Also Very Interesting...Winter Reading 2015

Icelandic Art Today ed. Christian Schoen

a survey of contemporary art in Iceland

Since I'm far away from the U.S. this winter, I have just a few books on my side table and at my desk. If there was no weight limit on the plane I would have brought a suitcase just for books! Regardless, I still have a stack, and my winter reading list... 

Iceland's Bell by Halldór Laxness

historical fiction by Iceland's Nobel Laureate 

The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit 

memory, stories, Iceland

Kjarval: A Painter of Iceland by Adalsteinn Ingolfsson and Matthias Johannessen

the work of Johannes Sveinsson Kjarval 

The End ed. Christian Schoen

the work of Ragnar Kjartansson

Previous winter reading lists...

2014

2013 

2012

2011

2010

Thanks for reading.

All I Need

my studio

Just a few images of my studio…a much different space from anything I've been in before because there are no tools and no materials. This space is really just for reading, thinking and drawing. I have a desk to sit at and tables for the things I've been collecting, and that's really all I need.

my desk

one of the books I've been studying

the view from my studio

Thanks for reading.

So What Am I Doing Here?

the Sím studios and apartments

my studio is that little window at the top

I have been in Iceland for nearly a month now and so much has happened! I've been reading a lot in my studio, mostly about artists I admire and don't know very much about. I'm also thinking a lot and doing a little bit of drawing. I go for walks every day and take pictures and meditate on questions I have about my work. It feels luxurious to read all day about art and go for long walks and it feels much needed and important. I've been taking in a lot of galleries and exhibitions, too, and went on an incredible four-day road trip all along the south coast. I'll tell you about all of that soon! For now, here are some photos from my daily walking…and, as always, I have posted more on Facebook and on Flickr.

in my neighborhood - three walls by my friend, Guido Van Helten

nets and ropes in the harbor very close to my apartment and studio

Viðey Island, largest island of the Kollafjørður Bay, 

a short boat ride from the city

Grótta lighthouse in Seltjarnarnes, the town right next to Reykjavík 

and a 30 minute walk from where I live

 Thanks for reading.

Reading and Listening

the corner of my childhood home and site of my earliest memory

My work begins with a vague idea, a translucent thought and/or a broad question based on my memories. Then I read a lot and I also listen, and as I do both, I think and take notes. The following list includes links to articles and podcasts that made an impact on me while I was developing ideas for "I Live Here Now":

The Psychology of Home: Why Where You Live Means So Much 
by Julie Beck at The Atlantic

Home, Dismantled by Olivia Judson at The New York Times

Personal Identity is (Mostly) Performance by Jennifer Ouellette 
at The Atlantic

“Is there an afterlife?” Ghost-Hunting at My Grandmother’s House by Ben Shattuck at Salon

In Grief, Try Personal Rituals by Emily Esfahani Smith

The Definition of Home by Verlyn Klinkenborg at the Smithsonian

Lost and Found on Radiolab

No Place Like Home on This American Life

Away from Home on This American Life

On Not Going Home by James Woods on London Review of Books

porcelain escutcheon cover of the front door 

of my childhood home

lava fields covered in moss, my favorite place in Iceland

Thanks for reading.