Over to timers visuelt materiale med Niels Bukh og hans gymnastik
- på tre forskellige sprog
Dansk
ENGELSK
JAPANSK
Niels Bukh og hans gymnastik i visuelt lys
Af Prof., dr.phil. Hans Bonde (Københavns Universitet)
Materialet handler om en internationalt kendt gymnastikpædagog, der først blev én af Danmarks store sønner og siden stemplet som unational i brede dele af den danske offentlighed. I 2001 udgav jeg min disputats og i 2003 en populær bog om Niels Bukh og hans gymnastik. Skønt bøgerne om Niels Bukh var rigt illustrerede, tillod de ikke en fyldestgørende demonstration af hans gymnastiske revolution og skabelse af en helt ny mandegymnastik. Der manglede simpelthen levende billeder af Bukhs dynamiske og rytmiske gymnastik. I disputatsen skrev jeg således, at: “Egentlig burde bogen være udgivet som en multimedie-‘tekst’, hvor læseren kunne hente de relevante fotos og filmklip frem”. Det er det, der sker nu.
Der er tale om en dokumentarfilm, men uden tilsigtet dramatisk form, idet alle klip simpelthen er placeret på en lang snor i kronologisk orden. Blandt de væsentligste aspekter i materialet kan nævnes: Mennesket Niels Bukh, Gymnastik, Skolens kunst og arkitektur, Jordomrejsen (1931), “Den nordiske olympiade” (1935), Fascismen og nazismen, Rejser samt Dansk politik. Kategorien gymnastik viser kun klip, der udelukkende indeholder gymnastik. Indslag med gymnastik kan findes i næsten alle de øvrige klip. Søgekriterier som “æstetik” og “national identitet” er fravalgt, da disse kategorier også næsten optræder overalt. Politisering på udlandsrejserne findes ved opslag under de respektive lande, men kan også søges under “Jordomrejsen (1931)” samt under “Fascismen” og “Nazismen”.
Som led i udforskningen af Niels Bukhs og Ollerupgymnastikkens historie blev daværende forstander på gymnastikhøjskolen i Ollerup, Gunnar Hansen, og jeg opmærksomme på et gammelt pengeskab, som vi ikke regnede med indeholdt noget af betydning. Men da alt potentielt kildemateriale jo skulle vendes, åbnede vi til sidst skabet og til vores store overraskelse indeholdt det en guldgrube af film og enkelte lydbånd blandt andet med Niels Bukhs egne kommandoer i gymnastiksalen og af den tyske rigssportsfører, som roser Niels Bukh. Filmene dækkede hele Bukhgymnastikkens glansperiode i hans egen levetid fra begyndelsen af 1920’rne til hans død i 1950 samt optagelser vedrørende OL i 1952. Enkelte af filmene var endog i farver, så langt tilbage som i 1937. Filmene blev optaget af forskellige af Niels Bukhs elever, der deltog på rejserne rundt om i verden. Under min redaktion og i samarbejde med filmteknikeren René Lindecrone Christensen er der ud af de mange filmruller blevet digitaliseret omkring et hundrede klip svarende til ca. to timers film.
En international stjerne
Materialet udgives udover på dansk også med engelsk speak, da der i engelsktalende lande er en voksende interesse for mandeæstetiksamt for det særtræk ved den kontinentale kropskultur, at gymnastikken havde en prominent betydning i hvert fald frem til 1945, ja endog i perioder kunne gøre konkurrencesporten rangen stridig. Materialet udgives også på japansk, fordi dansk gymnastik ikke mindst via Niels Bukhs rejse til Japan i 1931 blev meget udbredt i Japan og stadig i dag dyrkes i radiogymnastik, skolesystemet og på virksomheder. Samtidig havde Asiensturen i 1931 klare politiske overtoner, der kan vække interesse hos den japansktalende læser. Udover de mere officielle film indeholder materialet også en hemmelig optagelse af tysk eksercits på Gymnastikhøjskolen i Ollerup i 1944.
Den meget pressebevidste Niels Bukh var udmærket klar over gymnastikkens visuelle appel, og han sørgede derfor for, at mange af gymnastikrejserne og skolens daglige liv blev fotograferet ofte af en af gymnasterne. Herefter kunne gymnastikken fremvises f.eks. af gymnaster fra “Jordomrejsen” i 1931, der rejste landet tyndt med filmforedrag a la “Med Niels Bukh i Japan”.
Niels Bukh og hans gymnaster havde en forunderlig evne til at lande midt i det internationale samfunds brændpunkter lige fra Sovjet under tvangskollektiviseringen, i Japan, Kina og Korea omkring den japanske besættelse af Manchuriet, i Tyskland kort tid efter Hitlers magtovertagelse og i Sydafrika midt under Anden Verdenskrigs udbrud og den eskalerede kamp mellem de hvide befolkningsgrupper. Alt dette er dokumenteret gennem fotos og unikke filmoptagelser i cd-rom og dvd, der rummer et stykke international visuel kulturhistorie, der f.eks. hvad angår Tyskland spænder fra en rundtur i Berlin i 1933 over OL i Berlin 1936 til et udbombet Tyskland i 1950. Der er også billeder fra turneer til demokratiske lande som Storbritannien i Royal Albert Hall i 1937 og USA ved verdensudstillingen i 1939.
Bukh blev for Danmark et ansigt både udadtil og indadtil. Han fremviste sin version af den vesterlandske civiliserede krop for mange hundrede tusinde unge mennesker rundt om i verden på et tidspunkt, hvor dette projekt endnu ikke i større grad blev båret frem af det nye massemedium filmen. Samtidig vakte Bukhs gymnastik i høj grad opmærksomhed gennem filmmediet. Ved store stævner som “Den nordiske olympiade” i Danmark i 1935 og på turneer til Japan i 1931 og USA i 1939 blev gymnastikholdene professionelt filmet til et biografpublikum.
Fra visuel illustration til visuel dokumentation
Mange humanistiske forskere, herunder ikke mindst historikere, arbejder i dag med billeder af og symboler på menneskekroppen i form af hule- eller kalkmalerier, fotos, film og tegninger. Alt for ofte bruges billederne dog alene som illustrationer, men ikke som kildemæssig dokumentation, som eleverne kan bruge til at dokumentere hændelsesforløb. Det er logisk, at anvendelsen af visuelt materiale i samtidshistorisk forskning må spille en mere tilbagetrædende rolle end ved udforskning af perioder, hvor det skriftlige kildemateriale kun er sparsomt overleveret. Men helt at negligere billeders betydning som moderne historisk kildemateriale forekommer alt for radikalt ikke mindst i en stadig mere billedorienteret kultur.
I idrætshistorien er billedanalysen særligt væsentlig, da idræt primært handler om fascinationen ved selv at udføre bevægelser eller se andre gøre det, hvilket har affødt et meget stort og centralt kildemateriale. Idrættens sprog er fundamentalt set nonverbalt, og derfor må visuelle kilder inddrages, for at etablere en forståelse for, hvordan de kropslige tegn opfattes. Film og billedmaterialet tjener følgelig ikke blot som illustrationer, men også som visuelle citater underlagt de samme kildekritiske krav som verbale udsagn. Billeders fascinationskraft og appel til ikke-bevidste lag af bevidstheden gør dem til formidable kilder til menneskers dybere mentalitet.
At Bukh ofte blev tillagt en særlig udstråling er vanskeligt at forstå, når man ser ham på film og fotos, hvor der ikke kan fornemmes den store udstråling hos den korpulente og ofte udkørte mand. Ifølge Max Weber behøver et menneskes karisma imidlertid ikke at hænge sammen med en ekstraordinær udstråling, men kan fortrinsvis skyldes de forventninger hans tilhængere har til ham og den magt de tillægger ham. Det er dog ubetvivleligt, at Bukh under træning og opvisninger var i stand til at indgå i en meget tæt forbindelse med sine gymnaster, hvilket gav tilskuerne en fornemmelse af en usædvanlig sammensmeltning mellem hold og leder. Også når han ikke selv dirigerede, kunne hans hold optræde med en meget stor præcision, der blev tilskrevet Bukhs evner som gymnastikpædagog.
Personligt var jeg i øvrigt fuld af fordomme om gymnastik, herunder ikke mindst Ollerup-gymnastik, da jeg startede arbejdet på min afhandling. Stor var derfor min overraskelse, da jeg oplevede eliteholdet fra Niels Bukhs stadig yderst livskraftige skole i Ollerup ved et årsmøde i 1992, ved Landsstævnet i Svendborg i 1994 og igen ved National Danish Performance Teams opvisning i København i 2004. Mændenes spring virkede som en strøm af kroppe, der var forenede af en usynlig kraft. Den samme oplevelse har jeg fået ved at studere de mange film fra Ollerupgymnasternes internationale turneer under Bukhs ledelse, hvor springerne ikke mindst på grund af den elasticitet i bækkenregionen, der nu er bandlyst i gymnastikpædagogikken, nærmest virker som gummimennesker, der bevæger sig på en helt intuitiv måde. Endvidere deltog jeg på et tidspunkt i en “idrætshistorisk” træning under fhv. forstander Gunnar Hansens ledelse, der var anlagt som et forsøg på at udføre den traditionelle Bukhgymnastik i mesterens ånd. Allerede ved marchen oplevede jeg en stærk fælles energi, næsten som et frembrusende ekspreslokomotiv. Også selve øvelserne gav følelser af dynamik og fællesskab, der adskilte sig fra mine oplevelser af boldspil og kampsport, fordi alle deltagerne ville det samme på samme tid.
Yderligere information i bogen Fra forkant til udkant – Kampen om gymnastikken gennem 100 år (2020)
More than two hours of visual documentation of Niels Bukh and his gymnastics
- in three different languages
DANISH
ENGLISH
JAPANESE
Niels Bukh and his Danish Gymnastics in Full View
By: Prof., dr.phil. Hans Bonde (University of Copenhagen)
The documentation is all about an internationally recognised Danish gymnastics educationist, Niels Bukh, who became first one of Denmark’s most celebrated sons to be after WW II marked out as a betrayer of patriotism by a broad section of the Danish public. In 2001, I published my doctoral dissertation and, in 2006, a shorter book on Niels Bukh and his gymnastics in English: Gymnastics and Politics (2006). Although these publications on Niels Bukh were richly illustrated, they did not enable a thorough demonstration of his revolution in gymnastics and his creation of an entirely new men’s gymnastics form. What was needed was living pictures of Bukh’s dynamic and rhythmic gymnastics. In my dissertation, I wrote “Ideally, this work should have been published as a multimedia ‘text’, from which the reader might retrieve relevant photographs and film clips.”
With the help of this new documentation on Youtube, the user can make an onscreen selection to view the complete material in chronological order. This selection can be regarded as if it were a documentary film, though without dramatic form, and with many repetitions and long sequences, since all the clips are simply organised on a lengthy chronological string. An alternative would be interactively to make use of the chapters, to be guided through the almost two hour long material. The material covers themse like: Niels Bukh the Man, Gymnastics, The Art and Architecture of Bukh’s School, World Tour (1931), The Nordic Olympiad (1935), Fascism, Nazism, The other Tours, and Danish and international Politics that Niels Bukh and his team of gymnasts got involved with. Sequences featuring gymnastics will be found throughout nearly all the chapters.
The material is published in both Danish and English language versions since there is a growing interest from English-speaking countries for masculine aesthetics, as well as for that characteristic of Continental body culture, namely the prominence of gymnastics, at least until 1945, which could on occasion out-compete competitive sport. The DVD is published with a Japanese language version, too, because Danish gymnastics, not least via Bukh’s 1931 tour to Japan, became widespread throughout the country and is to this day practised as a ‘radio-gymnastics’, as part of schools’ gymnastics and by industrial companies. Furthermore, the Asian tour of 1931 had clear political overtones, and this might well be of interest to Japanese-language readers.
During our research in the archives of Niels Bukh’s gymnastics school in Ollerup, school principal of the time Gunnar Hansen and I became aware of an old wall safe, which we never expected would contain anything of importance. But given that all potential source material had to be gone into, we eventually opened the safe and to our amazement found a goldmine of films as well as audio tapes. The films covered the entire golden age of Bukh gymnastics, during his own lifetime, from the beginning of the 1920s until his death in 1950 and beyond to recordings of the Olympics of 1952. A number of films were even in colour, from as far back as 1937. The films were taken by students of Bukh who took part in the various national and continental tours. In addition to the more official films, the material from the safe also included a secret recording of German military training at Bukh’s Gymnastics High School in Ollerup from 1944.
The highly ‘press-conscious’ Niels Bukh was entirely aware of the visual appeal of gymnastics, and he therefore ensured that many of their gymnastics tours as well as daily life at the school was photographed, often by one of his gymnasts. On the basis of these recordings, his gymnastics could then be shown, by gymnasts who had taken part in the World Tour of 1931, for example, who travelled the length of country presenting popular film screenings and talks of the variety Niels Bukh – in Japan.
Niels Bukh and his gymnasts had an extraordinary ability to arrive right in the middle of the international community’s hotspots: in the Soviet Union during forced collectivisation; in Japan, China and Korea during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria; in Germany shortly after Hitler’s succession to power; and in South Africa amid the eruption of the Second World War and the escalating struggle between white sections of the populations. All this is documented in photographs and unique film footage contained in this visual documentation that also includes a slice of international visual cultural history – with regards to Germany, for example, there is a trip round Berlin in 1933, together with the Berlin Olympics of 1936 and the Bombed-out Germany of 1950. There is also a very rare film-documentation from the Soviet Union in 1931. Alternatively, there are images from tours to the democratic countries, to Great Britain and the Royal Albert Hall in 1937 and USA at the World Exhibition of 1939.
Bukh became the face of Denmark both outwards to the public abroad and inwards to the Danish people at home. He showed off his version of the Western civilised body for many hundred thousand young people around the world, at a time when that project was not yet driven forward by the new mass medium of film. At the same time, Bukh’s gymnastics -provoked interest to a great extent through the medium of film. At the large-scale games such as ‘The Nordic Olympiad’, held in Denmark in 1935, and on tours to Japan in 1931 and the USA in 1939, Bukh’s gymnastics teams were filmed by professionals for a movie-going public.
The material comprise a project in visual research and presentation. Many humanities researchers, not least historians, today work with images of and symbols referring to the human body, in forms such as cave paintings or frescoes, photographs, films and drawings. All too often these images are made use of simply as illustrations, and not as direct source material itself. Of course the recourse to visual material in the investigation of contemporary history will play a less pronounced roll than it does in the study of periods where the chief alternative is sparsely extant written records. But to completely ignore the importance of images as contemporary source material seems far too radical, especially in our steadily more image-oriented culture.
In studying the history of sport, the analysis of pictorial evidence is particularly relevant, since sport is primarily concerned with the fascination of either performing movements ourselves or seeing others perform, a fascination that has lead to a large and central body of source material. The language of sport is fundamentally non-verbal. Therefore, visual source material must be brought in, to establish an understanding of how the corporal signs are comprehended. Film and pictorial material does not serve simply as illustrations but also as visual citations, bound to the same demands from source material as verbal testimony. The power of fascination that pictures have and their appeal to subconscious levels of our awareness make them potent sources in indicating the deeper levels of human thinking.
Bukh was often described as having a powerful magnetism or a presence, but this is hard to understand when we see him on film and in photographs, where no convincing sense of a presence can be retrieved from this corpulent and often worn down man. According to Max Weber, a person’s charisma need not necessarily depend on an extraordinary radiating presence, but can in part be attributed to the expectations supporters have of their ‘leader’ and the powers they ascribe to that person. It is without doubt, however, that Bukh was able to establish an extremely strong connection to his gymnasts during training sessions and displays, which gave spectators the impression of an unusual degree of fusion between the team and their leader. Also when Bukh was not conducting, his teams could perform with enormous precision, which was explained by Bukh’s ability as a gymnastics instructor.
Privately, when I began work on my dissertation, I was full of certain prejudices about gymnastics, not least about Ollerup gymnastics. It was therefore a great surprise when I watched an elite team from Bukh’s still very-much alive school in Ollerup, at an annual meeting in 1992, at a national games in Svendborg, in 1994, and again at the National Danish Performance Teams display in Copenhagen in 2004. The men’s jumps seemed like a stream of bodies welded together by an invisible force. I had the same experience studying the many films from the international tours by Ollerup’s gymnasts under Bukh’s leadership, in which the leaping gymnasts – not least because of an elasticity around the pelvis, which is now outlawed from modern gymnastics principles – seemed like rubber men who moved in an entirely intuitive way. Moreover, at one point I took part in a ‘sports history’ training session, led by former Gymnastics School principal Gunnar Hansen, which had been arranged as an attempt to reproduce the traditional Bukh gymnastics in the old master’s true spirit. Already, during the march, I experienced a heightened sense of group energy, almost like a rushing express train. The exercises themselves, too, gave a feeling of dynamism and fellowship, which was very separate from my experiences with ball games and martial arts, because all the participants were trying to do the same thing at the same time.
After the films were transferred onto U-Matic format, they were handed on to the Danish film museum in Glostrup, Copenhagen. My thanks go to former principal Gunnar Hansen for his specialist knowledge regarding the exposition and cataloguing of the various gymnastic exercises. Thanks also to the film technician René Lindecrone Christensen who skillfully managed to put the old films into new formats.
Further information in the book: The Fight about Gymnastics over 100 years (2020)