Reykjavík Grapevine - 18.05.2012, Blaðsíða 49

Coast Guard for many years as a map-
maker. He is now retired and paints
beautiful watercolors in his free time.
On permanent view
Reykjavík Museum of
Photography
Hörður Sveinsson: Music Flood
Hörður Sveinsson has in recent years
become known for his photographs of
Icelandic pop culture, both as press
photographer for Grapevine and
Monitor as well as an independent
photographer. He has photographed
many bands and artists e.g. Björk,
Sigur rós, Mugison, Ham, Of Monsters
and Men, Retro Stefson and Lay Low.
Runs until June 5
In a country where the most
treasured work of literature is a
novel called ‘Independent People’
and centres on a man obsessed
with self-sufficiency, it is pretty
daring to present a show called ‘(I)
ndependent People,’ and have it
be about the opposite of inde-
pendence. But Swedish curator
Jonatan Habib Engqvist is doing
just that: his multi-venue exhibi-
tion, which makes up the visual
arts component of this year’s
Reykjavík Art Festival, focuses on
collaboration, or putting the “I” in
parentheses. In an interview, he
told us more about the philosophy
behind the exhibition, the artwork
that will be on view, and how he
sees this year’s show in relation to
previous large-scale exhibitions in
Iceland.
PERFORMING COLLABORATION
Why focus on collaboration?
Well, this particular project has been
a collaborative project from the
beginning because there are so many
institutions involved. Stepping in as
curator, I had two options: to work
through the tough process of trying to
make things happen by accommodat-
ing different desires and contracts, or
I could turn that into the concept itself.
It’s a way of surviving.
But I also think what is interest-
ing about the Icelandic art scene is
the fact that it is very dependent on
the artist’s initiative and collabora-
tive practice. Abroad, Kling & Bang
and The Living Art Museum are what
people know about the Icelandic art
scene. So it also made sense to focus
on collaboration here, because it is so
deeply rooted
Are the artist-run spaces involved
in the creative process?
Yes…if you look at Kling & Bang, for
example, they are actively participating
in the artistic processes of the works
that they’re exhibiting; it’s not just that
they have a venue, and an artist comes
and puts on their show.
What kind of artists will be fea-
tured?
The artists I have invited are all artists
who are interested in day-to-day poli-
tics—in what’s going on around them,
in how what they are doing relates to
what people are thinking in general,
and to what they, themselves, are
thinking. And this is also part of, how
should I put it, not having the artist
genius, but instead creating situations
where we’re working together, produc-
ing knowledge for the sake of sharing
it with others, rather than owning it.
INVESTIGATING “NORDIC“
Is the Nordic emphasis of the show
tied to the funding, or is there an-
other motivation behind it?
It’s because of the funding… I was
originally just as reserved about it as
anyone else; I thought, ‘Nordic, what’s
that? We live in a global art world;
there’s no such thing as geographical-
ly-marked artistic production today.’
Then I thought, rather than trying to
show Nordic collaboration, we should
create Nordic collaboration. We could
collaborate in looking at our common
history, which is the idea behind the
seminar that is taking place.
What are your goals for the show?
One thing that is important to me
...it’s like a relay race; in 2005 Jessica
Morgan and Björn Roth did the visual
art focus, with this big show on Dieter
Roth, flying people across the country;
there was champagne everywhere.
Then in 2008, it was Hans Ulrich Obrist
and Ólafur Elíasson who did this
Experiment Marathon, parachuting su-
perstars, brain surgeons and whatnot
into the museum. I think one task was
to connect this big art exhibition to the
local art scene and make something
that also matters to the artists here.
Art | Interview
INTERDEPENDENT PEOPLE
Jonatan Habib Engqvist on the joys of collaboration
Sigurjón Ólafsson Museum
Milestones: Sigurjón Ólafsson's
Key Sculptures
Exhibition with some of Sigurjón Ólafs-
son's key works from different periods
of his prolific career as a sculptor. The
earliest work on the exhibition is a
newly acquired relief of two sisters
which he made at his first year at the
Royal Academy of Art in Copenhagen.
This relief has not been exhibited in
Iceland before.
Runs until: Oct 1
Spark Design Space
A Salon show is being prepared at
Spark containing selected projects
from the past as well as a few new
things we can not resist.
Spark is open during the transformation.
Skaftfell, Seyðisfjörður
Re-opening of The Collection
Centre In collaboration with the
Icelandic Centre for Ethnology and
Folklore, Skaftfell will be showing a
collection of short videos. The purpose
of this is to collect narratives from all
the inhabitants of Seyðisfjörður in 2011
and 2012 to give a bigger picture of
the community.
Sláturhúsið, Egilsstaðir
Check www.slaturhusid.is for latest
shows
Words
S Anne Steinberg
Photography
Alísa Kalyanova
The Iceland Symphony
welcomes you to Harpa.
Box office » 528 5050 » www.sinfonia.is » www.harpa.is
Hönnunarsafn Íslands
Museum of Design
and Applied Art
Garðatorg 1, Garðabær
Tel. +354 512 1525
Open 12–17
Closed on Mondays
www.honnunarsafn.is
Kópavogur
Art Museum-
Gerðarsafn
Hamraborg 4, Kópavogur
Tel. +354 570 0440
Open 11–17
Closed on Mondays
www.gerdarsafn.is
Hafnarborg
The Hafnarfjordur
Centre of Culture
and Fine Art
Strandgata 34, Hafnarfjörður
Tel. +354 585 5790
Open 12–17
Thursdays 12–21
Closed on Tuesdays
www.hafnarborg.is
To the Blue LagoonContemporary Art Exhibitions:
Hrafnkell Sigurðsson - Port City
Hreinn Friðfinnsson – House
Humble Objects
Objects in our daily life
Thoughts on drawings
Collection of drawings by
Icelandic artists