Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.01.2011, Blaðsíða 18
MoMS at Gallery Kling and Bang
Gallery Kling & Bang
January 15 (hopefully) Free
‘Penetration/Innsetning/Installation’ is the latest realization by MoMS, a group
of four young male artists who have been working together since 2007 and have
been incredibly prolific despite their young age. Comprised of local fashion design
legend Mundi and his art school friends Frikki, Morri, Schuyler and the more recent
addition Ragnar Fjalar, as well as often collaborating with other friends and artists,
MoMS is known for its over the top installations and performances. These have
included building a 6.000 litre fish tank in NASA, flying a giant balloon worm over
the Venice Biennale, participating in the recreation of Sirkús at an art fair in London
and being pissed on at a performance called 'cum and piss.'
‘Penetration/Innsetning/Installation’ will consist of various 'overkill' drawings and
sculptures inspired by the five Platonic solids. MoMs will make use of all kinds of
materials and techniques, such as collage, photography, photocopies, newspapers,
colouring crayons, stickers and erasers. The show will surely engage in the exces-
siveness exuberance that distinguishes MoMS.
AK
15
Jan
The decade has ended and it was
a great one for Icelandic filmmak-
ing. More people are making mov-
ies and becoming better at making
them. Choosing the five best films of
2001-2011 was everything but easy.
After days of painful brainstorming
and internal debate, I chose five films
that I consider the best of the decade.
Of course, my top film was released
in late 2000 (a discovery made three
seconds before sending the article) and
therefore automatically disqualified. I'm
forced to add a new film to the Top five.
I present to you:
5) ‘Astrópía’ [2007]
Directed by Gunnar B. Guðmunds-
son
Gunnar Guðmundsson's directorial
debut is a respectful ode to geeks
and role-play. TV-personality/actress
Ragnhildur Steinunn plays Hildur, a
fun-loving girl whose boyfriend gets
arrested. Hildur needs to find a job and
starts working at a comic book store.
This wonderful film shifts back and
forth between mundane everyday life
and spectacular fantasy-sequences
where knights and elves fight witches
and ogres.
4) ‘Brim’ [2010]
Directed by Árni Ásgeirsson
Vesturport is the LA Lakers of theatre
groups. Their hit play ‘Brim’ (written by
Jón Atli Jónasson) was made into a fea-
ture film that the critics loved. Brim is
about a small group of people on board
a semi-haunted fishing vessel. After
a member of the crew kills himself, a
young woman (Nína Dögg Filippusdót-
tir) takes his place and causes great
disturbance in The Force. Top-notch
performances from a great cast, and
director Árni Ásgeirsson is clearly des-
tined for greatness.
3) ‘Brúðguminn’ [2008]
Directed by Baltasar Kormákur
Jón (Hilmir Snær Guðnason) is a
middle-aged philosophy teacher who is
just about to marry one of his students.
His first wife was a mental patient and
eventually committed suicide. ‘Brúðgu-
minn’ tells two parallel stories about the
same man, on the same remote island
(where the wedding is to take place)
but with two different women, his wife
(past) and his wife-to-be (present).
Some might see that as an overused
storytelling gimmick, but Baltasar does
this extremely well and Brúðguminn is
arguably his best picture.
2) Reykjavík-Rotterdam [2008]
Directed by Óskar Jónasson
A solid entry in the thriller-genre and
probably the only Icelandic film ever
to accomplish that. ‘Mýrin’ was close,
‘Köld slóð’ was way off, but ‘Reykjavík-
Rotterdam’ is right on the money.
Baltasar Kormákur (the director of film
number three on this list) gives one
of his best performances as a former
alcohol smuggler on parole who gets
tempted by the "one last mission and
then retire"-cliché and goes to Rot-
terdam to pick up some booze. All hell
breaks loose (of course) and Iceland
is officially a contender in the world of
clever thrillers. Currently being remade
in the States as ‘Contraband’, with
Baltasar Kormákur at the helm and
Marky Mark playing the smuggler.
The Good, The Bad And
The Disqualified:
The greatest Icelandic films of the decade
Films | Haukur Viðar Alfreðsson
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