This place. Wow. I cannot even begin to describe how inspiring it was! They define visionary art as “art produced by self-taught individuals, usually without formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels foremost in the creative act itself.” Definitely worth a visit if you are ever in the area.
[35mm taken with my 1999 Olympus 105G Superzoom. Click here for more pictures of Maryland.]
Seen on Laugavegur in Reykjavik. The street is closed to cars for the summer season, and these women and men were walking very, very slowly down the street.
[Expired 35mm film taken with my Olympus 105G Superzoom]
These murals are by Australian artist, Guido van Helten. He was commissioned to work his magic on this building after the owner saw his painting a nearby house (image below). The house mural is based on a photo of the grandfather of the woman who owns the house. The commissioned murals are based on a 1961 photo from a play that van Helten found in the Museum of Photography here in Reykjavik. I posted about the first painting (last photo in the post) back in November, soon after it was finished. Over the winter, van Helten finished two more enormous black and white scenes. This area at the edge of the city is rather plain- a few grocery stores and the harbor- and the murals are wonderful additions to the view.
[These photos are scanned 35mm film shots taken by me with a Canon EOS Rebel 2000.]
[These photos are scanned 35mm film shots taken by me with a Canon EOS Rebel 2000.] Click here to see more Reykjavik street art.
Temujin Doran has created a achingly beautiful film….about geography…. “about the processes by which mountains are created and eventually destroyed. It is based upon the work of British geographer L. Dudley Stamp,” narrated with a quiet voice and beautifully paired with breathtaking scenery of Iceland and its remarkable geography. Enjoy.
I took a detour on my way to church last week and came across a veritable gallery of graffiti. All but two of the pieces in the above composite are from the same run down lot. You’ll find it tucked here, tucked behind the Listaháskóli (Art University) with the mountains as a backdrop. 
And here’s a stray film shot from a nearby street art hotspot. 
According to the Einar Jónsson Museum, the eponymous artist was Iceland’s first sculptor. He lives from 1874-1954. Earlier in his career he drew on Icelandic folklore as well as religious and mythological motifs for subjects. After living in Rome around the turn of the century, he “emphasized the need for artists to forge their own path and cultivate their originality and imagination instead of following in the footsteps of others…he developed a figurative language composed of interpretable symbols, personification and allegory.” “Protection” (pictured above) is one of my favorite of his works. I love walking to the (free!) sculpture garden to revisit the hauntingly realistic faces and try to understand the complex symbols in his work.
You can see Einar Jónsson’s works all around the city as well as in the museum and beautiful sculpture garden right next to Hallgrímskirkja. In fact, the museum website features an excellent map for taking a walking tour of his works in City Center, which includes “The Spell Broken” (pictured here in the snow) along the path encircling Tjörnin. For those who like to wander, this route also happens to be a great “intro” to downtown Reykjavik. [These photos are unedited, 35mm film shots taken by me with a Canon EOS Rebel 2000]
Steinunn Thorarinsdottir is a prolific Icelandic artist whose sculptures can be found all over the world. In the fall, she had a temporary exhibit at Tveir Hrafnar Listhús (Two Ravens Gallery, Reykjavik). In addition to the figures in the gallery, one was placed on the bench in the little park across the street from the main exhibit. 
You can see more of Steinunn’s figures around Reykjavik, including “Roots” on Bankastræti (pictured below), “Prospect” on Vesturgata (next to the tourist info center), one on the lawn of the Catholic Cathedral, and “Directions” in Keflavík International Airport.
“…they visualize the alienation and the problems we face in our present age. Thus, they are human in the fullest sense of the word.” -Bera Nordal
“Steinunn uses life casts consciously in her works. She casts alternatively in cast iron, aluminium or cement as well as using clay and glass. Her casts are not made for the purpose of imitating the subject as if making a copy of the original, but rather her method to show the theatrical in art, show the playfulness as such.” -Olafur Gislason
[These photos are unedited, 35mm film shots taken by me with a Canon EOS Rebel 2000.]
For six years, La Blogothèque, a French group, has been filming “beautiful, rare and intimate sessions with your favorite artists, and the ones you are soon to fall in love with.” (My all time favorite is this one with Beirut.) Their sessions happen on the streets, on rooftops, in bathrooms, out in nature, and everywhere in between.
Today, they released a gorgeous session with the Icelandic band Mógil. Mógil makes music that “floats in a gauzy haze with the vocals delivered in a rich, soprano that has a folk-based earthiness, contrasting with the very contemporary accompaniment” (-The New York City Jazz Record). La Blogothèque captures their haunting music in several locations in the southwest of Iceland, including Gljúfrasteinn, the former home and now museum of Halldór Laxness, who is one of Iceland’s most renowned authors.
It All Started In Iceland... 