We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ásgerður “Ása” Arnardóttir a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ásgerður “Ása”, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
When I feel like I’m activating my close environment beneficially, I have a purpose. I find purpose in my art by caring for every single move I make instead of forcing and rushing my process. It always comes down to listening to my body and seeing how it is responding to my environment. I work hard and intentionally on having a special and fruitful connection to my art making and other people around me in general. To me, it is as important to challenge the intention as it is to work on the objective outcome of my art works. Almost more important. What I mean by that is that I think our approach and internal state greatly affects the outcome of our creations and nearest surroundings. So, I try to keep myself in check.
I don’t want to fall into a fully capitalistic approach of object making and therefor intention, care and community is important to me. I try to treat objects around me as sacred, just as I do with my art works, and that gives me a lot of purpose in life. Also, being surrounded by people that inspire you and continue to create spaces and experiences is vital. Community is essential.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My name is Ásgerður Arnardóttir, I go by Ása. I’m a multidisciplinary visual artist born and raised in Reykjavík, Iceland and currently based in Los Angeles. I hold a bachelor’s degree in Art from Iceland University of the Arts and a MFA in art at California Institute of the Arts, or CalArts. I moved to LA three years ago, right at the time I was starting my studies at CalArts. I had longed to come to this school for years, so arriving here felt like a moment that was always supposed to happen. It was the school’s emphasis on cross disciplinary practices that drew me in.
I center my interdisciplinary art practices in world building, site-specific works evoked by concepts of poetics. I explore transcending the written language’s limits by placing it in a dialogue with visual language and bodily practices, repeatedly focusing on how our bodies react in a physical space. My work spans many mediums but right now I’m focusing on textile works, sculptural works (of any medium) and poetry. My interest lies in the experiential and a good example of that Is my recent show at RIP-space, where I laid down big pillows I had made on the floor, for people to interact with throughout the night. (see photos below)
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
My main focus is to care, nourish and focus. I think of making a sculpture almost like giving a birth, and the closer I am to that feeling, the more I know I am on the right path. What advice I would give is to, if you are feeling overwhelmed with ideas or if you are stuck and feel like you have no ideas, and don’t know where to start, my advice is to this one simple thing: narrow your practice down to three things. Think of three things that are your main goals and work from that core. Now you have made your base, grounds and it will feel less overwhelming and chaotic.
I think groundedness is important. There is so much beauty in simplicity. Patience is also a huge thing to attain as an artist, your art career and art works are bound to be formed slowly and with time. I think that is the absolute most beautiful thing about it.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
What helps me every single time is to get back in touch with my physical body. Alongside my art practice I do yoga and I dance, and that has helped my art practice tremendously. Usually when I get stuck on a project I simply just have to create distance, whether its taking a walk for 10 min or even not entering my studio for 2 days. The distance always helps me put things back in perspective, and same goes for anything else in life that overwhelms me. I think the feeling of being overwhelmed is another form of disconnection. There is too much pressure being put on us in these times but we have a choice to step down and try to change those expectations around us. And start to plant seeds. There is a lot of disconnection.
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