Iconspy

Icon is greek for «image», and in the orthodox church it serves as vicarious to the Holy. Today we use it to describe a visually strong image from a special event; an image so unforgettable it becomes a vicarious experience of the actual event. For the people who were present in the world in 1984 this image expresses an unabridged history at a moment's glance.

A shockwave passed through the land just as Arne Treholt was arrested for espionage on the 20th of January, 36 years ago. A grainy image of him together with Gennadij Titov and Aleksandr Lopatin was used as crucial pictorial evidence, republished time and time again in the newspapers. The undercover agents from POT (the Police Surveillance Agency) rented a volkswagen bus, from which they secretly photographed the meeting between Treholt and the KGB-agents. It was 30 degrees in the air outside, and much warmer inside the bus. Arne Gunnar Solemsjø, the surveillance police photographer explained: “It was pure torture to sit at the back of the car. That's why the images turned out a bit fussy. The inside of the windows were covered in condensation”.

Have you followed NRK’s podcast series «Spionen Treholt» («The Spy Treholt»)? Right now, you can get a closer look at the image in the exhibition «A History of Photography» at Preus Museum.