AVS. Arkitektúr verktækni skipulag - 01.04.2002, Qupperneq 85

aödráttarafliö býr í formi ofns og efni, þaö býr í skreyt-
inu og síöast en ekki síst býr þaö í hita eldsins sem er
í eðli sínu hættulegur. Á milli áhorfanda og hins stór-
hættulega aðdráttarafls er einungis þunnt skilrúm eöa
hulstur. Þaö er kunnara en frá þurfi aö segja aö hættu-
legir hlutir eru spennandi en sú spenna er tvíbent; Þeir
bæöi laöa aö og fæla frá sér. Aö því leytinu til sverja
ofnarnir sig í ætt viö ýmis fyrri sköpunarverk Hannesar;
eru varhugaveröar tálbeitur.
„Þaö sem mér finnst vera kjölfestan í íslenskri menn-
ingu, er Þetta stutta bil milli fagurfræði og notagildis;
feguröin í notagildinu sem íslendingar hafa varðveitt
öörum þjóöum fremur, kannski vegna stööugs návígis
viö lífsbaráttuna. “(Hannes Lárusson í viötali viö Morg-
unblaðið, 28.04 1990)
WARNING ATTRACTION
Hannes Lárusson has cultivated a special field within
contemporary lcelandic art with intricately-carved and
often colorful sculptures having obvious reference to
handcrafts from earlier periods, as well as performanc-
es and spatial works in which he envelopes the viewer.
Although his work deals with the association between
aesthetics and utility, it also entails „craftmanship”,
irnportant in an lcelandic cultural context. The craft-
manship is neither benign nor innocent in the hands of
the artist - it is a decoy to attract the viewer. To this
effect, Hannes has actually created a set of wooden
ducks he calls “Decoys”, who symbolise the attraction
of art that the artist calls an „erotic relationship"
between the public and the piece.
The art of Hannes has its roots in concept art, and not
the least in art as symbol, and the relationship between
art and language. Until now, it has not explored the
view of utilitarianism.
With his cast iron stoves “vafurlogi” (the name stem-
ing from Edda Poetry and ancient Scandinavian folk-
lore), Hannes enters the field of design. The four types
of stoves that Hannes has developed, each of which
can be finished differently, fulfil all the demands made
of usable objects and industrial design without dimin-
ishing the pieces as works of art. Inspiration for his
stove sculptures can be traced to his artwork. The first
stove was made in 1994 and intended as part of a per-
formance at the biennale at Rostoc in Germany.
Hannes also showed the performance “Warmth” in the
gallery Nýlistasafn in 1997, where the “Centre”, a stove
made of stone, warmed the exhibition hall during the
exhibition.
One basic aspect of the art of Hannes has been to
create works that express our self-image and create
archetypes of lcelandic Culture. In earlier times,
lcelanders did not use stoves, but made do with primi-
tive fireplaces and also used their own body heat for
warmth, using themselves as stoves. Like the human
body, the stoves of Hannes radiate heat into the envi-
ronment. With regard to form, the stoves are not devoid
of human qualities. They have feet, either of chromium
steel or basalt and a torso which is both a head and
torso at the same time. The forms of individual parts
can be traced to animals; the head of on one piece is
similar to the head of a whale. If you would like to take
the figurative symbolism of the design further, the round
stove can be traced to the organic or feminine; the one
with horns or geometric forms would then symbolises
the masculine.
Part of the characteristic of earlier lcelandic folk-cul-
ture was founded on the diligent anti-functionalism to
decorate everything, including everyday objects. In-
stead of separating the object and the decoration, a
typically lcelandic fusion took place between the two.
Hannes follows this tradition. In this sense, his stoves
are beyond the limits of modernism. Stove decorations
such as embossed vents, pokers and handles are per-
sonal symbols Hannes culls from his repetoire. Each
symbol refers to what the artist calls “myths of local cul-
ture” and the special conditions for the existence of
lcelanders, living on the fringe; the book, champaigne
bottle, cod, earthworm, falcon, ladle, plover,
Scandinavian rowboat, seal, and stone.
The stoves of Hannes possess both radiation and
attraction, residing in the stove’s form and material. It
lives too, in the decorations and in the heat of the fire
which essentially is dangerous. Between the viewer
and the dangerous attraction lies only a thin partition. It
is common knowledge that dangerous objects are
exciting, but this excitement is twofold; they both attract
and dispel. In this respect, the stoves are related to
many of the earlier creations of Hannes; they are dan-
gerous decoys.
“What I sense as the foundation of lcelandic culture is
this short space between aesthetic and utility; the beau-
ty of the utility that lcelanders have preserved better
than other nations, perhaps because of the daily fight
for survival.” (Hannes Lárusson, Morgunblaö interview
“90-04-28) ■
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