God
Ragnar Kjartansson
Ragnar Kjartansson
God, 2007
Single-channel video installation (color, sound), pink curtains
30 min
Overall dimensions variable
Commissioned by TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary and The Living Art Museum, Reykjavík
TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary Collection
Installation view: God, The Living Art Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland, 2007
Photo: Rafael Pinho | The Living Art Museum | Courtesy the artist | Luhring Augustine, New York | Galleri I8, Reykjavík
- Date
- 2007
- Medium
- Single-channel video installation (color, sound), pink curtains
- Dimension
- 30 min Overall dimensions variable
- Credit
Commissioned by TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary and The Living Art Museum, Reykjavik
TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary Collection- This artwork is part of the donation and long-term loan from TBA21 to the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza.
Details
In the video God Ragnar Kjartansson, supported by eleven musicians, repeatedly sings the words “Sorrow Conquers Happiness." The melancholic message is delivered in true Frank Sinatra style, interfusing the 1930s with our contemporary age. The setting of the video installation is impressive: the stage (in the video) and the surrounding – real – exhibition space is covered (and connected) with elegant lavish bright pink curtains.
"The main goal with the original installation in The Living Art Museum in Reykjavík was to change people’s preconception of that space. Concerning the importance of the installation with the video then, it is vital that the piece surrounds the viewer with its pink lustrous eternity. In a pink space you become a little bit emotional. I also like how the film is linked to the notion of fake reality because it was shot at an angle that creates the perspective illusion."
(Ragnar Kjartansson in an interview for the TBA21 Collection Book)
