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Sommaren 1970. En utflykt i det gröna
© Gerhard Nordström/Bildupphovsrätt 2024
Sommaren 1970. En utflykt i det gröna
Sommaren 1970. En utflykt i det gröna
Photo: Albin Dahlström/Moderna Museet

Sommaren 1970. En utflykt i det gröna

by Gerhard Nordström
Artist (Sverige, 1925 - 2019)
Alternate Title
  • The Summer of 1970. A Picnic in the Grass
Date1972
MediumOlja på pannå
DimensionsBildmått: 190,5 × 325 cm Ram: 191,5 × 327,5 × 9 cm
ClassificationPaintings
Credit LinePurchase 1972
Countries
Sweden
Object NumberNM 6419
The artwork is not on display
About the artworkThis painting is part of the series The Summer of 1970, which challenges the official reports on the Vietnam War. The American army photographer Ronald L. Haeberle’s documentation of the Mỹ Lai massacre in 1968 made a deep impression on Nordström. Haeberle had accompanied the troops in action and was instructed to deliver a positive image to US media.  On his own initiative, however, he also documented the war casualties, and these photos were published in Life magazine and turned public opinion. Details from these war photos appear surreptitiously in Nordström’s idyllic landscapes from Österlen in southern Sweden. The series was his breakthrough, but it also triggered debate – about the ongoing war, and the right of artists to take a stand on contemporary political issues.