Lineage

Otto Ramstad

The project Lineage draws lines between the learning practices of experimental dance and somatic work, and personal ‘artistic genealogy’. ‘Artistic genealogy’ is a creative process Ramstad has been using to build relationships to his Norwegian ancestors and the land they inhabited and about which he knew very little. Lineage strings together these seemingly separate ways of gaining knowledge: official archives and private stories, his archive of somatic approaches and attempts to research land somatically – to think about what it was like to live in a body in rural Norway 100 years ago and ask how this affects how we are living in our bodies now. This exposition reflects a project that includes a video installation, a studio practice, and a performance which uses his archive of videos, stories, and movement. Here he shares thoughts about how we care for and engage in our personal histories and how this engagement changes how we are living in our bodies now. In this exposition you will see or hear the following people, listed in their order of appearance: Otto Ramstad, Lisa Nelson, Maura Gahan, Margit Galanter, Kristin Van Loon, Steve Paxton, Emmett Ramstad, Hans Steinar Gjerdet, Carle Lange, Olive Bieringa, Uma Rabbit Bieringa Ramstad, Andrea Parkins.

←

I was looking for traces of the lives of my great grandparents, John and Anna Ramstad. I knew both of them as a child. John died in December 31st, 1984, when I was nine years old, and Anna several years before. I have no record of exactly when. We would visit them at their apartment and I remember their strong Norwegian accents (they still pronounced J’s in the Norwegian way) and the candy they would give me. I had several documents I got from my father: John’s immigration declaration from 1913, his death certificate and a copy of his boat ticket. I had no documents for Anna but I knew her maiden name was Andresen; she was born April 18th, 1895, in Trondheim, Norway.

In late May 2016, I travelled to Oslo and went to The National Archives of Norway. I spent several hours there with the archivists. I was not able to find anything about Anna, or her family. I was able to find out where John was from through the copy of his boat ticket. John Fredrikson Ramstadtrædet, a metal worker, was born in Skjåk, Norway, December 26th, 1890, on Ramstadtrædet husmann farm. His parents are recorded as Fredrik Jonsen Svare and Rønnaug Rasmusdatter Ramstadtrædet.

This was a tipping point between information and memory transforming into the possibility of building a physical relationship with a place. Because I am a dancer, I had to go there. I got a rental car and drove with my family to Skjåk.

→

Tip

Tip