Arnar Ásgeirsson

Name: Arnar Ásgeirsson

Age: 32

Home: Amsterdam-Reykjavik-Berlin

Keywords: www.arnarasgeirsson.com

Zodiac sign: Leo

 

 

Phone Interview by Brenda Bosma.

 

Have you always wanted to be an artist?

I went through a period when I wanted to be a farmer. I was sent to the countryside to stay on a farm as a kid. I liked it a lot. I like the smell of cow manure and the animals. The only downside to these visits was the nasty, vicious dog that lived there. He was scary as hell, he didn’t like children too much and bit them a lot. As a result, I have trust issues with dogs, they can make me very uneasy. Which might explain my large porcelain dog collection. Or might not…

 

What’s the most recent art exhibition you’ve visited?

I’ve been looking at the collection of The British Museum online. They’ve got a fascinating collection of ancient things – mummies, prints, mosaics, pottery, jewellery, weapons, spoons, bones and other strange things.

 

What was the first piece of art you bought?

I haven’t bought much art, and I have done some nice exchanges. When I was younger, I once exchanged a drawing for a leather jacket. I thought it was a good deal.

 

What kind of music are you listening to?

I’ve been listening to Midnight in the Caverns with Monte Maxwell, an album of classic songs played on The Great Stalacpipe Organ. This organ is located deep within the Luray Caverns, Virginia USA, and was completed in 1956 after three years of work. Each key is wired to a solenoid-actuated rubber mallet that is connected to one of 37 different stalactites scattered around 3.5 acres of the caverns. When a key’s pressed, the mallet strikes the stalactite. The result is a very clear, pure tone that resembles a xylophone or a lithophone. The stalactites can be heard throughout all 64 acres of the caverns’ interior. It’s a hypnotising and soothing album.

 

Your first ever music-related memory?

Probably when I had flute lessons.

 

What’s your favourite pastime?

Lately it’s been drinking tea with my dear friend and tea master.

 

Any guilty pleasures?

Not so much guilty pleasures, but I have some pleasures. My newest thing is to get hypnotised. I recommend it.

 

Have you experienced any regrets recently?

Once I had the random idea to buy a sheep. For some reason I thought that sheep were like any other pets that you can keep in the house and take for walks in the park. A friend drove me to a farm where I paid €20 for a sheep. That’s a good price. On the way back I sat with the sheep in the backseat of the car, no problem. It was all so easy. I took it to my friend’s house, where I thought it would be comfortable, not to mention I was homeless at the time. After a whole night of the sheep calling out and keeping everyone awake, I came to realise that this wasn’t the best idea I’d ever had. Let’s just say the whole thing turned out different than I had hoped. I regret not buying a pig.

 

What kind of music or art makes you cry?

I tend to cry on aeroplanes, I once cried to the song ‘Nothing Compares To You’ by Sinead O’Connor on an aeroplane. I don’t know why I cry on aeroplanes, it might be the pressure. Then again, it might just be me.

 

What makes you dance?

Music is known to stimulate pleasure and reward areas like the orbitofrontal cortex, located directly behind one’s eyes, as well as a midbrain region called the ventral striatum. The amount of activation in these areas matches up with how much we enjoy the tunes. Is that an answer?

 

Ásgeirsson’s work will be shown at Unfair Amsterdam on 18-21 September.