Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.01.2011, Blaðsíða 24

24
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 1 — 2011
Ásmundur Ásmundsson is a visual artist and a writer. Until recently he wrote a
biweekly column for Icelandic Financial News. He has written for various publica-
tions as well as shown his artwork, in Iceland and abroad. Útúrdúr just published
a collection of his speeches: Dear Friends, Collection of Speeches 2000 - 2010.
Art | Fine Art
I am deeply honoured to have the op-
portunity to write for Reykjavík Grape-
vine. Not only because I am a great fan
of rock and roll (and pop) music, but
also because I value foreigners. I am of
course not talking about guest workers
from Eastern Europe, whom I also value
and have great respect for as a group.
No, I am talking about you, dear reader,
and perhaps your friends, if my intent
to do a good job pans out nicely. You
have a big role to play in the future of
this great nation. It is my duty to write
a favourable article about the Icelandic
art scene and I will do it for you, since
we are depending on your moral sup-
port, and I will do it for the rest of us,
because we need it.
To capture a candid and attractive
gaze at the last decade of fine arts is
a difficult chore. Not only because
time is short and money is scarce, but
because fine art is so huge and what
happened before the total crash seems
decades ago. I have faint memories of
openings and parties, some in the com-
pany of good-looking celebrities (Óla-
fur Elíasson, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Mr.
and Mrs. Barney, Baroness Francesca
von Hapsburg and Christoph Schlin-
gensief (bless his soul)) and their local
counterparts, but others in the com-
pany of wolves (could that be?). Luckily
I was living abroad during the height
of the great boom, so I missed out on
most of the ordeal of the holy matri-
mony between art and business and
the hideous exhibitions it fashioned,
but I heard some rumours—none worth
mentioning in a respectable publication
like ours.
The Satanic monument of Viðey
I could try to remember a few impor-
tant exhibitions and ponder on their
significance, but smiling faces keep
interrupting. I do have fond memories
of Safn, a private art collection that was
briefly open to the public in the begin-
ning of the decade, but I might be the
only one. The owner of the private col-
lection, Mister Pétur Arason, was given
one hundred million krónur from the
City of Reykjavík. But who cares now?
Today it is like Safn never existed, and
that’s how we want it. In the context of
total economic collapse it is a corrup-
tion scandal on a miniature scale (like
the collection, actually!).
As a matter of fact, the whole de-
cade will surely be completely forgot-
ten in a few years, with few exceptions,
and those are not exceptional because
of their artistic value, but because they
are on permanent display, blocking our
view. I am of course talking about the
Satanic monument of Viðey: Imagine
Peace Tower by Yoko Ono, and the
glass façade of Harpa Concert Hall and
Conference Centre which covers the
entire building and was designed by
renowned visual artist Ólafur Elíasson
in collaboration with the Danish archi-
tects of the building. The latter is a civil-
engineering scandal in the making, and
it involves the Chinese and incompe-
tent local civil engineers. The frontage
has been built and torn down again at
least twice (by the Chinese) and only
God knows how it will end. But it can’t
be a happy ending. You just watch!
Now I must calm down; it was never
my intention to let too much reality take
over this piece of writing, since I am
writing this as service to my country—
an image must be kept alive. The more I
think about it the more I am convinced
that this image is first and foremost di-
rected at the locals hanging in there,
but that’s a whole different kettle of
fish.
The Grapevine’s top five
I must take a deep breath and deliver
what I promised: a favourable article,
an attractive gaze. If I had a stack of old
Grapevines I could simply leaf through
them and quote the talented and free
spirited artists on the pages, particu-
larly the multi-talented ones, the ones
with one foot in pop and/or rock and/or
fashion. I don’t have that stack in front
of me, but with an imaginary stack I
can easily make a list of top five artists:
Gabríela Friðriksdóttir, Ragnar Kjar-
tansson, Haraldur Jónsson, Egill Sæb-
jörnsson, Hrafnkell Sigurðsson and the
Icelandic Love Corporation (actually
six). I think that list is as good as any,
but I don’t have these artists’ imagina-
tion to make profound or funny quotes
coming out of their mouth off the pages
of Reykjavík Grapevine. They do come
highly recommended and have made
an important mark on the Reykjavík Art
scene. Thank you.
Thank God this nation has pro-
gressed in a linear fashion since day
one, but not in a cyclic eternal spi-
ral shape of the second and the third
world. Therefore we can easily assume
that the best of the decade did in fact
take place in the year 2010. And the
best is yet to come; 2011 will be the
pinnacle of our culture. Thus my re-
membrance is not as important as an
uninformed reader might think. The un-
aware reader might also say to himself
or to his girlfriend that this article was
scantily researched and consequently
poorly written. To those people, we,
the people of the Grapevine simply say:
Don’t be ignorant! We firmly oppose the
notion that history repeats itself, even
if we find communism’s favourite joke
“first time as tragedy, the second time
as farce” to be utterly hilarious.
The decade’s top three
We do believe in progress, at least
when it comes to culture and fine
arts. There are three art exhibitions, or
should I say events that wrap up the de-
cade in a peaceful an unrestricted way.
The funny thing is that they are all from
the latter half of 2010 and I didn’t see
any of them and that is what makes this
article unusual.
‘Koddu’ in Listasafn Árnesinga,
Hveragerði, a group exhibition of some
of the most prominent Icelandic artists
(two are on the aforementioned Grape-
vine top five list). The word “koddu”
means an inviting “come along” in Ice-
landic; it has a soft and cuddly sound
to it. The exhibition, which drew its
title from the great tourism campaign
“Inspired by Iceland,” was planned to
be put up at the Listasafn Árnesinga,
Hveragerði but was censored out of the
museum on the grounds of visual ma-
terial, text and methodology. Both the
catalogue and the majority of the exhi-
bition material are ready for publication
and installation, but it remains to be
seen if it will ever go up. The exhibition
was meant to be “a succinct account of
the relations between iconography and
ideology in contemporary Iceland; a
mapping of contemporary aesthetics of
Icelandic cultural politics and address-
ing the central role of the state, market
and academia by canalizing how art is
produced, exhibited, seen and used.”
‘Body Parts in Religion’ in Hallgrím-
skirkja Church, by Hannes Lárusson, is
another censored exhibition. The show
was shut down two days before its an-
nounced opening. When the church
administrators and priests saw the invi-
tation card bearing illustrations of vari-
ous body parts, e.g. a breast, a penis,
buttocks, and they eliminated the exhi-
bition. Some of us had been expectantly
waiting and preparing for the celebra-
tion of this event like a Christian waiting
for the Second Coming of Christ, thus
the disenchantment was huge. This
happened just after the censorship of
‘Koddu’, which was a double disgrace
and a step back, especially since the
intelligentsia and the art world seemed
either anesthetized or perfectly content
with these occurrences.
Another example of the pinnacle of
the great culture that thrives in our area
of sway was a remarkable jamboree
at the oldest hotel in Reykjavik, Hótel
Borg. This is not another tragic example
of censorship, but a success story of
corporate sponsorship, the amalgama-
tion between the stock of the fine arts,
the plebs of the fitness centres and the
creatures of the night (what a night!).
The only tragedy was how few could
enjoy the shindig, since it was a one
night only event. At least three artists
from the Reykjavík Grapevine top five
list showed their work in the beauti-
ful suites of the classy old hotel. The
wingding was held to celebrate the first
coming of Vitamin Water, a vigorous
fluid developed by one of the greatest
friends of Iceland, 50 Cent. The liquid is
produced by the Coca-Cola Company,
owner of the trademark Vitamin Water.
Words
Ásmundur Ásmundsson
Photography
Julia Staples
</2010 ART>
</2010>
I often think the re-shaping and re-
building of Iceland is going slow and
that little has changed, but looking
back one can see that a lot of things
have moved in the right direction,
and that a lot growth is happening.
For me, our attempts at improving
our democracy have stood out. This
year we’ve staged three elections—a
national referendum on IceSave that
is likely unprecedented in world his-
tory, municipal elections and then
the Constitutional Assembly elec-
tions, where we got to try person-
based elections for the first time. For
me the year was both good and hard.
My family has prospered, but work
has been hard and often taxing.
<A new decade...>
We are still mid-collapse and the
system is still trying to defend itself
with all means at their disposal. But
it can’t for much longer; it is like a
fluttering fish on dry land. Our bank-
ing system was the first to collapse,
but more and more foundations are
proving rickety. The National Church
is having a hard time, and our ad-
ministrative structures are shattered,
as is revealed almost every day. The
political party system as we know it
is also in the death throes, not only in
Iceland but the world over. Change
can be painful, but it is necessary. It
is our duty to guard the interests of
the people in the world—it has been
made very clear that neither the fi-
nancial sector nor the political class
has any interest in that.
[Margrét Tryggvadóttir, MP,
Hreyfingin]
</2010>
Well, the year 2010 brought me the
most happiest times of my life so far...
all the new people that entered my
life, my good friends and all the good
times we had together... and winning
the title Mr. Gay Iceland also brought
a HUGE change to my life... a good
change :)
<A new decade...>
I have a good feeling about the next
decade... my life has gotten so much
better the last few years, and I am
focused on making it even better in
the next years. With a strong mind
and determination, we can make
anything happen! Believe in yourself,
focus on the goal and succeed! :)
[Vilhjálmur Þór Davíðsson, Mr.
Gay Iceland 2010]
The Decade
Of Fine Arts