Reykjavík Grapevine - 25.07.2003, Síða 23

- the reykjavík grapevine -22 july 25th - august 7th, 2003 - the reykjavík grapevine - 23july 25th - august 7th, 2003
LISTINGS
A COFFEE SHOP
WITH CLASS
F O O D
Vietnamese artist Claire Xuan.
Ásmundarsafn, Sculpture museum, The
Modern Man, works of popular sculptor Ásmundar
Sveinsson.
Einar Jónsson Sculpture Museum, The works of
Iceland´s first modern sculptor.
Hafnarhúsið, Reykjavík Art Museum, -10 to
17 -Lobster or Fame Two Decades of Bad Taste
Ltd. Also Erró´s War paintings and Insight into
international contemporary art in Iceland. Admission
500 ISK. Free on Mondays.
Kjarvalsstaðir Art Museum, -10 to 17 -New times
in Icelandic Photography. Admission 500 krónur
Saga Museum, -10 to 18 -History face to face,
historical figures and major events in Icelandic
history presented in a unique way. Admission 800
krónur.
Handverk og Hönnun, -13 to 17 -Exhibition of
contemporary and traditional Icelandic art and
crafts.
Sigurjón Ólafsson Sculpture Museum, -14 to 17
-Portraits and Abstractions
Gallery Hlemmur.is, -14 to 18 -"Look out for my
Love, it´s in your neighbourhood", some works of
Hrafnhildur Halldórsdóttir
Safn, -14 to 18 -Collection includes both
international and Icelandic contemporary art.
Admission 200 krónur
ASÍ. Art Museum, -14 to 18 -Icelandic art from
1950-1970
Light Nights Summer Theatre, -starts at 20:30
-Real authentic Icelandic show performed in English,
including the most thrilling ghost story ever told;
The Deacon of Myrká
Night
Dubliners, BT and family: Various musicians play
together as a band in a random apperance
Thorvaldsen bar, Daddi Disco
Prikið, DJ Kári
Kaffibarinn, DJ´s of the house
Coffee shop 11, Special event
Gaukur á Stöng, The band Kung Fu
Kráin 73, Troubadour Danni tjokkó
De Boomkikker, Troubadour Óskar Einarsson
Café Victor, Various DJ's, 80's 'n 90's music
Grand Rokk, -Starts 22:00 -Hangover jazz, Flís.
Admission 500 krónur
Monday, August 4
Both Day and Night
Austurvöllur out door exhibition, Earth from
Above. Aerial Photographs by Yann Arthus-
Bertrand.
Undisclosed location, Höddi’s Birthday. Don’t
forget to give him a gift. Happy Birthday to you
Höddi.
Day
Reðursafnið, Phallological Museum, A fine
penis and penis related selection from various
mammals.
Árbæjarsafn, Folk Museum, An exhibition shows
life and work in the years 1950-60.
National Gallery of Iceland, Exhibition of
selected works by Icelandic artists from the
National Gallery's collection.
National and University Library, Exhibition of the
founder of the city´s documentation, also, childrens
literature, texts and drawings.
Culture House, Images of Iceland - milestones in
cartography
Norræna húsið, Nordic House, The Big Nordic
Elephant Show
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.
Einar Jónsson Sculpture Museum, The works of
Iceland´s first modern sculptor.
Hafnarhúsið, Reykjavík Art Museum, -10 to
17 -Lobster or Fame Two Decades of Bad Taste
Ltd. Also Erró´s War paintings and Insight into
international contemporary art in Iceland. Admission
500 ISK. Free on Mondays.
Kjarvalsstaðir Art Museum, -10 to 17 -New times
in Icelandic Photography. Admission 500 krónur
Saga Museum, -10 to 18 -History face to face,
historical figures and major events in Icelandic
history presented in a unique way. Admission 800
krónur.
Light Nights Summer Theatre, -starts at 20:30
-Real authentic Icelandic show performed in English,
including the most thrilling ghost story ever told;
The Deacon of Myrká
Night
Dubliners, Troubadour Ingi Valur
De Boomkikker, Troubadour Óskar Einarsson
Tuesday, August 5
Both Day and Night
Austurvöllur out door exhibition, Earth from
Above. Aerial Photographs by Yann Arthus-
Bertrand.
Day
Reðursafnið, Phallological Museum, A fine
penis and penis related selection from various
mammals.
Árbæjarsafn, Folk Museum, An exhibition shows
life and work in the years 1950-60.
National Gallery of Iceland, Exhibition of
selected works by Icelandic artists from the
National Gallery's collection.
National and University Library, Exhibition of the
founder of the city´s documentation, also, childrens
literature, texts and drawings.
Culture House, Images of Iceland - milestones in
cartography
Norræna húsið, Nordic House, The Big Nordic
Elephant Show
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.
Einar Jónsson Sculpture Museum, The works of
Iceland´s first modern sculptor.
Hafnarhúsið, Reykjavík Art Museum, -10 to
17 -Lobster or Fame Two Decades of Bad Taste
Ltd. Also Erró´s War paintings and Insight into
international contemporary art in Iceland. Admission
500 ISK. Free on Mondays.
Kjarvalsstaðir Art Museum, -10 to 17 -New times
Those who have travelled a lot will
know what I am talking about when I
moan about the fact that there isn’t a
decent coffee shop with small snacks
available in the particular town we have
been discussing. Small, good looking,
clean shops with a distinguished look are
hard to find nowadays. Be it Paris, New
York or Stockholm, you don’t find these
jewels on every street corner no more.
Well, I suppose you don’t know where
to look. Because high-calibre coffee
shops are still around, but perhaps not
where you would be looking. But they are
there, oh yes, you’ll most likely find them
at places like MoMa in New York City, or
similar art museums all over the world.
And Reykjavík is no exception !
Believe it or not, you can find this
type of coffee shop on the upper floor
of the National Gallery of Iceland. The
Gallery, situated at Fríkirkjuvegur by
the lake in downtown Reykjavík, houses
some of the finest art works by Icelandic
artists if you are interested. However,
you don’t have to pay the admission to
the showrooms if you are only going to
visit the coffee shop. You just give the
nice lady who sells the tickets a nod and
a smile as you enter the marble clad
foyer and continue up the elegant stairs
– and you’ll find the coffee shop on your
immediate right as you reach the second
landing.
As you come into the coffee shop
there is a glass counter where you may
order something simple with your coffee.
I say simple because there is not a great
selection to choose from. On weekdays
you can have a soup and salad – or
“Today’s Special,” usually a plain fish
dish, not fancy but good and tasty. On
Saturdays and Sundays you can select
either a ham quiche or a broccoli quiche.
You should have no problems in making
your selection.
A glass of the house wine, red or
white, is priced at 610 krónur per glass,
the beer goes for 550 krónur and a
soda, such as Coca Cola, costs 200
krónur ( approx. $1.60).
If you are not having lunch, just
dropping in for a quick cup of coffee
and perhaps a cake, you have a choice
of apple pie with whipped cream, a
blueberry cake or a fancy marenge with
pear filling and a lot of whipped cream.
The white board on the wall beside the
counter also lists coffee cakes and even
milk biscuits (sometimes maliciously
referred to as dog biscuits). A cup of
coffee/tea will cost you 200 krónur for a
regular brew, but a cup of Swiss mocha
is offered for 280 krónur, - a price that
would make Mr.Starbucks wonder!
The furniture and decor is, of
course, very stylish and good looking
Scandinavian design. There are art works
by Danish artist Asger Jorn on the walls
plus a few by Corneille. The furniture and
the artwork give the coffee shop that
clean, almost sterile atmosphere that
people occasionally long for, in order
to get away from the shabby bistros.
Even the back-ground music is different;
soothing classical music tuned so low
that nobody can recognize it, floats by
as if it were a part of the air condition
system.
For those who appreciate fine art,
the Summer Exhibition of Icelandic Art at
the Listasafn is a must. Some may even
want to stop by at the coffee shop.
Sonny Greco
No, you don´t have to pretend to understand it, this is just the coffee shop.
Photos: Aldís
It´s not about the size, it´s how you use it...
Viðey walk, Viðey Is-
land
Tuesday August 5th
Viðeyjar walk. A guided walk around
Viðey island with artist Kristinn E.
Hrafnsson. The work of American
sculptor Richard Sierra is on show
around the island. Sierra is one of the
best known sculpture artists in later
years, and is thought by many to be
the most influential artist of his kind in
the past 50 years. Along with looking
at art the guide will tell visitors the is-
lands history. The history part includes
a little bit of both of those mainstays
of history, killing and praying. The ferry
from Sundahöfn harbour in Reykjavik
will leave at 19:30 and entrance fee
is only 500kr. The tours duration is
around two hours. Good shoes and
warm clothes recommended.
Lobster or Fame: Two
Decades of Bad Taste
Ltd. Reykjavík Art Mu-
seum
June 13th - August 31st
Smekkleysa SM, widely known as Bad
Taste SM Ltd is the record label that
launched The Sugarcubes, Reptile,
Ham, Maus, Björk, Sigur Rós and
Mínus. This summer it celebrates
Icelandic music, culture and its 16th
birthday at Reykjavík Art Museum with
a blend of photography and music.
Lobster or Fame is an overview of
the labels´ history, displaying posters,
record sleeve designs and photos
that capture an apparent naive joy
and vibrancy. Historically significant,
the rarely seen photographic images
weave into the creative core of a la-
bel whose anarchic and quirky spirit
has produced extraordinary artists
and made a lasting mark on both the
Icelandic music and art scenes as well
as having had considerable impact
further afield.
An informative and appropriatly taste-
less catalogue is published in connec-
tion with the exhibition. In it you will find
rare photographs from the infamous
Bad Taste Evenings of the ‘90s, sleazy
details about its famous members and
inside information on people you have
never heard of – and in the spirit of
tastelessness there is even a never be-
fore seen picture of a poet with a dried
cod sticking out of his fly. Splendid!
Skemmtihúsið The-
atre, the Saga of
Guðríður
from 13th of June
Skemmtihúsið Theatre performes in English
the Saga of Guðríður. A woman´s tremen-
dously courageous voyage to Vinland
(America) during the Viking era.
Information and tickets available at the
Tourist Information Centre, Aðalstæti 2,
101 Reykjavík.
Performances in English:
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 20:
30 and Fridays at 18:00
Performances in German:
Sundays and Tuesdays at 18:00