Greenland
Rockwell Kent visited and lived in many places during his life, so why would we choose to honor Greenland, of all places, with a special page in the Forum? Simply, Greenland was a special place to Kent, personally and artistically, and we at the Rockwell Kent Forum think it is fascinating enough to have its own page.
Here, we will feature articles and media about the island of Greenland. We are starting with two Rockwell Kent Forum exclusives: a Q & A with Denis Defibaugh, author of the new book “North by Nuuk: Greenland After Rockwell Kent,” available at RIT press; and a book review of “North by Nuuk,” by Will Ross, editor of the Rockwell Kent Forum.
Q & A with Professor Defibaugh
SOS – Iceberg. Greenland today is not an easy place to get to. That fact was even more true in 1932. And the little town of Illorsuit (Igdlorsuit at that time) is even more remote. Yet, that year both Rockwell Kent and a German film company were in the same town. The film crew, led by Arnold Fanck, was there to make an Arctic adventure film. Kent fans know this film “SOS – Iceberg” because Kent was disparaging of it and the crew in his book “Salamina.” Yet, most of us have never seen the film. Two versions of this movie were made, one in English, and one in German. Both versions are available below.
Note: the German version has English subtitles, for those who don’t speak German. It is interesting to compare both versions.
Trivia: Both versions of the film feature Leni Riefenstahl in an acting role as one of the main characters. Ms Riefenstahl would become famous a few years later as the director of the Nazi Propaganda films, “Triumph of the Will” and “Olympia”.
SOS Iceberg This is the link for the English version
SOS Eisberg This is the link for the German version
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Denis Defibaugh webinar and PSAM Mini Symposium
This link: https://mountainlake.org/following-in-the-footsteps-of-rockwell-kent/ to the Mountain Lake PBS Station, includes a video of the webinar Denis Defibaugh did at SUNY Plattsburgh on February 2, 2022. It also includes information about the Mini-Symposium to be held at PSAM on March 4th and 5th. Professor Defibaugh and other speakers will be talking about many aspects of Kent’s travels to Greenland.
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Salamina Article.
Greenland researcher and educator Erik Torm has written “A Golden Light”, a fascinating article about the life of Salamina, Kent’s housekeeper during his time in Greenland. Download the Article