Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.03.2007, Blaðsíða 14

The Advanced Way to Experience Art
B_RVK_GV_INFO_ISSUE 03_007_ART/DVD MAGAZINE
Grapevine meets Rafskinna, Iceland’s First
DVD Magazine.
With the existence of YouTube and other
internet video sites – where people can dis-
tribute as well as download a never-ending
amount of movies and video clips onto their
computers – it’s never been easier to access
entertainment. The only problem is, quantity
doesn’t necessarily equal quality and, as us-
ers are growing in numbers by the minute, it
can take hours to find the good stuff, a time-
consuming shortcoming to an otherwise ex-
cellent amusement.
For the past few years, publishers of so
called DVD magazines have developed a
way to meet the growing interest for easily
accessible and high-quality visual entertain-
ment by introducing a new medium where,
instead of written material, the magazines
contain full-screen videos and top quality live
footage. It’s a fairly new phenomenon, but
for the past couple of years there has been
a small revolution in the business and with
new publications the popularity is steadily
rising. Some of you readers have perhaps
stumbled across an issue or two when travel-
ling abroad, but those who are not familiar
with the concept, DVD magazines are, as the
name indicates, magazines in a DVD format,
covering multiform subjects as music videos,
fashion shows, documentaries and inter-
views.
Up until now these kinds of visual pub-
lications have been non-existent in Iceland,
but that is about to change on March 30th,
when the first issue of Rafskinna, a new Ice-
landic DVD magazine, will be released. Pub-
lished by Rasskinn EHF – a company owned
by artist Pétur Már Gunnarsson, director
Ragnheiður Gestsdóttir, producer Sigurður
Magnús Finnsson and director Þórunn Haf-
stað – it’s a quarterly magazine containing a
two hour DVD disc featuring a compilation
of music videos, exclusive interviews, live
performances, animation, documentaries,
short-films and video-art. The magazine’s
concept is culture and art in its widest con-
text, placing special emphasis on music re-
lated material.
“If we could point out some resemblance
to our magazine it would be the British DVD
Magazine Specialten. That particular maga-
zine [founded by two guys in 2002] started
off as a small project but is now sold in all the
major record stores in Britain and distributed
in the US as well,” Sigurður explains.
Focusing on the extensive art and mu-
sic culture in Iceland, the four founders,
who also serve as the magazine’s editors,
have for the past few months been track-
ing down interesting artists, shooting live
music performances and collecting material
from film-makers, cartoonists and compos-
ers so the soon-to-be viewer will be provided
with endless entertainment combined in one
small package.
“The magazine is supposed to mirror the
contemporary art scene in Iceland and follow
up on happenings. We’ll be interviewing art-
ists visiting the country as well as talking to
local artists and musicians and mixing new
stuff with old and rare material”, Sigurður
explains. “The first issue will, for example,
contain new music videos from múm, Gus-
Gus, Rass and Ghostigital as well as a Jimi
Tenor interview.” Tenor, a Finish musician
and composer, visited Iceland in December
and played a gig at 12 Tónar and Sirkus.
“These are videos that would be hard to see
elsewhere,” he adds.
The unique feature of DVD magazines,
and a large reason why they’ve become so
popular in recent years, is that the viewer
will be able to see the interviewee and wit-
ness the actual conversation, hear the mu-
sic played and experience the performances
visually as they happened when performed
on stage. With a simple click of the mouse
they can move on to the next story, inter-
view, video or whatever the disc might con-
tain that they’re interested in viewing. DVD
magazines can cover topics in an essentially
different way than could ever be possible in
the printed media.
This must be a welcoming opportunity
for all the artists, designers and film-makers
who need better promotion for their works
than they have been getting so far. How
have the responses been?
“We have gotten great responses from
the people we’ve talked with and they like
what we are doing,” Þórunn says. “This is
a completely different platform for them to
present their works and reach out to the
public. Everyone has been more than ready
to do endless work to help us out and con-
tribute to the project. We’ve gotten some
juicy stuff out of it,” she adds.
Witnessing the explosion of net-surfers
in recent years who would rather push a play
button than open up a newspaper, makes
you wonder if DVD magazines will replace
the print medium in the future.
“I wouldn’t go as far as to say that DVD
magazines will replace the printed maga-
zines. This is rather a much needed addition
to the written format, a new approach, so to
say,” Þórunn says.
Bringing together artists from different
disciplines, Rafskinna’s first issue is stuffed
with intriguing material. In addition to the
aforementioned music videos the issue will
feature art works by Inga Birgisdóttir and
Finnur Arnar, a Jimi Tenor short-film, un-
plugged performance by Skakkamanage,
animation by Hugleikur Dagsson, a ten min-
ute Nýtt Líf remix by Kristján Loðmfjörð and,
last but not least, a cooking show where
the celebrity chefs are members of the band
Ghostigital.
The magazine’s format is a cardboard
box that includes the DVD disc, a print edi-
tion with articles, interviews and written
material as well as some other artistic and
theme related accessories. In the first issue,
the printed edition features an interview with
Jimi Tenor, a fiction serial written by Örvar
Þóreyjarson Smárason from múm and comics
by Tony Millionaire and Dr. Gunni. The cover,
reflecting the first issue’s fish theme, was de-
signed by Gunnar Þór Vilhjálmsson and Sig-
urður Eggertsson who are also responsible
for the overall look.
“The package is an important part of
the whole concept and we’re going to try to
get different designers to design the look of
each issue,” Þórunn explains. “We want to
do so much more than just publish one DVD
disc. We want the magazine to be a valuable
package, worth preserving for a long time.”
Representing an impressive collection of
creativity, only 500 to 1000 copies will be
published per edition to begin with and the
magazine will be sold in record stores, book-
stores and some galleries and fashion shops
in the city centre for the price of 1.990 ISK.
It’s worth noting that the DVD will have Eng-
lish subtitles so all the non-Icelandic speakers
fascinated with the country’s art and music
scene can enjoy its contents as well.
For subscription visit www.this.is/rafskinna.
Text by Steinunn Jakobsdóttir
Visual Art
17 Feb – 18 Mar
» Presque Rein – Contemporary art exhibition, Living Art Museum; Laugavegur 26
23 Feb – 25 Mar
» Etienne de France, Icelandic Labour Union’s Art Gallery; Freyjugata 41
23 Feb – 22 Apr
» Celebration Park - Pierre Huyghe design exhibition, Reykjavík Art Museum; Tryggvagata 17
24 Feb – 25 Mar
» Jo Duchene and Damien Peyret photo exhibitions, Reykjavík Museum of Photography; Tryggvagata 15
25 Feb – 12 May
» M/M & Gabriela sculpture exhibition, Museum of Design and Applied Art; Lyngás 7-9, Garðabær
25 Feb – 7 Feb 2008
» Pourquoi Pas? – Charcot exhibition, Sandgerði Museum; Garðavegur 1, Sandgerði
10 Mar – 29 Apr
» Face á Faces – Photo exhibition, Akureyri Art Museum; Kaupvangsstræti 12, Akureyri
17 Mar – 21 Apr
» African Art – Photo exhibition, National Museum of Iceland; Suðurgata 41
17 Mar – 15 May
» Emotional Landscapes – Mathieu Copeland exhibition, Safn; Laugavegur 37
24 Mar – 29 Apr
» Design Reference, Kópavogur Art Museum / Gerðasafn; Hamraborg, Kópavogur
24 Mar – 29 Apr
» Traits Trés Mode – Design exhibition, Sævar Karl Gallery; Bankastræti 7, Reykjavík
31 Mar – 29 Apr
» WA – Wall paintings by 15 artists, Reykjavík Energy; Bæjarháls 1
Audiovisual
3 Mar – 1 Apr
» French Film Festival, Háskólabíó Movie Theatre; Hagatorg
4 Apr – 30 Apr
» Performing art by Ketill Larsen, Tjarnarbíó Theatre; Tjarnargata 12
Theatre
12 Mar – 18 Mar
» Le Muséé de la Mer – Written by Marie Darrieussecq and directed by Arthur Nauzyciel
The National Theatre of Iceland; Hverfisgata 19
22 Mar – 23 Mar
» The Imaginary Patient or the Silence of Molière – Directed by Arthur Nauzyciel
The National Theatre of Iceland; Hverfisgata 19
28 Mar – 29 Mar
» L’Image – Directed by Arthur Nauzyciel, Ó. Johnson & Kaaber; Sætún 8
29 Mar – 31 Mar
» The Chronicles of Whole Days and Whole Nights, Reykjavík City Theatre; Listabraut 3
5 Apr
» Between Worlds by playwright Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Reykjavík Art Museum; Tryggvagata 17
Dance
4 Apr
» To Other Horizons – Serge Ricci and The Icelandic Dance Company, Reykjavík City Theatre; Listabraut 3
Literature
29 Mar – 19 May
» Bernard Alligand book exhibition, National Library; Arngrímsgata 3, Reykjavík
Music
28 Mar
» Kitchen Motors Night – Monade and Jóhann Jóhannsson
National Theatre Basement; Hverfisgata 19, Reykjavík
29 Mar
» Kitchen Motors Night – Plinki Plonk Symphony, National Theatre Basement; Hverfisgata 19, Reykjavík
7 Apr
» Turtle Cuts and Nosfell at Aldrei fór ég suður Festival, Ásgeirsbakki; Ísafjörður
Science
1 Mar – 31 Mar
» Airbus – Scientific exhibition, Askja / University of Iceland; Sturlugata 7
10 Apr
» Scientific Conference – Sylvie Joussaume, Jean Jouzel and guests
Hátíðarsalur /University of Iceland; Suðurgata
Business and Tourism
6 Mar – 13 Mar
» Wine Seminar, Hótel Reykjavík Centrum; Aðalstræti 16
8 Mar – 18 Mar
» The French Commercial Days, Reykjavík Streets
15 Mar – 18 Mar
» Michelin Star Chef: Jean-Yves Johany, Hótel Holt; Bergstaðastræti 37
12 Apr
» Invest in France – Business Forum, Nordica Hotel; Suðurlandsbraut 2
POURQUOI PAS?_A_FRENCH_SPRING_IN_ICELAND_007
Theatre: Ó. Johnson & Kaaber, Mar 28 and 29
One Sentence, One Play
Based on the story L’Image by Irish
writer Samuel Beckett this piece
is a nine-page sentence written in
May 1988. Thanks to the Pourquoi
Pas? festival, Icelanders will get
the chance to witness its reading
in a very unusual setting at the old
Ó. Johnson & Kaaber building on
March 28th and 29th. Directed by
Arthur Nauzyciel, French actress
Anne Brochet will read the text,
backed up by dancer Damien Jalet
and musicians David Lacey and Paul
Vogel.
Theatre: Reykjavík City Theatre, Mar 29 – 31
The Imaginary Invalid
or The Silence Of Molière
Directed by Arthur Nauzyciel, The
Imaginary Invalid or The Silence Of
Molière will be presented at the Na-
tional Theatre of Iceland as a spe-
cial guest performance in March.
Premiering in 1999, this production
features two different plays com-
bined into one, the Imaginary Inval-
id and The Silence Of Molière. The
Imaginary Invalid, written by actor
and playwright Molière, centres on
a hypochondriac and his daughter.
This comedy was Molière’s last play
and he died after its fourth perfor-
mance. The Silence Of Molière, a
play written by Giovanni Macchia,
focuses on Molière’s daughter who
rejects the theatre, her father and
family. Nauzyciel has mixed these
two plays into one piece that “rep-
resents the intimacy of life, the re-
nunciation of death, the memory
and its transmission, bringing to-
gether our everyday life and the-
atre”. Actress Brynhildur Guðjóns-
dóttir will play Esprit-Madeleine
Poquelin, the daughter of Molière,
who tells the story of her father
and their fragile relationship.
Business and Tourism: Reykjavík Streets, Mar 8 – Mar 18
The French Commercial Days
Within the framework of the French
Culture Festival, the French-Icelan-
dic Chamber of Commerce presents
the fifth annual French Commercial
Days. From March 8th to 18th,
French products will be promoted
in more than twenty shops around
Reykjavík’s centre – including
L’Occitane, Kisan, and Du Pareil Au
Même – and a series of events will
take place around the city. At the
same time, the French Book Week
will take place at Mál og Menning
bookshop where book lovers can
get acquainted with French litera-
ture and chat with some of France’s
renowned authors.
Theatre:
Reykjavík City Theatre – Mar 29 – 31
Durringer’s Chronicles
The production The Chronicles of Whole Days
and Whole Nights consists of translated texts by
the writer and director Xavier Durringer. Born
in Paris in 1963 he has directed theatre, written
several plays and worked for television and cin-
ema. This piece is a one-hour show starring six
Icelandic actors. Focusing on two men and two
women feeling lost, happy, frustrated and lonely,
it’s a play rich with emotions where the sounds of
words play a big role.
For a full programme, visit www.pourquoipas.is.