KULNING
An Exhibition by Kelly Knight
Exhibition Dates: May 13 – May 24
Location: Provincetown Commons
46 Bradford Street
Provincetown, MA 02657
Opening Reception
Friday, May 15
5 PM – 7 PM
Artist Website
Kelly Knight | The Commons, Studio B | 46 Bradford Street, Provincetown, MA
In the ancient practice of kulning (cattle calling), Scandinavian herdswomen communicated across miles, with their herds and with each other, using only the power of their voices. This vocal technique projected the women's song-like calls up to three miles away - through woods, across lakes and mountains - to call their herds in from grazing, or to alert other herdswomen of a lost animal or a predator nearby. Reaching up to 125 decibels, as loud as a thunderclap, it’s said these women could even ward off wolves and bears using just the power of their voices. Kulning calls were as individual as each woman, and the technique was passed down through family lines, from mothers, aunts, and grandmothers. The calls have a musical quality, and the singers use the landscape itself to control the direction and strength of their calls.
The inspiration for this body of work comes from a collection of recordings of women performing traditional kulning in the 1960’s. As I listen, I imagine my own ancestors in Sweden as farmers, and I wonder what wisdom they would share with us about the power of women’s voices. The recordings conjure for me the help that we need during dangerous times: helpers on a parallel plane. Magical foxes, fanciful birds, plants, snakes and ancestors, and figures I call “Evelyns” - the guiding entities that both warn us of danger and help us avoid it if we tune into their presence. This work is my balm for anxiety, for a planet in peril and humans in crisis. I have created my own sort of mythology, one in which we reconnect to nature, and nurture hope and joy that percolate up through worry and despair.
Kelly Knight is a visual artist based on Outer Cape Cod. Her work is shaped by connection to place, memory, folklore and magical realism. She holds an MFA in 3D Fibers from Massachusetts College of Art & Design, and a BA in Creative Writing from Lesley University. Kelly is a Resident Artist at The Commons and a member of the Sail Loft Art Collective. She teaches classes and workshops on creative process, drawing and collage. She lives in a tiny cottage in the woods of Wellfleet and is learning to play the Irish whistle.