Ragnar Kjartansson Quotes & Sayings

I had a total revelation with the feminist moment, with Carolee Scheeman and Marina Abromovic and of course Joan Jonas; that was a big breakthrough with me. And through them, [I was introduced to] Chris Burden and Bruce Nauman and Vito Acconci. You can almost call it a gang, because the works are always talking together. That stuff had a huge impact on me, but other than that, my interest had always been old paintings. — Ragnar Kjartansson

What draws me to theater and religion are these rituals made to make you feel emotion. It's so banal in an interesting way. In visual art it's about making you feel emotional, but it's more subtle. — Ragnar Kjartansson

I'm so used to being in a theater where there is always a narrative, but I'm more about the still moment, the painter inside me. — Ragnar Kjartansson

I think my favorite Rolling Stones song is "No Expectations." I always think and talk through songs. — Ragnar Kjartansson

A lot of the stuff I've done is inspired by the location. Usually my works are pretty site-specific. There are a lot of shows that are older works, but often when I do new work for a show, it tends to talk to the space or the idea of the museum. — Ragnar Kjartansson

The best trick I learned was when a priest came to me when I was an altar boy and said, "Always, when you make a mistake, pretend it's ritual." It's beautiful! — Ragnar Kjartansson

I was very prejudiced when I started arts school. I, like all of those kids, was like, "I don't like this modern stuff." I came to arts school with a very stupid, conservative set of ideas about art. — Ragnar Kjartansson

Living through art is a better way to live - not necessarily making art, but being surrounded by art. I think it's just as banal as trying to show my version of the beauty in the world. It's about beauty at the end of the day. — Ragnar Kjartansson

I really love country music, just this idea of three chords and the truth. — Ragnar Kjartansson

I often really like to play with documenting my performances cinematically. Cinematic documentation is much more interesting than the performance itself. — Ragnar Kjartansson