Scherzando

Modern musical notation is an international language. This means a work by a Norwegian composer does not need to be translated in order for a Chinese musician to be able to play it. But if the composer wants to convey which mood or feeling the work should be played with, he or she uses Italian musical terms to indicate this on the score. Many of these words sound beautiful in their own right, for example, amabile (amiable, pleasant), luminoso (luminous, radiant) or pesante (heavy, ponderous).

In this mini-exhibition, the musical term scherzando – which means playful – is interpreted with objects from Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum. The ‘tones’ in this short stanza bounce through a few bars. They’re a bit cheeky and whimsical. Do you sense the mood we want to convey?

Jewellery art, like music, has a language that can be internationally understood. Many of the selected jewellery pieces are like little stories, several of them are also absurdly humorous. Due to the geometric forms and bright colours, the selection has a cartoonish character, and their visual accents and surprising aspects speak to us through a mood rather than having a reasonable explanation.