenon in Norway, counting over 60.000 followers on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Sl%C3%B8seriombudsmannen-271396979737547/With a focus on public squandering, state support of the arts is indeed a natural topic for him —…

This is a 10 minute preview of an episode from the Dark Flame series. To get access to the full conversation and more exclusive material, become a $5 patron at https://patreon.com/caveofapellesThis conversation was hosted by Jan-Ove Tuv and Sebastian Salvo, and was produced by Bork S. Nerdrum, with assistance from Cassander Straumsgaard.The centerp…

Critical Theory-zealots are vying for complete «Cultural Hegemony», introducing utopian demands for moral purity. All ideas of objectivity and quality are under attack. Jan-Ove Tuv explains how The National Academy of Art in Norway is being criticized for not being «woke» enough. The situation is far from idiosyncratic. Indeed, it is indicative of …

What are the mythical dimensions of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein's Monster, and what inspired her and Percy Shelley to write the novel? Most people are in for a surprise when they read the book for the very first time — full of preconceived ideas about its content.This is a 10 minute preview of an episode from the Dark Flame series. To get access to…

Ironically, conservatives have become the new marxists by focusing all their attention on materialistic values, such as a good income, gadgets like the iPhone, and "progress". But by taking culture for granted, they have left a vacuum, now being replaced by Critical Theory.This is a 10 minute preview of an episode from the Dark Flame series. To get…

Aftur Nerdrum joins us to explain the process of staging her father’s play, where Kant is confronted with the consequences of his aesthetics. Which considerations had to be taken, bringing the play to life on stage, and what are the qualities of Odd Nerdrum as a playwright?Aftur Nerdrum discusses how the intricacies of human passion makes the play …

Should culture politics be treated from a libertarian, purist perspective where all government interference is bad — or is it more productive to take Max Stirner's approach, finding the best solutions for yourself, regardless of your universal principles?This is a 10 minute preview of an episode from the Dark Flame series. To get access to the full…

How can painters and other types of poets use Blake Snyder's Save the Cat! to become better at their craft, or more importantly — become better storytellers?This is a 10 minute preview of an episode from the Dark Flame series. To get access to the full conversation:https://www.patreon.com/posts/45373248This conversation was hosted by Jan-Ove Tuv an…

How can painters use Aristotle's Poetics to become better at their craft, or more importantly — become better storytellers?This is a 10 minute segment from the Dark Flame series. To get access to the full conversation and more exclusive material, become a $5 patron at patreon.com/caveofapellesThis conversation was hosted by Jan-Ove Tuv and Sebastia…

Bork Nerdrum, our own producer, appears on The Cave to reveal his ranking list of the greatest living painters, inspired by his father’s philosophy and Aristotle’s Poetics.See the list here:https://sivilisasjonen.no/kultur/53593/the-worlds-greatest-living-painters/How can quality in painting be objectively measured and what happens when everything …

Stefan Boulter is an Icelandic painter. He touches on Jung’s shadow concept, how cancel-culture can affect what we create, and the base nepotism of culture politics.As a teacher, he shares his experience with what young students typically are concerned with today: what tendencies are visible in their works?Further, he addresses how great things can…

The theater expert, Adara Ryum, makes her appearance to talk about the dramatist Henrik Ibsen and performance practice. Ryum points out how «updating» Ibsen always implies turning him into political propaganda, and that «modernizing» classical theatre results in losing the intensity of the story and insight into the fundamentals of human nature. As…

Is there an inevitable cycle that civilization is doomed to repeat — merely reenacting the fall of Rome — or can we break free from it? The biggest hindrance to a rich culture is the rejection of empiricism. Today, you are supposed to just accept the narrative — a certain signifier of the mystic phase we are currently living in.But history shows us…

Looking at history, has not cancel culture and the toppling of statues always been precursors of mass murder and ideological coup d'Ètats?The important question now is: what about "classical Western values" like freedom of speech — can culture survive without it?Some are skeptical to the influence of Islam, its ban on representational images (anico…

What does it take to convince the audience — heartfelt inspiration or calculated deception? Imagine all the best stories being one and the same (or ten and the same), mechanically crafted by the same principles. Would you still enjoy them... forever and ever... and ever?Kristofer Hivju shares his views on Blake Snyder’s book on screenwriting, "Save…

Demographics are changing. Old families are dying out and foreign belief systems are taking over.What happens when galleries close one after another and aniconism becomes the new status quo in Western countries? Boris Koller has a grim outlook on the art world, but even more so for the future of figurative painting. As he sees it, there are no real…

With Modernism, objective values were thrown overboard. Einar Duenger Bøhn, who teaches philosophy at the University of Agder in Norway, sees objective value in the classical portrait, making Aristotle’s concept of tëchne a true humanistic project. He has written a book called “The Meaning of Life” where he uses the myth of Sisyphus to argue that t…

Why did Edvard Munch bow to Art after successfully emulating the techniques of the old masters? Perhaps the philosophy of kitsch could serve as a solution for contemporary classical painters that are trying to cultivate their virtue in a minefield of Art. But how do you differentiate between correct and incorrect kitsch signifiers?Watch Jan-Ove Tuv…

"I feel like it's time to take women a little bit off the fashion-horse", says the tailor who wants to shape men into cathedrals with her new brand, "The Kitsch Collection". Eline Dragesund is a young designer from Norway whose primary inspiration for clothing is the subculture of Odd Nerdrum's painting school, as well as Ancient Greece. She despis…

How can one secure the independence of culture? Watch Jan-Ove Tuv's conversation with the Norwegian art sociologist Dag Solhjell who co-authored "On Kitsch" in 2002, subsequently publishing four volumes on cultural politics in Norway. On the basis of his recent book "Dette er kunst" (This is Art), Solhjell describes what he calls "pointing", which …

What are the objective rules of figurative, narrative painting, and was originality a concern at all in the Renaissance? Sebastian Salvo re-appears on the show to talk about Masaccio, Michelangelo, and the early Renaissance masters, what Vasari wrote about them and the role of competition in Europe as the continent came out of the Middle Ages.The c…

"I have had mentors as well as tormentors," says Marcus Paus, the Norwegian composer, whose admiration for the craft of classical music has led to his work being frequently attacked by dogmatic modernists — among them a self-appointed nemesis, known as "the teacher who was not to be."Paus' response is to declare that he is not an ideological compos…

Watch Jan-Ove Tuv's conversation with the former academic director at the Florence Academy of Sweden, Joakim Ericsson, who swapped painting for fantasy illustrations and the gaming industry.This episode was produced by Bork S. Nerdrum, assisted by Andrew Aviste and Seth Fite. 🎵Listen to exclusive episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for …

Watch Jan-Ove Tuv's conversation with the author and former leader of the Capitalist party in Norway, Vegard Martinsen. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ayn Rand's Romantic Manifesto, we have invited Martinsen to talk about her view on aesthetics and how her philosophy could serve as an antidote to Immanuel Kant's philosophy.This episode was pr…

Watch Jan-Ove Tuv's conversation with the Chinese portrait painter Cheng Wu. Wu talks about his experience of coming to Europe and being told at a French art academy that his work was too traditional. He also touches on the extraordinary situation for classical figurative painting in China, as well as Li Cheng and the golden age of Chinese painting…

Listen to Jan-Ove Tuv's conversation with the Norwegian painter William Heimdal, also known as "Prince William." In this interview, Heimdal talks about his journey from drawing Donald Duck cartoons inspired by Don Rosa, to painting like Nerdrum and the old masters.This episode was produced by Bork S. Nerdrum, assisted by Sebastian Salvo and Nic Thu…

Watch Jan-Ove Tuv's conversation with the Swedish painter and free speech advocate Markus Andersson, whose painting "Swedish Scapegoats," after bizarre turn of events, ended up in the Supreme Court.This episode was produced by Bork S. Nerdrum, assisted by Sebastian Salvo and Nic Thurman. 🎵Listen to exclusive episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/…

Jan-Ove Tuv's conversation with Odd Nerdrum's son, who works alongside his father at the Nerdrum Studio in Norway and Sweden.This episode was produced by Bork S. Nerdrum, assisted by Sebastian Salvo and Nic Thurman. 🎵Listen to exclusive episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Jan-Ove Tuv's conversation with the Norwegian composer Martin Romberg, whose work is often influenced by literature such as The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien.This episode was produced by Bork S. Nerdrum, assisted by Sebastian Salvo and Nic Thurman. 🎵Listen to exclusive episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Jan-Ove Tuv's conversation with the Norwegian painter Per T. Lundgren about the tragic life of the great Scandinavian landscape painter Lars Hertervig, Odd Nerdrum's transformation from so-called social realism to archetypal imagery, and his experience at the Nerdrum School. Links with related content:Lars Hertervig's "Borg Island":https://bit.ly/2…