Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.05.2008, Side 27

Article | Reykjavík Grapevine | Issue 05 2008 | 27
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Chances are that your handy rough guide doesn’t mention this.
From the road, it appears that someone has transplanted colour-
ful buildings from the city centre and placed them in the middle of
a homogenous suburb of identical housing tracks and eerie new
shopping centres. For the planners of Árbærsafn, the Reykjavík City
Museum, this was exactly the idea: to preserve a piece of 19th Cen-
tury Iceland right in the midst of the ugly, overdeveloped suburb..
Currently on display is the “Disco and Punk- Different Cul-
tures?” exhibit, which documents the frustrating history of the two
subcultures in Reykjavik from the 70’s onward. Almost unheard of
elsewhere, the disco and punk scenes bonded uniquely over their
exclusion and small size. Árbærsafn has divided the highly interac-
tive exhibit into two sections: a teenage punk’s room and a tennage
disco’s room. In the punk section, one can find flyers from old punk
shows, records, and pictures of the once-punk Bubbi Morthens with
hair. The garage is complete with brand-new band equipment that
guests can use. The disco section includes a representation of the
70’s disco club “Hollywood,” with a light up dance floor and blaring
Bee-Gees. The panels are in Icelandic, so English speakers should
be sure to take the tour.
A replicated turf house (turf houses were banned in the city
in 1894) is the Mona Lisa of Árbærsafn. Inside are preserved rooms
with artefacts such as paintings made with human hair, old stoves,
a loom and family portraits. I found it disturbing when my guide
showed me that the entire family of six slept in the same room. But
when he told me that the family invited a respected guest to take the
bed with the oldest daughter, I was mortified. Detailed explanations
of turf-placement and sheep-dung cooking techniques were fasci-
nating.
Coming soon to the museum is an early locomotive and fire
engine section, featuring cool models of old Reykjavík and the Great
Fire of Reykjavík of 1915.
Admission: 600 kr
Text by Chandler Fredrick
Unexpectedly Awesome
Photo by GAS