ByGD
My family spent spring break in Iceland in 2017. My youngest child was particularly impressed by the sculptures of Asmundur Sveinsson that were dotted around Reykjavik. Unfortunately we did not make it out to the museum bearing his name, but in the Reykjavik Art Museum, there was a little corner near one of his sculptures dedicated to letting kids create their own art. My 8-year-old translated one of his sculptures to two dimensions.
ByGD
I had heard Icelanders complain about traffic, and just rolled my eyes. More than once I’ve taken longer than an hour to get to McCaw Hall from my house in Seattle (it’s 11 minutes from parking spot to parking lot when there’s no traffic). But on the drive from Reykjavik to Neskaupstadur for the Eistnaflug festival, I found myself idling on the road. Just as if I was stuck in traffic at home, I sat unmoving for nearly fifteen minutes waiting for the road to clear.
ByGD
The first time I visited Iceland in July, the entire landscape was covered with these cottony little blooms. Once I got home, I spent hours researching to find out what they were called. But I’ve since forgotten, and I can’t find the answer again. I’d be so grateful to anyone who could tell me about these Icelandic wildflowers. (The purple one is cool, too.)
ByGD
Marduk was a familiar name to me, but I never really listened to them before I saw Marduk at Eistnaflug in 2016. I enjoyed the set, but the presence of meaty rams’ heads on stage as props gave me pause. As a vegetarian, how did I feel about the aesthetic use of animal parts for entertainment? A vegan friend who was also there didn’t even notice them, and was much more enthusiastic about the music than I was.
After a discussion of ethics in heavy metal, we decided it was okay. They eat a lot of mutton in Iceland, and whole sheep’s heads are a holiday special there like whole turkeys in the U.S. It’s not like they actually killed animals for the show. And it did look cool if you didn’t think about it too hard.
Only later did we discover that they also have songs celebrating the courage of Nazi military units, and have refused to distance themselves from white supremacy. I did a bit more research, and it doesn’t seem like Marduk are actually Nazis. It sounds more like an example of white privilege trying to be edgy. But if you prioritize an edgelord aesthetic or obscure mystique of your band over the safety and welfare of actual people, I have better things to do than listen to your music.
It turns out that when something pricks your conscience, there’s usually a reason. Even if it looks really cool.
