Carry On Icelandic: Culture [selections] (2004)
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Menning og listir - Arts and Culture
Menning og listir
Bókmenning hefur verið ríkjandi í íslensku menningarlífi frá upphafi ritaldar en aðrar listgreinar eru fremur ungar. Frá fornu fari höfðu íslenskar konur stundað listvefnað og listsaum og skapað mörg listaverk í ábreiður og teppi og íslenskir karlmenn skáru í tré og bein og lögðu stund á silfursmíði. En það er ekki fyrr en á tuttugustu öld sem allar listgreinar fara að blómstra, sérstaklega myndlist.
Þjóðleikhúsið (The National Theatre House).
Myndlist kom fyrst fram á sjónarsviðið fyrir alvöru um aldamótin 1900 er íslenskir listamenn héldu út í heim til að nema þessa listgrein. Íslensk myndlist hefur fylgt meginstraumum beggja vegna Atlantshafsins en um leið þróað þjóðleg einkenni.
Mikill vaxtarbroddur er einnig innan annarra listgreina, s.s. leiklistar, höggmyndalistar, kvikmyndagerðar og tónlistar. Leikfélag Reykjavíkur hefur starfað frá 1897. Það hafði aðsetur í Iðnó þar til það flutti í Borgarleikhúsið 1989. Hið íslenska ríkisleikhús, Þjóðleikhúsið, var vígt 1950. Tónlistarskóli var stofnaður 1930 og 1950 hóf Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands starfsemi sína í samstarfi við Ríkisútvarpið og Þjóðleikhúsið. Íslenski dansflokkurinn, óperan og fjöldi minni hópa setur svip sinn á menningarlífið.
Þá er mjög blómlegt menningarlíf meðal áhugafólks áberandi á Íslandi. Áhugaleikhópar starfa um allt land, sömuleiðis alls kyns kórar og sönghópar.
Arts and Culture
From the beginnings of the writing age, literature has been a dominant force in Icelandic cultural life while the other branches of art are somewhat younger. Since the earliest times, Icelandic women undertook decorative weaving and embroidery and created many works of art with blankets and covers, and Icelandic men carved on wood and bone and pursued silver work. But it is not until the twentieth-century that all art forms began to bloom, particularly painting.
Painting first came into the public gaze in earnest during the turn of the last century, when Icelandic artists ventured into the greater world to study that branch of art. Whilst Icelandic painting has been influenced by mainstreams on both sides of the Atlantic, it has at the same time developed distinctive national characteristics.
Significant growth also came in other art forms, such as theatre, sculpture, cinema, and music. The Reykjavík Theatre Company has been operating since 1897: it was resident at Iðnó until it moved to Borgarleikhúsið in 1989. The Icelandic state theatre, The National Theatre House, was opened in 1950. The College of Music was established in 1930 and in 1950 The Icelandic Symphony Orchestra began performances, in collaboration with the National Broadcasting Service and the National Theatre of Iceland. The Icelandic Ballet Company, Opera, and many other smaller groups have made their mark on cultural life.
Also, the blooming cultural life amongst amateur performers in Iceland is striking. There are amateur theatre groups throughout the county and all kinds of choirs and musical groups.
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