Editorial
Front Page - Friday, November 20, 2009
Fulbright recipient making the most of her time in the land of ice and fire
David Laprad
Many great works of art have survived for centuries to grace the walls of modern museums. “The Mona Lisa” currently hangs in the Museé du Louvre in Paris, France, while Pablo Picasso’s work can be found in the Guggenheim in New York City. Artist Elizabeth Tubergen, however, says she’s interested in things that disappear.
The Covenant College alumna is in Iceland, where she’s creating a wax chandelier. Although it will take Tubergen months to complete the sculpture, she intends for it to be lit.
The chandelier is just one of several projects which Tubergen is working on while in Iceland on a U.S. Fulbright Student Scholarship. The Fulbright, an international exchange program that aims to increase mutual understanding between peoples of the United States and other countries, allowed for her to move in July to Iceland, where she’ll stay for a year. Tubergen is the third Covenant graduate from the school to receive a Fulbright. She’s also received a fellowship from the American-Scandinavian Foundation.
“I’m constantly searching for ways to continue making work,” says Tubergen, whose art has been shown at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in Michigan, Queens Museum in New York City and the Harrison Center for the Arts in Indianapolis, says. “The Fulbright is just that: time and financial support to make art. Iceland fascinates me, and I’ve wanted to make work (here) for years.”
Tubergen is making the most of her time in Iceland. During the summer, she spent a month riding her bicycle across the country, camping out of doors and doing research for various projects, such as designing a clock based on the footstep rather than the second.
“After being in the New York frenzy for a year, which I love, I wanted to regain a sense of time and geography on a human scale,” says Tubergen. “Cycling is a great way to acquaint your body with the land and clear your mind. It gets lonely.”
Tubergen is also taking photos and making videos of the weather in Iceland, as the climate is an important part of living in the country. “Icelanders tend to keep an attentive eye on the weather forecast,” she says. “Iceland is a young country, geographically speaking, and the earth here is volatile and moody. There are a lot of opposites — midnight sun in the summer and darkness in the winter; volcanoes and glaciers; heavy snows and boiling mud pits. The wind here is like nothing I’ve experienced. It’s relentless.”
In addition, Tubergen is “indulging her curiosities” while in Iceland. From reading the Sagas, to learning to spin Icelandic wool, to sea swimming in Reykjavik, Tubergen is immersing herself in the land and its people.
“The work I make is rooted in place, so I need to be attentive to the places where I exist,” she says. “Presently, I’m living in Skagaströnd, a town of 500 in North Iceland, and so far, it’s been a great community to get to know. One of the main attractions here is the Kantry-Baer, the only country bar in Iceland. There are murals of cowboys and Indians on the wall, and during the week, the bar functions as a school cafeteria for the kids.”
Tubergen is staying at the Nes Artist Residency, a place of great interest to the locals. “We have potlucks where we get to eat traditional Icelandic foods like boiled sheep’s head and rotten shark meat,” she says.
After Iceland, Tubergen hopes to attend graduate school and eventually return to New York City, where she lived after graduating from Covenant in 2008. She also plans to return to Chattanooga in March to put on a solo show at the Association of Visual Arts, chandelier included.
Although Tubergen is in the midst of an Icelandic adventure, she still carries fond memories of her time at Covenant. “I walked away from Covenant having experienced true friendship with my peers and teachers,” she says. “Covenant also gave me room to take action and structure my time, which is what you have to do as an artist outside of school.”
When Tubergen returns stateside, she’ll bring her experiences in Iceland with her, and chances are, they’ll show up in her work from time to time. Unlike wax chandeliers, some things are meant to last.
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