Reykjavík Grapevine - 27.06.2003, Page 19

- the reykjavík grapevine -18 june 27th - july 10th, 2003 - the reykjavík grapevine - 19june 27th - july 10th, 2003
LISTINGS
MORE MUSIC,
MORE FISH
Reykjavik’s flea market Kolaportið can
surprise you in a number of ways, first of
all the prices, which might seem upmar-
ket by most standards but are actually
quite cheap by Icelandic ones. And then
there´s the sheer variety of stuff that
people will aquire at some point in their
lives, and then attempt to pass on. There
is not only lots of nice old junk found
there, but fresh fish, fresh meat and not
so fresh candy. All kinds of people can
be found there, all ages, all classes and
backgrounds, from the needy to the ec-
centric to the downright cheap.
I stumbled across an old man selling fish
in one of the “básar”. I accidently started
a conversation with him, which somehow
kept on going and continued for quite a
while, the man having a past, and also
quite a present.
His name is Einar Magnússon, a perfect-
ly good name for an Icelander, he’s 79
years old and is originally from a fishing
village in the north west fjords of Iceland,
named Ísafjörður which translates to
Icyfjord. He has, like most Icelanders his
age, worked a lot in his day, both at sea
and on land spending a few years here
and a few years there. A tough old man,
as he makes no secret of, he told me
he worked for more than twenty years
for one of the biggest fish companies in
Iceland, without every missing a day of
work. Not showing up for work simply
wasn’t his thing, no matter what.
Now in his old age, his heart and soul be-
longs to music. He plays the “munnharpa”
(harmonica) and has recorded several
albums, one of them even produced by
the legendary Jón Ólafsson, keyboardist
of one of Icelands most beloved pop
band, Nýdönsk. He showed me a couple
of his albums and tried to sell them to
me, at a reasonable price I might add.
One of them was a recording of him do-
ing covers of traditional Icelandic songs
with his friends, a band rightfully named
“Vinabandið” (the Friends Band) and also
his solo album, “Ungir í anda” or “Young
at Heart”. I probably would have bought
one of them if my very empty wallet
hadn’t disagreed.
His love of music keeps him rather occu-
pied and he and his friends sometimes
do up to 3 gigs a day, not bad for a band
of ...erm, middle aged guys. I bet even
the Rolling Stones wouldn’t be up to such
a rough schedule, though nothing seems
to be able to keep Mick and Keith down
for long.
I bid the old man farewell and wandered
off to try to find something I might like,
I did, but my wallet was as empty as
before.
Jóndi
I N T E R V I E W
Modern Man, works of popular sculptor Ásmundar
Sveinsson, who believed sculpture should be part
of the urban environment.
Einar Jónsson Sculpture Museum, The works
of Iceland´s first modern sculptor, whose works
are partly based on Icelandic folklore.
Hafnarhvoll, -14:00 to 18:00- WORMS Art
exhibition
Night
Celtic Cross, Cover band 3Some and Troubadour
Ómar Hlynsson play.
Café 22, Diabolicals.
Dillon, Dj Andrea Jónsdóttir.
Hverfisbar, DJ Atli partycop.
Kaffibarinn, DJ Árni Sveins.
Coffee shop 11, DJ Frosti from the rock group
Mínus.
Amsterdam, DJ Fúsi, 80’s music.
Prikið, DJ Kári.
Vegamót, Dj’s Balli & Árni E.
Leikhúskjallarinn, Dj’s Gullfoss & Geysir.
Thorvaldsen bar, DJ’s Hlynur & Daddi Diskó
Café Victor, Dj’s of the house, 80’s and 90’s
music
Café Victor, Gunni DJ.
Little Central, Jazz band Steypa. 500kr entrance
fee includes a free beer.
Gaukur á Stöng, Moonboots: 80’s Cover band.
Grand Rokk, Rock band Dikta plays its own
material.
Vídalín, Rock band Fjandakornið.
Kráin 73, Troubadour Þór Óskar (one of the best).
Sunday, June 29
Both Day and Night
Austurvöllur out door exhibition, Earth from
Above. Aerial Photographs by Yann Arthus-
Bertrand.
Café Sólon, Exhibiton - Mosaic mirrors by Rósa.
Day
Reðursafnið, Phallological Museum, A fine
penis and penis related selection from various
mammals. First human specimen still awaited.
Hafnarborg Art Gallery, Anniversary exhibition
from the museum collection.
Handverk og Hönnun, -13:00 to 17:00-
Exhibition of contemporary and traditional Icelandic
art and crafts.
National and University Library, Exhibition of
Lárus Sigurbjörnsson, the founder of the citys
documentation.
National Gallery of Iceland, Exhibition of
selected works by Icelandic artists from the
National Gallery’s collection.
Norræna Húsið, Nordic House, -12:00 to 17:
00- Exhibition; photos of people, culture and nature
from Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands
Saga Museum, -10:00 to 18:00- History face
to face, historical figures and major events in
Icelandic history from the settlers up to the
Reformation presented in a unique way. Admission
800 krónur.
Árbæjarsafn, Folk Museum, History of Reykjavik
Culture House, Images of Iceland - milestones in
cartography
Hafnarhúsið, Reykjavík Art Museum, Insight
into international contemporary art in Iceland
Nýlistasafnið, The Living Art Museum, Matthew
Barney´s Cremaster project. Photographic works,
sculptures and films.
Gerðuberg, Cultural Center, Photographs of the
bridges of Highway 1, which encircles the whole
island.
Kjarvalsstaðir Art Museum, Some of the works
of painter Jóhannes Kjarval.
Norræna húsið, Nordic House, The Big Nordic
Elephant Show. Children dressed up as elephants
especially welcome.
Reykjavik Museum of Photography, The Five
Elements. Photographs and etchings from French-
Vietnamese artist Claire Xuan.
Ásmundarsafn, Sculpture museum, The
Modern Man, works of popular sculptor Ásmundar
Sveinsson, who believed sculpture should be part
of the urban environment.
Skemmtihúsið Theatre, -starts 18:00- The
Saga of Gudridur. A play about a Viking woman in
America performed in English.
Skemmtihúsið Theatre, -starts 20:30- The
Saga of Gudridur. A play about a Viking woman in
America performed in English.
Einar Jónsson Sculpture Museum, The works
of Iceland´s first modern sculptor, whose works
are partly based on Icelandic folklore.
Hafnarhvoll, -14:00 to 18:00- WORMS Art
exhibition
Monday, June 30
Both Day and Night
Austurvöllur out door exhibition, Earth from
Above. Aerial Photographs by Yann Arthus-
Bertrand.
Café Sólon, Exhibiton - Mosaic mirrors by Rósa.
Day
Reðursafnið, Phallological Museum, A fine
penis and penis related selection from various
mammals. First human specimen still awaited.
Hafnarborg Art Gallery, Anniversary exhibition
from the museum collection.
National and University Library, Exhibition of
Lárus Sigurbjörnsson, the founder of the citys
documentation.
National Gallery of Iceland, Exhibition of
selected works by Icelandic artists from the
National Gallery’s collection.
Norræna Húsið, Nordic House, -12:00 to 17:
00- Exhibition; photos of people, culture and nature
from Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands
Saga Museum, -10:00 to 18:00- History face
to face, historical figures and major events in
Icelandic history from the settlers up to the
Reformation presented in a unique way. Admission
800 krónur.
Árbæjarsafn, Folk Museum, History of Reykjavik
Culture House, Images of Iceland - milestones in
cartography
Hafnarhúsið, Reykjavík Art Museum, Insight
into international contemporary art in Iceland
Gerðuberg, Cultural Center, Photographs of the
bridges of Highway 1, which encircles the whole
island.
Kjarvalsstaðir Art Museum, Some of the works
of painter Jóhannes Kjarval.
Norræna húsið, Nordic House, The Big Nordic
Elephant Show. Children dressed up as elephants
Ph
ot
o:
A
ld
ís
Reykjavík museum of
photography.
The Five Elements
Travel Journals by
Claire Xuan
May 24th - Sept. 1st
This exhibition is based on the travel
journals of the french-vietnamese artist
Claire Xuan and features a collection
of artistic photography and reproduc-
tions of original etchings. The photo-
graphs are processed as lithographs
and on paper made from natural
materials. Between the sheets are thin
sheets of paper (papyrus), printed with
special features and written characters
of different countries.

The unification of the five fundamen-
tal elements in Asia is the source of
Claire´s inspiration for the concept of
her travel journals, which span the past
six years of her career in five different
countries; Vietnam, Paris (France),
Morocco, Madagascar and Iceland.
On her travels around the globe, Claire
seeks out different aspects of the five
natural elements; wood, fire, earth,
metal and water and photographs
them.

Although Claire Xuan’s photographs
clearly comprise the majority of her
work, they should not be considered
alone as the most significant work of
the exhibition; the presentation display
box in itself is equally important.

The concepts of binomial and diptych
were primarily considered when select-
ing the works for this exhibition. Seen
from that perspective, the photographs
illustrate surprising common features,
which may be observed in the same
elements in different conditions and in
different places in the world.
Borgarleikhúsið, City
Theatre. Grease.
Opens June 26th.
This is the second time in only a few
years this has been produced. It is
one of the only summer productions,
and stars Birgitta Haukdal, one of
the country´s brightest pop stars
and recent contender in Eurovision,
who takes over the role from Selma
Björnsdóttir, another former Eurovision
participant. This time the story is set
in Iceland, although one wonders about
the need to stage it so soon again.