Von Egill Saebjornsson
First of all, the art-scene in Iceland isn’t big. Still
we have about 4 or 5 active galleries (then we’re talking contemporary
art) in Reykjavik and the Living Art Museum (like the kunstvereins in
Germany), The Municipal Art Museum of Reykjavik (shows both contemporary
and 20th century art) and the Art-Museum of Iceland (more conservative).
Those institutes and the galleries are doing extremely
good in getting all kinds of exhibitions into the country compared to
how many inhabitants are in Iceland and in Reykjavik. 260.000 people in
whole Iceland (like a small village in Europe) of which150.000 live in
Reykjavik. So Reykjavik is a small town and a Big City at the same time.
It is the capitol of Iceland and here everything happens
so to say. We still have a strong gallery in Isafjordur on the West, west,
west side and north up at no-place called Slunkariki. This gallery is
quite well known among foreign artists that have been travelling to Iceland
increasingly over the last 20 or 30 years.
Artists like Roni Horn and Richard Long are here all
the time, still never to be seen at the bars because they’re always out
walking in the wilderness, while we the Icelandic citychildren stay in
smoky bars and stroll down Laugarvegur (the main main main street of Reykjavik
with all the shops and bars around it).
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That is one thing. City-child. To be born and raised
in Reykjavik does mean that one IS Icelandic of course but it doesn’t
mean that one has BEEN to Iceland.
To stay inside Reykjavik is totally different than going
to the country side. So youngsters in Reykjavik might get the idea of
GOING TO ICELAND which means to GO OUTSIDE OF REYKJAVIK and see some of
this beautyful country side we have.Iceland is particular in the sense
that Renaissance started in Iceland in the 20 century. Until that time
there were only merchants that ruled the country like in the middle age
Europe. They had all the money and ruled everything. Then in the late
19th century Reykjavik began to grow and everybody got crazy about this
small place (30.000 people in 1850) and wanted to go there.
People became citychildren, with money and they wanted
to go to the cinema and to make art and paint and make art-museums and
galleries. Stuff that didn’t exist in Iceland before that time. Amazing
isn’t it? A third world country, a Danish colony, jumps first world in
one jump. Goes straight from mud and grass houses to ten floors concrete
blocks of flats. Then there comes second world war and U.S.A. puts ENORMOUS
amounts of money into Iceland (they were buying their way in to have an
army base in the country) and everybody goes NUTTY PROFESSOR with money
floating out of their pockets.
People drive into the 20th century with houses and houses
and houses (lots of money comes also from the fish industry) and suddenly
abstract paintings with icelandic themes and then in 1970 conceptual artists
broke through (The Living Art Museum built) and since then, everything
getting more and more and more like EUROPE and USA.
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