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“I’m happy with that tension: sentimentality meets nihilism.” — Ragnar Kjartansson

What better way to while away the summer hours than going to the Met to stand around in the air conditioning and watch an infinite loop video about sentimentality and nihilism? As usual, Ragnar Kjartansson (b. 1976, Reykjavic, Iceland) delivers. In his new video installation at the Met, Death is Elsewhere (2019) (through September 2, 2019), Kjartansson turns again to his favorite – and apparently willing to repeat things endlessly – band The National. “Provocatively rethinking the possibilities for performance and video art,” the Met explains, “Kjartansson makes work in which he simultaneously evokes Romantic clichés while using irony, nihilism, and absurdity to undermine them.”

In this video from the Met, Kjartansson talks about why he is drawn to storytelling in his work, the development of this particular piece, and his interest in working with twins.

Museums

Sponsor
8:04

MUSEUMS: Sarah Oppenheimer: Sensitive Machine

5:24

MUSEUMS: For Walter J. Hood, Architecture Means Power

4:28

MUSEUMS: Fabric Workshop and Museum Explores Clay and Fabric

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MUSEUMS: Julie Mehretu Behind-the-Scenes With Checkerboard Films

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MUSEUMS: Alice Neel Paints Life “Hot off the Griddle”

Galleries

5:24

GALLERIES: Alec Soth Takes the Measure of Photography

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GALLERIES: Pablo Picasso: Seven Decades of Drawing

3:41

GALLERIES: For Landon Metz, Failure is an Option

4:17

GALLERIES: Jacob El Hanani Is a Line-Maker

1:09:20

LONGFORM: Sheila Hicks Reflects From Home in Paris

Studios

1:53

VAULT: Philip Guston Biopic Trailer (1981)

3:32

STUDIOS: Joep van Lieshout on Going Beyond Beautiful Design

5:02

STUDIOS: Peter Beard: “Nature is the best thing we’ve got”

10:34

STUDIOS: Ursula von Rydingsvard’s Material Instinct (2000)

3:00

STUDIOS: Billy Childish Gets Out of the Way of the Picture

Community

36:17

PODCAST: ‘Barbara London Calling’ Launches Season 2

Sponsor
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LONGFORM: Hughie O’Donoghue in Conversation with Charles Saumarez Smith

3:31

COMMUNITY: William Eric Brown Applies New Processes to Old

58:08

PODCAST: Heidi Zuckerman in Conversation with Adam Pendleton

22:57

LONGFORM: ‘To Cast Too Bold a Shadow’ Exhibition Walkthrough

Market

3:39

MARKET: For Kimsooja, Immaterial Art Achieves Memory

15:35

MARKET: How Christie’s and Sotheby’s Dominate the Art Market

3:00

MARKET: Ghada Amer on Being a Woman Artist

4:37

MARKET: Catherine Petitgas is an Enabler

2:34

MARKET: Kunsthalle Basel Is of Its Time