{"id":4286,"date":"2017-04-19T17:06:37","date_gmt":"2017-04-19T16:06:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sculpture-nature_local.test\/?p=4286\/"},"modified":"2017-04-28T12:20:04","modified_gmt":"2017-04-28T11:20:04","slug":"reykjavik-a-city-of-sculpture-gardens-and-public-monuments%e2%80%a8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sculpture-nature_local.test\/en\/reykjavik-a-city-of-sculpture-gardens-and-public-monuments%e2%80%a8\/","title":{"rendered":"Reykjav\u00edk: a City of Sculpture Gardens and Public Monuments\u2028"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iceland\u2019s parliament, the oldest functioning legislative body in the world, currently meets in a small brick building in downtown Reykjav\u00edk. A towering statue of 19th century independence figure, J\u00f3n Sigur\u00f0sson, looks over the parliament house, Al\u00feingish\u00fas, from a modest park across the street. This is the sort of nationalistic sculpture that is expected in front of government buildings, but even closer to Al\u00feingish\u00fas is The Black Cone, Monument to Civil Disobedience<\/i> (2012), a sculpture by Spanish artist Santiago Sierra <\/a>(1966\u2013) commemorating the 2008-09 anti-government protests held in the same park. The sculpture is a giant boulder cracked down the center by a small metal cone, which is meant to resemble the conical hats worn by individuals convicted by the Spanish Inquisition. Together, these sculptures are a reminder that both civic traditions and an active populace are the safeguards of democracy. Though the controversial placement of Sierra\u2019s work pitted some members of Parliament against the Reykjav\u00edk Art Museum and the Reykjav\u00edk City Council, The Black Cone<\/i>\u2019s location illustrates the prominence of sculpture in Reykjav\u00edk.<\/span><\/p>\n

The city is also the home to three sculpture museums and gardens dedicated to individual artists. The statue of J\u00f3n Sigur\u00f0sson was created by Einar J\u00f3nsson (1874\u20131954), one of Iceland\u2019s most prominent sculptors. The Einar J\u00f3nsson Museum sits next to Hallgr\u00edmskirkja, Reykjav\u00edk\u2019s monumental modernist Lutheran church. Einar\u2019s work is largely in a classical style indebted to Norse, Christian, and Greek mythology. Working from the late-nineteenth century through the 1950s, however, the increasing influence of modernism is evident in much of Einar\u2019s work, with the appearance of abstract forms in many pieces. A leafy garden behind the castle-like museum showcases highlights from the artist\u2019s oeuvre, such as Elli og \u00de\u00f3r<\/i> (Thor Wrestling with Age) (1939\u201340), depicting the young god grappling with the outstretched body of the personification of age drape of a dozen anonymous bodies.
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\nJust outside the city\u2019s core is \u00c1smundarsafn, a branch of the Reykjav\u00edk Art Museum dedicated to sculptor \u00c1smundur Sveinsson (1893\u20131982). The museum is a stark white building topped with an observation dome, and it once served as both the artist\u2019s home and studio. Because of Iceland\u2019s lack of wood and trees, \u00c1smundur opted to build the house out of stone, which is also a common material in his work. The museum exhibits smaller pieces and work by other artists, while a sculpture garden surrounding the building displays many of \u00c1smundur\u2019s large-scale works. Only 19 years younger than Einar J\u00f3nsson, \u00c1smundur fully embraced modernism, creating works of curved figures that are equal parts Neolithic sculpture and Picasso-esque. Helrei\u00f0in<\/i> (Hell-Ride) (1944) is an enormous four-legged, one-armed creature with both a human and a horse head that looks like it crawled out of Guernica<\/i> (1937). Like Einar J\u00f3nsson, \u00c1smundur\u2019s work can also be seen all throughout Reykjav\u00edk, including his iconic Vatnsberinn<\/i> (Water Carrier) (1937), versions of which are installed at \u00c1smundarsafn and a major downtown intersection.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like \u00c1smundur Sveinsson, Sigurj\u00f3n \u00d3lafsson (1908\u20131982) worked firmly in the style of modernist sculpture, but his work is more abstract and employs a number of materials, including non-indigenous wood. The Sigurj\u00f3n \u00d3lafsson Museum, a division of the National Gallery of Iceland, occupies a piece of land on the Reykjav\u00edk coast. The garden in front of the museum is breathtaking, with Sigurj\u00f3n\u2019s totem-like wood sculptures and blocky metal and stone works set against the Faxa Bay and snow-capped mountains in the distance. A few of Sigurj\u00f3n\u2019s more representational works can be found around town. Admission is required for all three museums, but the gardens are free and open to the public.
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These three gardens are all worth visiting, but they leave viewers without an understanding of the significant contribution of Iceland\u2019s many women sculptors. Much of this work can be seen around town, but in 2014, the city council also dedicated a portion of Hlj\u00f3msk\u00e1lagar\u00f0ur park, on the southwest corner of Tj\u00f6rnin lake, to the work of female sculptors. The most prominent work is N\u00edna S\u00e6mundsson\u2019s (1892\u20131965) Hafmeyjan <\/i>(Mermaid) <\/i>(1948), a bronze mermaid on a pedestal submerged in the lake. Reminiscent of Edvard Eriksen\u2019s famous The Little Mermaid<\/i> (1913) in Copenhagen, the work alludes to both Iceland folklore and the Hans Christian Andersen story. This is a copy of the original that was blown up by vandals in 1960. \u00feorbj\u00f6rg P\u00e1lsd\u00f3ttir\u2019s (1919\u20132009) 1968 sculpture, Piltur og st\u00falka (Kata og Stebbi) <\/i>[Boy and Girl (Kata and Stebbi)], is an excellent example of the artist\u2019s unique contemporary style of roughly sculpture individuals with concave chests and faces.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the city\u2019s various sculpture gardens present concentrations of work, often in stunning landscapes, the majority of sculptures are best viewed by exploring Reykjav\u00edk on foot. The Reykjav\u00edk Art Museum provides an interactive map<\/a> documenting dozens of public works in their collection. Near the parliament house, on the north shore of Tj\u00f6rnin, is one of the city\u2019s most distinctive works, Magn\u00fas T\u00f3masson\u2019s (1943\u2013) Minnisvar\u00f0i um \u00f3\u00feekkta emb\u00e6ttismanninn <\/i>(Monument to the Unknown Bureaucrat) (1993). In a more traditional style, the piece depicts the legs, torso, and arms of a man wearing a suit and holding a briefcase. His head, however, is entombed in an enormous chunk of unsculpted stone. The work succinctly sums up the experience of many office workers, weighed down by nebulous monolith, and many passersby openly identify with the nameless bureaucrat. Though situated on the picturesque Tj\u00f6rnin, the man is fittingly walking in the direction of Reykjav\u00edk City Hall.<\/p>\n

Notable works also include several by Steinunn Th\u00f3rarinsd\u00f3ttir <\/a>(1955\u2013), who is most well known for her life-sized, anonymous, and nude sculptures. Diverging a bit from this norm, R\u00e6tur <\/i>(Roots) (2000), installed on the sidewalk of a busy shopping street, features on the torso and head of two such figures, who are encased in rectangular blocks of bronze. These subjects are like the inverse of the unknown bureaucrat, and though the two figures face each other, one gazes upwards and the other peers at the ground. They are incapable of moving as thousands of works, residents, and tourists buzz around them.<\/p>\n

Though most of the public sculpture in Reykjav\u00edk was created by an almost overwhelming number of Icelandic artists, there are a handful of works by international artists, such as Sierra. Most notable are Yoko Ono\u2019s (1933\u2013) Imagine Peace Tower<\/i> (2007), a tower of light beamed into the sky and unveiled on John Lennon\u2019s 67th birthday, and Richard Serra\u2019s (1938\u2013) \u00c1fangar<\/i> (1990), a collection of 18 basalt columns. Both Imagine Peace Tower<\/i> and \u00c1fangar<\/i> are located on Vi\u00f0ey, an island off the coast of Reykjav\u00edk, and require a ferry to reach. The commanding sculpture of Leif Erikson at the entrance of Hallgr\u00edmskirkja was created by Alexander Calder (1898\u20131976). <\/span><\/p>\n

Iceland is famous for its waterfalls, glaciers, and volcanoes, but Reykjav\u00edk is without a doubt a city of art and culture, with numerous museums, galleries, and music venues. For sculpture enthusiasts, some time exploring the city is a must. And Reykjav\u00edk\u2019s cultural offerings are not so disconnected from the island\u2019s geological wonders. When building his home and studio, \u00c1smundur Sveinsson opted to use stone rather than wood to better reflect the materials available in the country, and in a broader sense, it seems reasonable that a nation forged from molten earth would enjoy a strong and diverse sculpture tradition.
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