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BELCHING UP THE AMERICAN DREAM
The guy could talk about America for hours. Most of the jive is the familiar anti-corporation variety, but he definitely presents it with gusto. When he really gets going, you can tell that he has been doing a lot of interviews. “Fifteen…
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YE OLDE ICELAND IS BACK IN ACTION
The photos were courtesy of the magic of the National Museum, who had at one time created a nice visual to accompany the history of the Christmas Lads. This is their forte: bringing ye olde Iceland to you. And so this tradition…
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Your Memories Look Like This
The exhibition is comprised of long prints made of images that seem sewn together. Each print features one subject, but is made of various shots from slightly differing viewpoints. The photographs are both instinctively striking and unsettling because there is no frame…
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“EXCUSE ME, DID I JUST HEAR YOU SAY WICIOUS?”
It’s one of the nation’s great mysteries, but not one that Icelanders are keen on investigating. Sometimes they find it insulting, but mostly they just don’t get what’s so funny. It’s the old switcheroo, the tendency of Icelanders to replace the ‘v’…
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CARRYING A CAMERA EVERYWHERE
So Gunnar and Ingólfur Egilsson’s grandfather, Gunnar Hannesson, has a show downtown. He died in 1976, but in the years prior earned himself a stable career in photography, publishing several solo books, printing in National Geographic, and appearing in local homes via…
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NO, NAY, NEVER
The museum itself has primarily been a venue for exhibitions and various creative events, but it is becoming increasingly focused on its position as a setting for both domestic and foreign artists to exchange opinions and ideas. This exhibition covers three cities…
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THIS MAN IS REAL
After gaining such a strong presence in this town it’s impossible not to stop by and see the photographs. Albert, perhaps, draws you in but the photos are not as plentiful as you’d expect with such an extensive advertising campaign. They are,…
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AURORA BOREALIS IN THE BASEMENT
The disco-like magic of the exhibit was lost when a museum staff member unplugged the device, transforming the shimmering light into something resembling the late-night glow of a stoplight, but this unpleasant experience is easily avoided by arriving at the exhibit sometime…
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The Patented Icelandic Underwater Massage
I was obviously worried about my massage, the focus of my entire day, which was meant to be executed whilst floating on a small thin raft allowing the body to be partially submerged in the water. I didn’t want my 20 minutes…
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Playing chess and doing good
If you’ve never moved a pawn or been check-mated, now may be the time. Iceland’s champion chess club has started up some projects which go beyond the checkerboard and far beyond Iceland. Hrókurinn’s central pursuit is the promotion of chess to children…
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SÆVAR KARL´S GALLERY: THE SUITS WON’T SPOIL IT
The exhibition space is simple and serene. Its discrete ambiance makes it feel like a peculiar haven, distinctly sans-fashion. But there’s no getting around it: it’s weird for me, Joe Art-Enthusiast, to walk through a zone of thousand-dollar suits to get there.…
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So, what´s all the fuss about?
“What we need is more men and women to enter marriage,” say the priests and fundamentalists who worry about the collapse of a worthy institution. “We need men and women who will stand before God, take their vows and keep them.” But…
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THE HAIR
But a question that I had to ask is: Where are the Icelandic hippies? How can an Icelandic audience connect to these freaks dancing around and grabbing each others’ asses? I certainly don’t see a lot of embracing on the streets. In…
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MAN BITES SHARK
And then there are the huge green eggs spotted with black dots: seagull and blackbird eggs. I’ve seen them eaten raw before, right in front of the counter. Who buys these things? I felt compelled to ask. “Mostly old people,” says Hjalti…
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Shopping in Front of Suffering
It is, of course, to say the least, disconcerting; the sorrow and scars hit us brutally under the bright mall light. But the photos serve to remind us that not only is there suffering while we are shopping, but it is in…
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THE KIND OF MUSEUM YOU WANT TO LIVE IN
The museum (called quite literally “Museum” or “Collection” in Icelandic) faces Laugavegur, but looking in the window it is difficult to discern how extensive the collection is. I recall once seeing a single suited mannequin in the window and presuming the space…
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“Is this paper clip art?”
Upon entering the shop I was surrounded by chunks of lava that you could pick up on your way to the airport. There were abstract landscape paintings that were perfect for someone who is searching for art work to match the colors…
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Orthodontists, Artists and Hairstylists to the Stars
The gallery is situated within a cluster of old structures which, in the diffused evening light, add an aesthetic contribution of their own. An abandoned wool factory looms authoritatively near a building which houses an old swimming pool, a recording studio utilized…
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Why Iceland is Inhabitable
Opening the door one morning, considering the idea of going on a little walk, I stared out at the mountains through the snow that tore through the sky sideways and realised, for the first time, how it really is possible for someone…
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OPPS! “I DIDN’T DO IT” AGAIN
From playwriting to installation art, painting to photography, books to documentary film, he´s done it, and nearly all of it will be featured June 11th through August 8th at the Reykjavík Art Museum. “I Didn’t Do It” will display various works created…
