Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.06.2004, Blaðsíða 20

by Marc Mettler
Although the title of Þorvaldur Þorsteinsson’s latest exhibition
clearly claims “I Didn’t Do It,” a glance at the artist’s CV quickly
proves otherwise.
From playwriting to installation art, painting to photography, books to
documentary film, he´s done it, and nearly all of it will be featured June
11th through August 8th at the Reykjavík Art Museum.
“I Didn’t Do It” will display various works created by Þorsteinsson in the
forty-three years of his life, ranging from early sketches and texts to newer
pieces of sound, video and photo installations. But for Þorsteinsson,
the exhibit isn’t simply a retrospective of one man’s life.
“These pieces are a part of me as someone from Akureyri or
someone who grew up in the 60s and 70s,” he said. “It’s not so much
about me as it is about my generation.”
Þorsteinsson is perhaps best known in Iceland for his play “And Björk,
of Course…” and the Betterby books for children. But he attributes his
desire for using art forms other than writing to living in Iceland.
“It’s a great advantage to grow up as an artist in Iceland,” he said. “Ice-
land is a perfect breeding ground for people who can’t decide what they
want to do. It is so small you can literally walk into whatever you like and
try things out.”
While Þorsteinsson modestly asserts that the central theme of “I Didn’t Do
It” is “to have fun,” many of his pieces offer insight into more serious themes.
Jesus is Closer to Home is a documentary about people from Amsterdam’s Red-Light Dis-
trict. Icelandic Art compiles TV stills of Icelandic politicians and officials being interviewed in
front of traditional Icelandic paintings. Most Real Death is a video project of people enacting
their own deaths.
Through its interaction with the audience, much of Þorsteinsson’s work sug-
gests a discussion about the role of the artist. And it seems this is a question
Þorsteinsson wrestles with often.
“I have a problem with art that is masturbatory, when artists are ‘generous and
kind’ with others to ‘allow’ them to be artists for a day,” he said. “I am still
searching for a form to trigger the awareness of people’s own value and pos-
sibilities of being creative, without having to bring them to a museum or act
‘artistically’.”
But Þorsteinsson hasn’t given up completely
on using the museum as a tool for his art. “I
Didn’t Do It” includes a piece called Ver-
kaskipti (or Work Exchange) in which per-
sonal valuables are displayed alongside stories
about the objects in exchange for something
in the museum.
“The piece is not only about ‘what is art’ but
the social context of the person or her story.
Its value is tested there,” he said. “My role
as an artist is simple: to point out things and
show what is already there.”
The words “awareness,” “value,” and “possibility” are terms Þorsteinsson
uses often. Perhaps they are words he has picked up through his experience
as a mentor with Fully Alive Coaching, a program in Los Angeles started by
Guðni Gunnarsson that teaches holistic medicine and yoga.
“There is a close link between my life as an artist and as someone doing yoga
and teaching spiritual things. It’s all about the awareness and responsibility
of someone who has the power to create what matters,” he said. “I see it more
and more as one big art piece, or one whole idea of simply being alive as a whole person.”
“I Didn’t Do It” runs June 11th through August 8th at the Reykjavík Art Museum located in
the Hafnarhús, Tryggvagata 17, 101 Reykjavík.
�����������
����� OPPS!
“I DIDN’T DO
IT” AGAIN
In downtown Reykjavík, in what was once
a jail and a police station at Pósthússtræti 5,
you can now find Hitt Húsið, (The Other
House). This is the youth cultural centre, so
called because it’s supposed to be a home
away from home, which indeed it is for many.
During the summer months a large number
of young and creative people work at Hitt
Húsið and receive their wages from the City.
The youngsters are divided into different
groups, each with different tasks but sharing a
common goal of making the city center more
alive. This year´s groups, of which there are
18 in total, include 5 bands playing their own
music but also taking requests and groups
drawing pictures and cartoons and even
writing novels. In addition, acting groups will
perform sketches and scenes from plays and
there is even a group designing clothes. So if
you are wondering why there are belly-danc-
ers making a scene in the streets, chances
are Hitt húsið will have had something to
do with it. On Friday 11th and again on the
25th between 13:00 and 15:00 all the groups
from Hitt Husid will perform by Austurvöl-
lur, Lækjartorg square, Ingólfstorg square and
Austurstræti street, appearing out of the blue
whenever the weather permits. Anyone situ-
ated there can expect a little bit of art, a little
bit of culture and a lot of general crazyness.
Freaky Fridays by Hitt Húsið ����� ARTS
Reykjavík Museum of Photography, The
City of Reykjavik Library
NEW REALITIES
New Realities, part of the Reykjavik Festival, features
Finnish contemporary photography at its finest. The
exhibition has been rated as one of the most intriguing
on offer in Europe today.
Also French photographs of The Cod industry in the
1920s.
CULTUREand
Einar Jónsson Museum
PERMANENT SHOW
This permanent show of the country´s groundbreaking
sculptor whose influence on all visual arts has been con-
siderable. A comprehensive exhibition in a fine building.
Gerðuberg culture center
WOMEN OF THE WORLD
A collection of images of 176 women from 176 countries.
Motherhood, kindness, housekeeping, fertility - the show
seeks to find the essence of womanhood.
Gallery i8
GABRIELA FRIÐRIKSDÓTTIR
A show which is part of the Ryekjavik arts festival and
runs until 26 June. The show includes paintings, videos,
drawings, sculptures and photographs. Gabriela will
represent Iceland at the 2005 Venice Biennale.
Perlan
SAGA MUSEUM
The permanent exhibition recreates key moments in
Icelandic history using tableaux and a whole range of
light and sound effects. A visit to the museum offers an
opportunity of an unrivalled panorama of Reykjavik from
Perlan.
Around Iceland
INDEPENDENCE DAY
17 JUNE
Iceland will celebrate 60 years of Independence. Go
downtown and see Iceland at its most nostalgic. The
ceremonies start at 11.00 am. Music, poetry, speeches,
boy scouts and much flag waving. It always rains, so be
prepared.
Gallery of Iceland
CLOSE UP
An exhibition of dissimilar artworks by various contem-
porary American artists who are united by their method
of expression. Andy Warhol, Bruce Nauman and Geoff
Koons all feature in this eclectic show.
The visitor´s KEY to ICELAND
Its saga and scenery
Over 400 colour photographs
A complete ROAD AND REFERENCE
GUIDE
Including the highlands and all
mountain roads
Detailed maps of the entire Icelandic road system
Street maps of towns and villages
Maps of numbered mountain tracks
Map of golf courses
Classified list of advertisers
Index of 3,000 place names
Information on accommodation, petrol stations, etc.
And much, much more
Also Available in Germ
an
as: “Island Atlas”
Iceland is a country of
great and unusual
natural beauty. Every
turn in the road, every
change in the weather
presents a new and
fascinating aspect.
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