STARA - 14.11.2015, Blaðsíða 59

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Visual artists and athletes have a lot
in common. Professional athletes
get paid for competing in their
sport; they compete in tournaments
and thus display the payoff of their
work. Most of the time athletes
have to fulfil certain requirements
to achieve the right to participate
in tournaments. Artists compete
in other ways and areas, such as in
exhibitions and galleries all around
the world. Athletes go to training
camps, sometimes to other coun-
tries, where they use the time to
practice on different areas. One
way or another, this provides them
with a new perspective, while deep-
ened and developing their skills.
Artists meanwhile, take up resi-
dency, both here and abroad, where
they look for creative influences
from new surroundings. All the
time is spent on strict exercises and
the result is unmistakable. Awards
are given for their effort and not
without reason. For it is important
to engage in you specialised field,
whether it is related to sports or
art.
Not everyone can become a profes-
sional athlete even though almost
everyone can move their body.
Individuals who have excelled in
their fields, developed a great tech-
nique and spent countless hours
practicing will reap what they sow
by getting the chance to work in
their field. If athletes would not get
the chance to practice their field
as their primary occupation, many
people would undoubtedly not be
as enthusiastic about following
the games or sporting competi-
tions. The quality simply would
not be the same. The same can be
said about visual art; if artists do
not get an opportunity to practice
visual art as their primary occupa-
tion, there is every chance that the
quality of the work will be compro-
mised and research into the field
would not delve as deep.
I happened upon an interesting
mathematical equation the other
day which places visual art in a
certain context.
Contemporary visual art is thus
= “I could do this” + “yes but you
didn’t”
Behind a work of art are many
years’ worth of research, education
and surveying. A lot of the time it
is not obvious just how much work
is behind a successful work of art.
It exists because of cogitation, rep-
etition, revision and development.
We only get to see the final result
of the work behind each unique, or
duplicated, work. Not only is the
work important but also the educa-
tion and all of the artist’s previous
experience. Even if a certain work
took a short time to complete, years
of experience, education and prac-
tice led to its creation and that is
why we need professional artists.
Contemporary visual art is thus =
“I could do this” + “yes but you didn’t”
Berg l ind has an MA deg ree f rom the Univers i ty o f Ice land in Appl ied Studies in Culture and Communicat ion
and a BA deg ree in Ar t Theor y f rom the same univers i ty. She i s a projec t manager for Vi sual Ar t D ay 2015 .
She has done projec t s in co l laborat ion w ith i .a . the National Gal le r y of Ice land and the Liv ing Ar t Museum,
as wel l a s The Fest ival . She i s one of the organizers o f contemporar y. i s and worked on the research projec t
Ice landic Contemporar y Ar t Theor y.