Obscure Reykjavík #3

Örfirisey

Örfirisey is a small industrial district north of the old harbour.

Large fuel tanks dominate the area but there are also some small industrial buildings. These are often home to starts-ups, their occupancy rate rises and falls with the economy. When I captured this image, it was a few years after the big crash of 2008-2011 and there was still a lot of vacant commercial property there. Since then, the area has undergone a resurgence and is now thriving.

Obscure Reykjavík #2

Symmetry

“The other place”, a youth center, is now a food hall, Pósthússtræti:

Skólabrú guest house:

Hallgrímskirkja (rear):

Obscure Reykjavík #1

Reykjavíkur, 2012

This is the time of year that my thoughts usually stray to Iceland.

It’s the best time to plan a trip in the fall in order to secure the best lodging and to plan ahead for cultural activities. Not this year, however. Barring some unexpected twist of fate, I will sit this one out—the law of diminishing returns has started to make itself apparent. While last year’s trip was memorable, it was only an echo of the previous two trips.

For the rest of the month I’ll just have to make do by revisiting pictures from previous trips, with an emphasis on the odd and unusual. The display workers pictured above (in the Reykjavík city hall—2012) were creating an exhibit honoring the founding of Icelandair, 75 years ago. I shot it through an enormous picture window, definitely click to embiggen.

Return to Sheperd’s Harvest

An annual Minnesota festival of fibers, although this harvest is held in the spring. It has been five years since I was last there but things have, for the most part, remained the same.

An enthusiastic presenter:

StevenBe is the most flamboyant vendor:

There was no shortage of mysterious foodstuffs:

And, of course, SHEEP:

Photo Shoot

Another spring, another place, another era. A photo shoot of a doomed band.

A reformed band, trying to make a new start. No backers, no label, only possessing the chippy self-confidence of youth.

This configuration would barely last the summer but the next iteration did have some success.

Alas, it too, was doomed.

Ten Years Ago on FITK

Art-a-Whirl 2014

Another year, another Art-A-Whirl.

I’ve started to burn out on this event.

The good artists seem to be fewer and fewer while the growing attraction of this Northeast Minneapolis event is a proliferation of brew pubs. Not that there is anything wrong with a good microbrew, I’ve been known to indulge in one myself, but it turns the focus away from the artists. The same holds true, but worse, with the growth of music stages. Not only do they generally feature bad music, but the sound pervades throughout an entire building, effectively driving out any lofty thoughts about art one might entertain. It can become a bit too much for the younger attendees:


Solar Arts Building

But there were many nice visual moments; the artists’ galleries tend to be in re-purposed industrial buildings which have their own aesthetic:

Alexandra Bildsoe

At times the overall effect is astonishing:


Solar Arts Building, painting by Caitlin Karolsczak

And some patrons become truly overwhelmed:


Casket Arts Building

Salton Sea Redux

A look back at my 2017 California trip:

The Salton Sea is a body of water dying from salinity and pollution from agricultural run-off. It is a weird place, from a distance it appears inviting, but up close everything is dead.

There are still a few towns on its shores, one of which is Bombay Beach, which is half-deserted but still has a vibrant restaurant:

Inside, the money pasted on every flat surface gives the place a false sense of prosperity:

Since my trip, Bombay Beach has experienced a resurgence of interest from day-trippers and even some willing to try an Airbnb there.

Animal Life

A Novel

By Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Translated by Brian FitzGibbon

This is the fifth novel by Auður that I’ve read; she is one of the most-respected modern Icelandic authors. This book consists of vignettes and ruminations of a middle-aged midwife in Reykjavík.

In the days leading up to Christmas a terrible storm races towards Reykjavík. Midwife Dómhildur delivers her 1,922th (typo?) baby. She has inherited an apartment full of memories from her grandaunt, also a midwife, who had a reputation for her unconventional methods. Dómhildur’s paternal side was filled with undertakers causing her to have a deeper perspective on the coming and goings of life. Dómhildur discovers decades worth of letters and manuscripts hidden amongst her grandaunt’s clutter. Her anxious meteorologist sister and her curious new neighbor compound things as Dómhildur digs into her grandaunt’s archive and discovers strange and beautiful reflections on birth, death, and human nature. And, like the previous Icelandic book I just read, there is a playlist!

And, as far as plot is concerned, that’s it, but plot is not the point of this book. I’ll let you discover these subtle truths for yourself, it would be a literary crime to quote them out of context. I will say, however, that the text is firmly grounded in the City of Reykjavík; with a decent map you could exactly follow her on her trips throughout the city. This evoked strong memories in me; something that a casual reader might not share. Aside from the aforementioned typo, FitzGibbon’s translation is fine, even poetic at times.

Qualified recommendation, if you liked her other works, you’ll love this. If you like plot-driven novels you might pass this one by.

Ten Years Ago on FITK

Art in Bloom

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts annual "Art in Bloom" was held last week, an event where florists create arrangements which complement the art in the galleries:



We attended on the day before the opening, when the people watching is usually better:



There were several groups of teens in the galleries as well:

Although their commitment to art may have been less than wholehearted, it was good to see them make the museum as comfortable as home: