Iceland review - 2015, Qupperneq 20

18 ICELAND REVIEW
stimulate creativity. Icelandic society is
encouraging in many ways but there’s
always the looming risk of homogene-
ity because so few people live here. It’s
essential that international artists come here and that we travel
abroad for creativity, encouragement.
7. Is one genre bigger than another in Iceland?
SSE: It’s not really for me to say, as I live and breathe in the
Icelandic music scene. It is big, as can be seen by all the festivals,
like Sónar and ATP. I’m extremely proud of the Icelandic music
scene … Independent record companies have been founded in an
industry many say is dead.
ÓEE: It depends on the definition of ‘big.’ Literature has the
longest history and the sagas are an international treasure, while
I think the music scene might have the ‘biggest’ exposure to the
outside world.
HH: We bask in being a literary nation. Literature has a certain
place of honor, but the music scene is taking over in the inter-
national market. We’re earning a reputation as a musical nation.
SP: It’s a matter of definition. The art of literature is the oldest,
the mothership. The manuscripts include the origins of visual
art: the illustrations and the illustrated capital letters. There’s also
music in the manuscripts, something that wasn’t discovered until
fairly recently. Literature is the connection to our history. Music,
visual art and film are also very powerful, but I don’t know which
is the biggest.
8. How important is the international community to the
Icelandic art scene? Is it important to study and/or work
abroad?
SSE: It depends on what your motives are. I’ve never liked the
term ‘making it’—it’s not necessarily about that. People write or
play music as a profession or as a hobby and the main goal isn’t
necessarily to become famous or popular, but rather to find joy
in what you’re doing.
ÓEE: Yes. For artists, success abroad is often the key to success
at home. (Actually, I always found it beautiful that heimskur, the
word for ‘stupid’ in Icelandic, literally means a person who stays
at home all the time.)
HH: It’s very important that we seek education abroad or live
abroad. It has accompanied us Icelanders that we travel and
observe. [Óðinn, the Old Norse god, tells us in the poem]
‘Hávamál’ that we should travel and seek knowledge: “Wit is
needful; to him who travels far: at home all is easy.” The origin
of the word heimskur, or ‘stupid,’ is ‘he who never leaves home.’
SP: It’s of utmost importance to seek education abroad, or, if pos-
sible, work abroad. To see things in a bigger context, to distance
oneself from the monotonous and experience proper diversity. To
get to know rooted cultural institutions, the extreme avant-garde,
and everything in between.
9. Do awards and recognitions matter to you?
SSE: It’s pleasing to be recognized but not necessarily important.
If you study for a test and want to score high, of course you’ll be
happy with a 10. It’s important to you. I was happy with the rec-
ognitions I received last year, but I had also worked hard.
ÓEE: Yes, of course, saying it didn’t would make me an ungrate-
ful liar. But the few times I’ve had to, I’ve found it a bit hard to
stand on the stage as myself and not in a role, saying “thank you.”
HH: I would be lying if I said “no.” But what I’m most fond of is
when my artwork ends up in important places, private or public
collections. I was thrilled to have a 20-page chapter in Kunstler,
the German Art Encyclopedia, dedicated to my body of work.
Only two other Icelandic artists have had that honor: Erró and
Ólafur Elíasson.
SP: I don’t think much about it but it has a positive effect to
receive an award presented in goodwill. It’s only human. It’s
encouraging.
10. What Icelandic artist comes to mind first when you’re
asked who is doing something new and exciting?
SSE: I’m very fond of the rap scene where there are many fresh
voices. I’m proud of my colleagues in Reykjavíkurdætur and of
the guys in Úlfur Úlfur who aren’t shy to talk about their feelings,
providing a new angle to rap lyrics.
ÓEE: If I have to name one person doing something brand-new,
it would be Sigurjón Kjartansson, the first showrunner in Iceland.
We just finished six months of shooting the TV series Ófærð
[Trapped], which I took part in writing, and Sigurjón oversaw
everything from the first word on paper to the last cut.
HH: Anna Hrund Másdóttir, who … currently has an exhibition
in Listamenn gallery, has impressed me. Her works are beautiful,
witty, delicate and feminine, something that was not common in
my generation. We could be feminine but in a political way.
SP: I could name many, but if I were forced to mention an exam-
ple it would by Ragnar Kjartansson. He’s a person under 40, who
is some sort of visual artist but in connection with other genres,
such as theater, but not exclusively. *
10Q
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