Wilhelm Freddie, born Christian Frederik Wilhelm Carlsen (7 February 1909 – 26 October 1995) was a Danish

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

. Initially working along a somewhat abstract line, he soon turned towards a more realistic

surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

, only to later return to abstract art. Some of his works were highly controversial and considered

pornographic Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

at their time, resulting in confiscation of the works and his imprisonment though his artistic merits were later recognized. Some of Freddie's works criticized

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...

and

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and t ...

, like the 1936 paintings ''Meditation on the Anti-Nazi Love'' and ''Phénomène psychophotographique'', and his 1938 exhibition ''Surreal-Sex''. In 1949 and 1950, Freddie directed two

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s, ''The Definite Rejection of a Request for a Kiss'' (''Det definitive afslag på anmodningen om et kys'') and ''Eaten Horizons'' (''Spiste horisonter'').

References

External links

Wilhelm Freddie's entry in Dansk Kunstnerleksikon
biography and more 1909 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Danish painters Recipients of the Thorvaldsen Medal 20th-century Danish sculptors Male sculptors Danish male artists 20th-century Danish male artists {{Denmark-sculptor-stub