Siri Dokken (1966), known as one of Norway's foremost newspaper cartoonists, has her education from the Norwegian School of Handicrafts and Art Industry in Oslo. Since 2017, she has held a professorship in satirical drawing at the University of the Arts in Oslo. Dokken's profound drawings on both current political and society-related issues are characterized by a high recognition value. Siri Dokken's line can be described as quick, poetic and always precise in execution. She likes to play with different surface structures that add a painterly quality to the images. Although the main content of Dokken's drawings can be perceived at first glance, there are several layers in the drawings, which require closer consideration. Siri Dokken lives and works in Oslo. You can find more information on Siri Dokken 's website .
TF: Can you tell us a little about your artistic work?
SD: My main area is commentary drawing and illustration on topics such as politics, society and culture. I have worked as a cartoonist in Dagsavisen since 1996, and currently I deliver three cartoons a week for the newspaper's political commentary. At the same time, I am a regular illustrator for Nytt Norsk Tidsskrift. From time to time I also do other things, lately for example I have been working on character design for an upcoming animated film.
TF: How do you use drawing in your work? Tell us a little about your work process!
SD: In the newspaper, I work with short deadlines, and most of the drawings are done within four to seven hours. It clearly controls the choices I make. I always draw by hand, but scan and color the drawing digitally. The drawing is read within a few seconds and must communicate effectively, but the goal is nevertheless an idea that has more complexity and more layers than what one perceives at first glance. I clearly spend most of my time on idea work. Nevertheless, I have to make good choices in the execution as well, if the idea is to swing. It sometimes holds hard.
TF: What inspires you? Do you work from a theme?
SD: I work on the basis of the theme in the texts I receive, but am free in relation to angle and conclusion. The newspaper gives me free rein, and the drawing can also argue against the text, if I directly disagree with the writer. It is important to me that the drawings represent my own view, and to the best of my ability I read up on the matter so that I can defend an independent position. I would like to influence and think it is perfectly fine that the drawings show my point of view. Much of the fun in my job is precisely penetrating a problem and rendering it in a way that gives new insight. A drawing can be slower than the text and draw the perspectives further, and the visual language is immediate and has tools that the written language lacks. Satirical drawing also has a disarming form; the actual content is often glazed with humor or pathos, and is only taken up when the reader has "swallowed". This can make it easier for you to accept a reasoning that you would reject in text or rational argumentation.
I am inspired by satire in all forms, not least by talented colleagues.
TF: What are you currently working on?
SD: Last year I was employed as Professor II at KHiO, with funding from Fritt Ord, and am now working on articulating what I can, both to be able to convey it in a good way and to become aware of my own working method and experience. Newspaper cartooning as a phenomenon has been widely discussed in recent years, but I am concerned that satirists themselves get to define the subject and that we exchange ideas about the development of the subject. I personally believe that our unique combination of visualization and commentary journalism has an important function in the new media landscape.
TF: What does drawing mean for you / your work?
SD: In my work, drawing is primarily a tool. I "write" statements with a drawing, because that is the way I express myself best. The drawing is the carrier of what I want to convey, and the drawing choices are made in relation to that. Although I have a sober relationship with drawing in my own work, I can be completely knocked to the ground by other artists' rhythm or line. Not least this applies to earlier artists in my genre, who combined an absolutely superb craftsmanship with a sharp analysis of the contemporary world. The essence of drawing is to give a spontaneous and personal interpretation of what you see, and that also applies when what you focus on is the time you live in. Therefore, satirical drawing and commenting drawing is a completely unique form of contemporary documentation.
TF: Tell us a little about your work in Tegnerforbundet's sales department!
SD: The work I have in the sales department is both newspaper drawings and drawings for magazines. All refer to current issues, but commenting drawings often have room for interpretation beyond the original context. For example, "Utopia" was an illustration for an issue in Agenda Magasin about our hesitant relationship to change, even when it is for the better. Later, the same drawing was used in an English newspaper for an article about the EU's future.
The other drawings: "#metoo" stood for a summary of the metoo debate and "Kasteball" for a comment on the return of young Afghan asylum seekers. "Witnene" was a cover illustration for NNT, for an issue that dealt with environmental issues, among other things. "Fresht" was an independent drawing for the magazine "Syn og segn", about our attitudes towards the suffering of others.
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Available works by Siri Dokken in the Tegnerforbundet's sales department and online store here .
