News

You are one of the founders of Gallery Kling and Bang. Why did you decide at the time (2003) to found a gallery?

When I moved from Denmark in the year of 2002 and come to Iceland, there were almost no spaces for the “younger” generation of artists to exhibit their work; Gallery Hlemmur was there and the Living art museum, but that´s about it. The museums almost never exhibited work of young or emerging artists, so it came out of pure necessity that Kling and Bang was founded. The space at Laugarvegur 23 was empty and was to be rented out as a studio and because of it´s central location in Reykjavík, I decided to gather some people that I knew and put up a gallery.

We were 10 visual artists that were paying the rent and more out of our own pockets, mainly because it takes some time to “proof yourself” for the Reykjavík government and other public institutions.

We started to emphasize on the younger generation of artists but after some time a more crossover evolved where established and non- established artists exhibited in the gallery. What matters is art itself – regardless of age or sex.

Has much changed within the visual arts environment here in Iceland, as well as regarding the management of the gallery since its foundation?

If I only approach Kling and Bang general issues, and rule out financing, I can say that the cultural heritage has grown exquisite within the gallery over the past 9 years. We still believe that we are an important factor in the Icelandic art and culture scene, and Gallery Kling and Bang is well established and recognized abroad. Many oppurtunities have opened for Icelandic artists abroad through this recognition and that is really inspiring for us and our work. This cultural heritage prevents us from “giving up” – too much has been established to let go of it.

However, in Iceland, the visual art scene changes very slowly and even though Kling and Bang has received some recognition within a specific group, it is difficult to put a finger on how much exactly and the exact value of it.

What can be said though, is that the past 5-6 years, things have been moving with the bigger museums, but there the younger generation of artists and curators are becoming more and more visible then before. This is mostly because of the changed attitude from the museum directors and also because of growth in specific visual art projects and phenomenon’s the past year.

I think and hope that this more open environment will benefit the younger generations, as inspiration for the making of proper work, and optimistically all the empty spaces nowadays will be able to house this big boost that hopefully is emerging.

It can be said that the opportunities for changed attitude and environment are extensive, and the attitude will even change more. But as in so many other cases, one cannot rely too much on government support or funding for that to happen.

In this context I have to mention shortly the matters that have been happening the past months – the censoring of art and art exhibitions. It doesn’t really matter on which side you are on, or even if you take no side at all, it´s still a very serious issue that visual art, that is of course dependant on a certain visability, is banned from display in a certain scene or platform, that should exactly be the platform for critisism, debate and critical thinking.

One has to ask himself: Has this always been like this? Or is this the developing path? What if Duchamps “fountain” had never been exhibited? What if the Vienna Performance Group had never surfaced? What if the criticisms of abstract had gone through? Dangerous, dangerous, dangerous…..

Therefore I’m exited to see what artists will be up to in the nearest future and how things will develop, the difficulties will continue and maybe the awareness will (or even is) becoming stronger?

How would you describe your work methods as a freelance visual artist?

With debt collectors on my back and an unstoppable believe in art. I sometimes work for other museums in change for some small fee, I work for no pay at Kling and Bang and convince myself that those activities are also a huge part of making art. And if and when the almost unbelievable happens – I sell some art – the profit goes straight into the production of a new work.

The idea comes to me in the beginning, then the believe in the idea, then the media to be used, then at last, the question on how to finance the project. That´s why I don’t live off of art – I live for art.

Erling T.V. Klingenberg, visual artist and co-manager at Gallery Kling and Bang

http://this.is/klingogbang

How did you begin your career as an art historian?

I studied art history in France and worked parallel to my studies with an art historian named Andréi Nakov, who is a specialist in Malewicz. He taught me many things about the profession. After my studies I worked for two years for a French public committee on the spoliation of artworks from Jews during World War II. My PhD thesis addressed Alvars Aalto´s furniture so I quickly made connections to the Aalto Foundation in Finland and worked with them on publications and more.

At some point I also founded the Committee of Nordic art historians – CHAN, that publishes the art magazine ARTnord. I have always written about design and visual art, both in Iceland and in France, and contributed to the making of Icelandic Art History, a comprehensive publication that will be released this autumn. The past years I’ve moved more and more towards curatorial practices, where the experience from my various activities has been useful.

You are a working as a freelance art historian, living in Paris. What are your biggest projects nowadays?

I am the part time director of Maison Louis Carré, which is the only building Alvar Aalto designed in France for a local art dealer and collector. It’s a very beautiful building that still has its original furniture and interiors and is open to the public during weekends. Different events are also held in the house, like concerts, seminars, etc. I’m also working on a detailed article about Nordic design that will be part of a book about design after 1945, and will be published here in Paris.

On the French level my work involves promoting and informing people about what is happening in the Nordic countries, and I also have regularly projects coming up in Iceland. It’s a great combination and good to be able to jump between places and challenges. The advantage of Iceland is that it’s more acceptable that you go from one field to another, and you are therefore not stuck in a certain category; on the other hand the French can teach us accuracy and professional methods.

The visual art magazine ARTnord is launching a big traveling exhibition about Nordic sound art. Can you please tell us about it? Who is participating from Iceland?

It’s an interesting project that aims to show and share what is going on in the outskirts of the Nordic countries, i.e. Lapland, Faeroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland and North Canada. The exhibition will open in 2012 and be held in 4 places at least; in Sweden, Iceland, Fogo Island in Canada and in France, and even further. The magazine itself will then give a broader and clearer picture of Nordic and Baltic sound art. Here in Iceland we are collaborating with LÁ Art Museum and the Icelandic Academy of Arts, as well as with artists and art historians. Expanded space is the theme of the exhibition and I hope we´ll deliver that message well on a visual and sonic scale.

Ásdís Ólafsdóttir

Art historian

www.artnord.fr

www.maisonlouiscarre.fr

You are a qualified electrician and you work as an artist and an electrician. How do you fit those two together?

I decided to become an electrician long before I developed an interest in art. Some paintings of mine had been on exhibition in primary and secondary school, but I did not grow up surrounded by art. I worked as an electrician for many years after I finished school but my interest in art was aroused when I moved to Exeter, England, and started practising yoga and other methods of improving the connection with one’s self. There I discovered the artist for the first time and art has played an important part in my life ever since. The cooperation between the artist and the electrician has created what I am today. The electrician has supported the artist financially, for example, and made it easier for him to work. Thus the artist has had the opportunity to develop and experiment with all kinds of media without having to worry about money. In return, the artist has given the electrician many wonderful moments and enabled him to communicate with all sorts of people he never would have met otherwise. The highlight of their cooperation is the work Electrician 123, which aims at finding an artistic basis for the electrician’s job. The artist dances – the movements are the electrician’s – and he creates a poem out of lists of electric materials for one house and uses the work clothes for installation.

002 Gallery is situated in a home and is run by an electrician. Can you tell us about the idea behind the gallery?

The original idea came up in february 2010. It was to have a one-time exhibition in my apartment of the work of artists who had inspired and me and stimulated me, a sort of token of gratitude. The idea developed into founding a home gallery, which formally opened Saturday October 2nd, 2010. The cultural representative of Hafnarfjordur Municipality, Marin Hrafnsdottir, cut the ribbon and opened 002 Gallery and an exhibition of the work of 11 inspiring and stimulating artists.

In March the first year of 002 Gallery came to an end. The five exhibitions have been a great boost for the original idea and they have confirmed that there is a basis for a home gallery like this one. The strength of a home gallery lies in the intimacy between the artwork and the spectator. Each exhibition only lasts over one weekend, the first weekend of every month from October to March. As an artist I have been doing quite a lot of work involving things with a very pre-definite meaning, such as car = vehicle + sculpture of light / general curriculum of primary and secondary schools + a piece of music = performance. My apartment now has a triple purpose: home = study = gallery. During exhibitions I move out nearly all the furniture and turn the apartment into a showroom of approx. 60 square metres. The five exhibitions have varied greatly, some of the artists have created their artwork straight onto the walls of the gallery and thus the apartment is continually undergoing changes, not just as a showroom but also as an apartment, that gets redecorated over and over again with relation to its triple purpose.

Do you plan to continue having regular exhibitions in 002 Gallery during the next few months?

The cooperation of 002 Gallery and the artists who participated in its operation during the first year is something quite unforgettable, and so are all the people who came to Thufubard to look at the exhibitions. Therefore the decision to continue was an easy one. Now 5 or 6 exhibitions are already planned for the next year of operation. Each exhibition has a little theme, in order to add to the variety of the exhibitions. To name a few examples of that which is ahead: Couples in Icelandic Art (November 2011), Female Artists in Iceland (February 2012). There are also plans to expand the activities of 002 Gallery so that it will include video performances on the Internet. 002 Gallery is at peace with itself and its surroundings and is looking forward to starting its next year of operation on Saturday, October 1st, 2011. You can stay in touch with 002 Gallery on Facebook and view images from the exibitions on 002Galleri@bloggspot.com

Birgir Sigurðsson; electrician=artist=gallerist

Is visual art a personal hobby of a selective group of people or is it something that the public can enjoy and interact?

Visual art is absolutely not only for a selective group. We make visual art for the audience – every audience. Visual art is for all of those who want to experience something new, whether it’s visual, musical or in any other form of sense that the work triggers at each time. But we do experience visual art differently. I think that can sometimes lead to some misunderstanding. Some people are afraid of contemporary modern art and think they should be experiencing the work differently and should therefore know more about the work itself; more than the work indicates. But I think the secret is that the spectator can have any possible background and therefore experience the work in their own way, because we’ve all had different experiences in life that effect how we sense and experience things.

Some think that visual art is math and think that if they don’t know the answer they are not able to understand the work. They then think the work is a failure or something even worse. The key is not to understand but to sense and everybody can and are free to sense what they want. There is something very beautiful happening when a piece of art captures the spectator and creates the need to know more.

How accessible is the participation of young visual artist to the Icelandic art world?

I think that the access for young visual artists is fine. The art community here is small and the art scene good. Many interesting and important exhibitions by young artists have been emerging, with Crymo Galleri in the lead as an exhibition space for young visual artists. However it would be great to have more exhibitions involving young visual artists at the big galleries and museums. The D-Gallery at the Reykjavík Art Museum, Hafnarhús, is a good example of how successful that can be.

I always thought the grassroots exhibitions to be very interesting and it’s great that they’ve started again. I participated in the year of 2008 and enjoyed it a lot. It’s really important for artists to get that kind of recognition – to be chosen to participate in such projects.

Young artists are active in creating and promoting their work. That is really important – to be active and positive and by all means remember that everything is possible if you just bother.

You have worked with a lot of artists from other sectors in art. Would you say the working environment in those sectors to be similar to the working environment in the visual sector?

In my opinion the process is different according to sectors, even thought the result could lead to the same – an exhibition for the audience. On the other hand the paradigm is the same – to create and promote your ideas into making a good exhibition or performance.

I’ve been lucky. I’ve worked with people from many different sectors, i.e. dancers, DJ´s, composers, poets, musicians, instrumentals, actors, light engineers, directors, costume creators, theatre managers and many more. The opportunity of getting to know different flow and process of creativity has given me so much and added to my database of experience. It’s important to work well at creating your own possibilities and being able to work with good people.

Björk Viggósdóttir

Artist

You graduated from the University Collage for Creative Arts in the year 2007 and since then you´ve been involved in various projects. Can you tell us about the main ones?

Since my graduation I have been involved in a variety of projects, most recently I illustrated a children’s book and won first, second and third prize in a competition for the cover of the Icelandic phonebook 2010.

One of my most memorable projects was a series of videos I made with Selma Hreggviðsdóttir in 2008. They were shot in various locations around Iceland, and are all very dear to me. Perhaps especially since we managed to “half” drown each other and “fully” drown some very expensive recording equipment.

The most recent project “Seawalk” was created for the city of Reykjavík in collaboration with Lilja Birgisdóttir and Selma Hreggviðsdóttir. The mural can still be seen by the Reykjavik shipyard, close to all the whale watching. The piece consisted of a mural that extended into fabric and linked a few buildings together. It was an incredible honor to work in the presence of these huge trawlers and the men working on the ships, spattering paint and tar. There is a very strong, contagious power in the rhythm and speed of the shipyard workers, and I got completely swept away as I painted, bolted and strapped fabric to windowsills.

Why did you decide to begin the publiation of the visual art magaing Endemi?

There is a missing link in the Icelandic media – discussions and debates regarding the contemporary art scene are currently almost none, there is one program on the state radio and one amazing annual DVD magazine called Rafskinna that contribute discussions about visual arts in Iceland. That is about is, the local newspapers show very little interest, and artists are lucky to get any reviews on their exhibitions.

This is a shame because there is a powerful and energetic contemporary art scene here and always something interesting going on. So maybe it is a natural turn of events that somebody filled the gap. But there certainly were other factors that influences this publication. Last spring there was a large research published that concluded that Icelandic women make it 28% of the time in to all the medias. These are staggering and quite frankly tiring results. Instead of becoming caught up in negativity we decided to do something about all of this. Since a majority of the group were involved in the art scene we could at least try to affect our environment, and heal these ridiculous numbers.

In the magazine, called Endemi, women artist are invited to take over half of the magazine and exhibit their art work on wonderful paper. In doing so a certain form of anarchy is created and it will be very exiting to see how the artwork puzzles together. The second half of the magazine has interviews, in depth discussions, interviews and other articles related to contemporary art.

Visual experiments may not be an element one notices strongly in magazine and journal publications in Iceland, as the same publishers publish a great number of the magazines and journals. But this lack of variety is a great stimulation to our work and creativity. Playing with this format is incredibly fulfilling, because it has so many possibilities. Our aim is to create a very visual magazine that collides book art and magazine together thus creating a lavish piece on quality paper, loaded with colour and good art.

When will the first publication be released and where can one find a copy?

The first publication will see its first day on the 7^th of May. In celebration we will open a gallery exhibition in Kling og Bang gallery on Hverfisgata 42, Reykjavík. There artist that published their work in Endemi will exhibit. Endemi will be sold in all major bookshops, art museum and galleries in Reykjavík and needless to say Endemi will be sold during the exhibition in Kling og Bang gallery where also one can subscribe to the magazine.

Everybody is welcome to the exhibition and more detailed information will be published later. You can follow us on our, unfortunately, Icelandic site: www.endemi.wordpress.com or on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Endemi-T%C3%ADmarit-um-samt%C3%ADmalist-%C3%ADslenskra-kvenna/184911171543999

Elísabet Brynhildardóttir

Editor Endemi

You graduated from Icelandic Art Academy in 2009 and have been involved in various projects since then. What do you think is important to do after graduation and how would you describe the working environment for young artists in Iceland?

I believe that the working environment for young artists is something that they have to create themselves, whether it is during studying or after graduation, through various projects and exhibitions. An important part of working as an artist is precisely the willingness to contribute and take part in creating projects and diversity in the community whilst working on your own art. This is an inevitable part of working as an artist here in Iceland and it is there where it is possible to gain the most experience. The projects in hand can be as different as they are many and the field of work for an artist can be very open.

There have also been a lot of interesting things going on in Iceland. As well as the many young artists who are finishing their studies and taking their post-graduates, there are also few participating in bigger exhibitions both in and outside of Reykjavík, part of last year’s graduation has joined the board of gallery Kling and Bang. Younger artists are managing art festivals, artist-run bookstores, putting together magazines, participating in art fairs and exhibitions abroad and receiving grants.

You and Solveig Pálsdóttir founded Crymo gallery together little less than two years ago. Why did you decide to establish a gallery, barely out of school?

Because school had just finished. The inexperience helped us a lot because we didn´t know what we were getting us into. The main point was just doing it. Our year needed a venue and people were very interested in getting involved. When the summer ended there were still new young artists joining us, so that it became clear that this space was here to stay for a bit longer at least.

And now when certain amount of time has passed?

Just before Christmas we had our one and a half year anniversary with the Star Wars exhibition, our 80th exhibition in Crymo. At that point well over 100 artists had taken part in exhibitions in Crymo.

Every week in the gallery has been significant. We are working on publishing a book about the artists and exhibitions in Crymo. This book is very important to me as the artists and members who have been managing the rent with us will be given a space and visibility through this book.

But when you look through the history of artist-run spaces in Iceland and beyond, then you find that galleries and art spaces run by young artists, pop up quite regularly. In such spaces there are quite often many exciting exhibitions for 1-2 years but then other things take over, but not in a bad way. Often people do not last very long in this hectic action unless the venue is financially well off. However, it is very important for venues like Crymo to exist at every time. Crymo is and has been a very fun, creative and energetic playground for young and upcoming artists.

Þorgerður Ólafsdóttir; artist and the director of Sequences 2011

http://thorgerdur.wordpress.com/

http://sequences.is/

1. You work as a museum director, curator and an active artist, isn´t it difficult to combine the three?

The hardest part is that there aren´t enough hours in the day!

I don´t find these three parts to be clashing, on the contrary, they are linked and reinforce one another. The experience infiltrates all my projects. I am aware, however, of keeping each part separate and clear. When I am working on an exhibition as an independent curator, I’m not working on it as an artist. And when I am working on projects at the Living Art Museum, as its director, I am making choices and decisions in collaboration with many different individuals and on yet other grounds than as a freelance curator. My job at the museum is based on the terms of the museum, its collaborators, its association, its history, its objectives and its identity. The curator and museum director are on the job 24/7, so the artist receives much less time in my life. I try to set aside time for my own art but it has been less than I would like for the last 2-3 years. I have shown my works in solo- or group exhibitions once or twice a year for the last three years but I would love to show more often.

2. In your opinion, which is the main role of a good curator?

To me, key elements of curating are enthusiasm, courage and optimism. Also the ability to multitask. The primary elements for good curating in the field of visual arts, I feel, are having a wide knowledge of the arts, good communication skills and a strong vision. Curators think and work in very different ways, have different study- and professional backgrounds and define their roles in different ways. They take on different roles; as midwives, mediums, facilitators, intermediaries, co-creators, psychologists, or magicians. The simplest answer to the question might be that curating is the art of exhibition making. Curators are producers of art projects and create a specific framework/concept, which they follow, through detours and digressions, until it is formalized and finally realized. A curator always works in collaboration with artists and others involved in each project and works at optimizing the public´s accessibility to them. As an independent or museum based curator, the curator initiates a project and is its critic, producer and manager. To me, good curators make the impossible possible, create a context that allows the viewer to experience the work in different ways and work closely with artists at making the most out of their potentials within that given context.

3. In Icelandic art exhibitions, the importance of curators has been increasing, what are your thoughts on that?

I assume that you are referring to the profession of independent curators, which is a relatively new and growing one in Iceland. The museums have since long employed curators and still do, who work with artists and have either a large or small part in the initial decision making of the museum´s exhibition projects. Independent curators usually initiate their exhibition projects and collaborate with museums, art spaces or other venues. In both cases, a strong and arresting project is a mutual goal. A collaboration between curators and artists can, if successful, create an element that the artist would otherwise not have created.

I notice a certain prejudice from some artists against curators; who find that curators see themselves as artists who will overshadow their own artworks, force their works into a misleading context or use works of art merely to illustrate their own ideas. A negative discussion takes place circling around exhibitions being presented as the curator´s single creation, not mentioning the artist´s names, as if their contribution does not matter. These apply to only a few curators abroad and can often be attributed to PR of the museums, and the media, but not to the majority of curators. A good collaboration between curators and artists is based on mutual trust, which is constructed through sharing ideas and vision in an active dialogue of all involved in the exhibition project.

Birta Guðjónsdóttir,

artist, curator and director of the Living art museum

http://www.cia.is/People/Artprofessionals/About/birtagudjonsdottir
http://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/30190-birta-gudjonsdottir
http://this.is/birta/
http://nylo.is/
http://www.volcanolovers.net/
http://www.nordicarttoday.ru/

What is the value of contemporary art?

I presume that the value of contemporary art is based on the interaction between three factors, which are:

-       Ideology (meaning, discourse, philosophy)

-       Marketing (consumption, entertainment, industry)

-       Aesthetics (design, craft, visuals)

The ideology factor relates to the meaning of an object or action, based on a theory of art (i.e. Arthur C. Danto, George Dickie, Hans Belting) and how it fits into the discourse of the art world.  Only through theory can actions like Curver Thoroddsen´s hamburger trip (the artist travelled between hamburger joints for one week) and Hlynur Hallsson´s “tag” on walls can be valued as art.

The marketing factor relates to the branding of the artist and how people emotionally connect to the brand. In that way the spectator is to be looked upon as a consumer and the art piece as a product. Art´s adaptation to the entertainment industry becomes a part of this factor, and in my opinion that adaption is one of Iceland´s biggest means in contemporary art nowadays. As an example one can point out Elin Hansdóttir´s funfair art, Ilmur Stefánsdóttur´s playground sculptures and the pop musical art of Egill Sæbjörnsson and Ragnar Kjartansson.

The aesthetic factor relates to a combination of all the media used by the artist to distribute and exhibit his work and therefore relates to design and craft. The visual aspect is certainly supported by the aesthetics even though it´s not a precondition for a work being art. The flower paintings by Eggert Pétursson and the weaving art pieces of Hildur Bjarnadóttir are a good example of this. We admire the careful gesture and quality of the craft as we view their works, but we accept the works as contemporary art because of the ideology behind them.  From there on we place them into the discourse of the art world and make an emotional connection to the brands Eggert Pétursson or Hildur Bjarnadóttir.

This is roughly how I define the value of contemporary art.

Do texts about visual art increase their value?

Texts are an important part of the ideology, i.e. the theory of art and the discourse within the art world, that surely determines a lot regarding the value of art. But the purpose of the text is quite important. Are we talking about a review from an art theorist or an art historian, a critique on an art piece, a discussion in commercial media (i.e. blogs and personal articles), an introduction in a catalogue or a text by the artist himself that he writes parallel to his work and then becomes a part of the art piece itself?

I’m actually quite keen of informative texts that are written by the artists themselves parallel to their creation of an art piece, as part of an investigative research. That gives the art a broader theoretical significance that threatens the commercial one, or at least creates some kind of an opposition to it. This is nothing new though. The Bauhaus school artists were theorists in their own way, i.e. Vassilij Kandinskij, Paul Klee, Josef Albers, Barnett Newman, Joseph Kosuth and many more. These kinds of texts are not common in the Icelandic contemporary art world, but that could change, especially if the Icelandic Academy of Arts wants to measure up to the rest of the academic society. However nothing should become absolute in art. Artistic freedom is necessary and the informative text method is not appropriate for everyone.

Is it ideal to criticize art?

Criticism is a part of the literary studies that mediates information and addresses art. Critical reviews can help when you do not have access to exhibitions because of distances between countries. For only that reason criticism on art is necessary.

I think it’s important to at least observe international reviews. Now and then I come across a very sharp critique, both in the professional and commercial media. Criticism could however be taking it’s last breath for the structure of it is becoming obsolete.

The most difficult thing about the art criticism today is that the critic has to put himself into the shoes of the artist, but is still bound to his own taste. I can give an example of a critique in the national daily Morgunblaðið on Gardar Eide Einarsson exhibition in the Reykjavík Art Museum, where the art critic states: “The visage of the exhibition is dark and abstruse, even repulsive – this may be because of the death metal atmosphere. This tincture is at the same time the biggest fault in the exhibition, for it narrows the angle.”

What this review tells us above all is that the art critic does not like death metal and evaluates the exhibition on that taste. I am not innocent in my own writings when it comes to this kind of criticism and I think this in a disadvantage of art criticism and really needs to be taken into consideration, especially here in Iceland.  For there is a lack of interest in criticism here in Iceland, at least in the way it’s written today. In that context I cherish the saying from Charles Guarino, the editor of Artforum: “Let´s make the art magazine a tribute to art, otherwise we´re just killing trees.”

Jón B. K. Ransu

Artist

When is SIM (THE ASSOCIATION OF ICELANDIC VISUAL ARTISTS) obliged to make a public statement regarding cases that concern Icelandic visual artists?

SIM should always protect the interests of visual artists – SIM´s role is exactly to work as an association for those purposes.

You have been working as a visual artist in Berlin, Reykjavík and in Akureyri. What do you think differs between these working environments and what is similar?

The differences between working as a visual artist in Germany and in Iceland are many. Here in Iceland everything is smaller and most artists, curators and collectors know each other. In Germany the working environment is more active and has more opportunities, but at the same time it is easier to get lost within the community. There are both pros and cons with the small population of Iceland and more a question of utilising the advantages in each place of its own.

After having lived 8 years in Germany we decided to move back to Iceland, or to Akureyri (a town in the north of Iceland), to be more precise. Kristján Guðmundsson was once asked why he had moved to Hjalteyri (a small town in the north of Iceland) after having lived in the Netherlands. He answered that he wanted to continue living abroad after moving to Iceland.

Iceland is like a city-state and people think that everything that happens in Iceland happens in Reykjavík. Akureyri has of course an even smaller group of visual artists than does Reykjavík, but compared to Berlin, Reykjavík is just a village.

We thought it was important to preserve our connections in Germany and that’s why we decided to rent an apartment in Berlin and stay there as much as we could. That has worked out fine for us. Of course Reykjavík is a great place and has many advantages, as do Berlin and Akureyri.

How would you describe your working methods?

I produce my works normally for special exhibitions, and do not collect stocks. I also base my work on specific ideas or concepts and then look for an appropriate place or space to exhibit them. I have a studio in my home, but in fact I don’t need one – a phone and a computer, and then the exhibition space, is enough.

Now I’m working on a piece that is based on photographic techiniques. I haven’t decided where it will be exhibited. I’m also working on a flag piece that could be put up in various places and spaces. In addition to that I produce text works and printed works and publish a small-size magazine.

A part of my work as a visual artist is also to exhibit the works of other artists. I don’t necessarily look at myself as a curator but rather the curation being a part of my work as a visual artist, but that all lies within a definition.

I produce photographic work, but I’m not a photographer. I write texts, but I’m not a writer. I use videos, but I’m neither a director nor a cameraman. I draw, but I’m not a drawer. I perform, but I’m not a performer. I produce sculptures, but I’m not a sculpturist. I publish magazines but I’m not a publisher. I curate exhibitions but I’m not a curator. I’m simply a visual artist.

In your work you tend to use texts in English, Icelandic and German. Why is that you use these three languages?

I started doing this when I lived in Germany and it just came as a natural for me, with Icelandic being my mother tongue, German being the spoken language all around me and English as an international language. When I exhibited in Texas the texts were in English and Spanish because 70% of the population spoke Spanish and some didn’t even understand English. When I exhibited in Japan I translated the texts into Japanese because it’s not given that everybody there understand English. The same applied in Sweden.

Perhaps Chinese is becoming a more international language than English, but I guess that English will continue being the international language in visual arts as well as in business.

As a matter of fact I haven´t set it out as an priciple to always use these three languages. I would rather adjust it to the different language circumstance that apply. The same applies to other production of my work – I use methods and materials best suitable in each case.

Hlynur Hallsson

Artist

http://www.hlynur.is

http://www.hallsson.de

http://www.facebook.com/hlynur

http://youtube.com/user/hlynurhallsson

http://www.kuckei-kuckei.de

http://www.galerie-robert-drees.de

What is the status of the visual art bill of law put forward in the year of 2007?

PART 2

The bill had been developing in the Icelandic Ministry of Education, Science and Culture for some time and discussed between many parties. The idea of a special legislation for visual art came following the set of numerous legislation for other related areas, such as theater, music and literature. The visual arts scene was almost the only remaining non- legislative scene.

The Icelandic theater law is an overall legislation and there are provisions within the legislation that cover the National Theater. The aim of the visual art law was to do the same, that is to have an overall legislation regarding the governmental framework of visual arts, as well as involving the National Gallery and visual art funds. Art funds are to be found within other art scenes, but a specific fund for the visual arts does not exist.

The bill was put for the Icelandic Parliament in 2007 and after first discussion it was put before the Committee of Education. The Committee requested reviews from different parties and received 14 reviews and amendments. The bill was not processed that winter and has not been put before the Parliament again.

The bill was connected to the Icelandic bloom and the legislation would and will lead to more expenses for the state. Therefore the bill has not gone through since 2008. The bill can be put forward again if and when the politicians wish to do so and it would possibly be a good idea to put it forward anyway, to create a discussion within the Parliament and therefore the people in general. The provisions that deal with the establishment of the visual art fund can be postponed for a few years or until the crisis is over, because I can not foresee there being a social interest or ground for making new expenses in this field for the time being.

It’s more important to look out for the grants that now exist, but there the Icelandic artists salary fund is the most important one but there is also a need to protect the financial contribution for the Venice Biennale. There will always be a question when a new set of budget state law is passed, where to continue the financial state contributions and where to cut. In addition the fund for the National Gallery and the Icelandic museums must protect, because those funds support many museums throughout the country.

What is you opinion of the Icelandic visual arts funding systems, what possibilities do visual artists face now, when the visual act law have not been enforced?

The issue that has not been discussed enough is what should be the role of the state towards the cultural scene. There people tend to disagree. On the first hand there is the myth that the state should not do anything for the culture scene, but on the other hand that the state should put a lot of finance into the scene. In fact, we Icelanders are somewhere there between. I think that view reflects in the Icelandic Artist Salary Fund, which is a good example of a solution that is helping a lot of Icelandic artists.

We have funds in other art fields, i.e. the music grant, the theater grant and the literature grant, that all are effective ways to fund specific projects within every year on the basis of a professional assessment of applications. The visual arts grant is lacking in this counting, but it would be much appropriate if it would not. In spite of that I think that the art scene should be able to stand on it’s own feet regarding the activities in itself, but in addition there should be some effective grants where people can apply for project based funding.

The idea behind CIA (the Center of Icelandic Art) is that the state provides the center with public funding, that then the center distributed professionally towards travel and project costs of visual artists that aim to promote their art abroad. It’s important to be able to fund projects like that and with this method the state itself does not choose the right applicants but an objective professional partner (CIA) does so. This is a much better system and prevents the assessment being based on any other factors than professionalism. There are many ideas on how to assign the grants, but I think this is one of the best ones.

The idea behind Promote Iceland (Íslandsstofa) is to create one offensive platform for abroad, not only for fish and sheep, but also for culture and arts. UTON is under the Promote Iceland office and Icelandic Airwaves is under UTON. It’s not clear yet how the visual arts will have a place under the Promote Iceland office but I think this will be a good form for the activities.

Contracts have been made with the municipalities of Iceland but they offer financial contributions from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture and also from the Ministry of Industry, energy and tourism towards projects within the culture scene.

Contracts have been signed with most of the municipalities. Because of these contracts Culture Committees are working throughout the country that advertise for applications for projects within their districts. Music and theater projects have been commonly supported as well as the structure of museums and centers of art. If you look though the lists of projects being supported there is a lack of visual arts projects, but the reason could be that artists don’t apply that often. This is possibly something that the artists are yet to discover – to get out of the city center and Seyðisfjörð. It can be argued that these are the only tow cultural parts of Iceland, but the country is in fact much bigger in every sense.

Eiríkur Þorláksson

Art theorist and professional at the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture