Atlantica - 01.07.2004, Page 22

20 A T L A N T I C A
Not all of these ideas work, however, as
with the basketballs he would have needed
a fish tank a hundred feet tall filled with sil-
icon oil. He continues to consult leaders in
scientific fields when working on his
pieces, because “it brings more informa-
tion to the table – the information is just to
be placed in the work and shared.´´
IDEAS AND INSPIRATION
Most people do not have a team of Italian
craftsmen or an indulgent audience who
will pay attention to their plans to hang
trains from cranes. Many of the rest of us
could expect to be locked up if we pursued
such a thing too enthusiastically. Then
again, not all of us could be bothered.
Where do these ideas come from?
“There are really two things that an
artist can do to make their work. The first
thing is to trust in themselves. If you trust
in yourself, you can go to the depth of
what human experience has been for you.
You have only your history. You have to
accept that your history is perfect and trust
in yourself. When they follow their intu-
ition, that’s the only other thing they have
too. If people trust in themselves and follow
their intuition, I think that things start to
become very metaphysical. That is how art
is created.”
Since artists so often take on the role of
moralist, they’re often sought out for com-
mentary about current affairs. But if Koons
were to try something like that, he says he
“would just trip over his own feet.” In order
for something to enter into one of his
pieces, it has to “resonate” in him first.
FIRST TIME IN ICELAND
When we met in the National Gallery,
Koons hadn’t been in Iceland for long. He
had only seen what most of us first see
when we arrive in Iceland – lava fields and
rain. He had made plans to do the “Golden
Circle” tour of Gullfoss and Geysir. He also
said he would probably take his family to
see some Icelandic horses.
He didn’t know what to expect from
Iceland and admitted that most of his expe-
rience of the country had been through
Björk’s music. But one aspect of the coun-
try had already stuck with him. It was in
relating a story of admiring the artwork at
his hotel that the distant tone came back to
his voice.
“One painting that I noticed in the
bedroom, I thought that this was so amaz-
ing that I could imagine wanting to buy
this painting and living with this painting.
So I called in [curator of the Astrup
Fearnley Museum] Gunnar Kvaran and
Gunnar said, ´That’s my father’s.´ That was
fantastic. Isn’t that an amazing story? I
was laying there thinking how strong this
painting is and I went and showed Gunnar
and here it was his father’s.”
Like many people who visit Iceland for the
first time, he was struck by the small com-
munity that exists here. He says that his
first interaction with his audience is
through love and respect and he sees
something similar in Icelanders.
“Coming here you can see how much
people respect each other and this type of
respect to the community is really an envi-
ronment where great art can happen,
because I think the artist really has to have
respect for the people in his
environment.” ◆
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