The Watchdog That Didn't Bark

The media is often recognised as the fourth branch of government sitting next to the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Recognising its importance in 1787, United States Founding Father Thomas Jefferson said, "were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."

If fulfilling the role of the 4th branch was the goal, then Iceland's two most widely read newspapers, Fréttablaðið and Morgunblaðið, by and large failed to fulfil their duties before the crash. On the contrary, the papers often served as a mouthpiece of the government and financial institutions, through which they spewed positive propaganda to the public. Although, for example, Morgunblaðið's editor at the time, Styrmir Gunnarsson, claims the paper, "adequately evaluated external news and information [before the crash]," an examination of what the newspapers had in their hands in terms of external warnings and what they then passed on to the public reveals a serious lapse in journalism.

Before the crash, external agencies like Moody's, the OECD and Merrill Lynch, consistently issued reports warning about the enormity of the commercial banking sector and the absence of a lender of last resort. Each time, the newspapers remarkably minimised their reports and ignored or refuted any critical information about the banks.
April – Moody's is worried about Iceland's banks
On April 9, Moody's issues its annual report on Iceland, reiterating its
decision to downgrade Iceland's banks to C- and lower the government's
rating to negative in February and March, respectively.

Morgunblaðið says crisis is unlikely.

On April 9, Morgunblaðið reports, "New Moody's report says crisis unlikely." At once the headline sums up a rosy conclusion of a report from an agency that has recently downgraded Iceland's banks to C- and lowered Iceland's outlook to negative. The article begins by stating Iceland's exceptional quality in being the only Aaa ranked country with C- ranked banks, as if this was almost a good thing. It goes on to say, "the state of the banks is said to be concerning, but it's unlikely that they will be the cause an economic crisis." Additionally, it reports, "Minister of Finance Árni M. Mathiesen says discussions during the last two to three weeks have been moving in a positive direction. Moody's is very well acquainted with the country and their positive report should push discussions in that direction."

Thus, it's generally a positive report.

Morgunblaðið fails to mention that the banks are nine times Iceland's GDP, and does not include Moody's warning: "The banking sector in Iceland represents the most burdensome contingent liability. Moody's considers the three large commercial banks in Iceland as "too big to fail," a concept that is not affected by the banks having been fully privatised, meaning that we would expect a very high degree of systemic support by the Icelandic authorities for the banks in the event of a stress situation. Given the scale of the banks' international operations, however, any systemic threat would prove extremely costly to the government if that eventuality were to materialize."

Of course if they had included all of this, the Minister of Finance would have appeared incompetent and they couldn't have written up such an overwhelmingly positive interpretation of the report.

Fréttablaðið says speculations are ridiculous

On the following day, April 10, Fréttablaðið covers Moody's report in an article called, "Ridiculous speculations." The article

WikiLeaks reveals U.S. Embassy’s view on Carl Bildt’s political abilities

Svenska Dagbladet and Aftonbladet have both reported that confidental documents which reveal the view of diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm on Carl Bildt’s political abilities have been published by WikiLeaks.

The diplomats have described Sweden’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Bildt as a “medium size dog with big dog attitude” (meaning that he is overconfident in his own power) who wants to play in the big league despite not being from an influental country.

The report also describes Bildt as an “arrogant nobleman” with “limited political abilities” who enjoys a “long leash” by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.

The

The Watchdog That Didn't Bark

The media is often recognised as the fourth branch of government sitting next to the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Recognising its importance in 1787, United States Founding Father Thomas Jefferson said, "were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."

If fulfilling the role of the 4th branch was the goal, then Iceland's two most widely read newspapers, Fréttablaðið and Morgunblaðið, by and large failed to fulfil their duties before the crash. On the contrary, the papers often served as a mouthpiece of the government and financial institutions, through which they spewed positive propaganda to the public. Although, for example, Morgunblaðið's editor at the time, Styrmir Gunnarsson, claims the paper, "adequately evaluated external news and information [before the crash]," an examination of what the newspapers had in their hands in terms of external warnings and what they then passed on to the public reveals a serious lapse in journalism.

Before the crash, external agencies like Moody's, the OECD and Merrill Lynch, consistently issued reports warning about the enormity of the commercial banking sector and the absence of a lender of last resort. Each time, the newspapers remarkably minimised their reports and ignored or refuted any critical information about the banks.
April – Moody's is worried about Iceland's banks
On April 9, Moody's issues its annual report on Iceland, reiterating its
decision to downgrade Iceland's banks to C- and lower the government's
rating to negative in February and March, respectively.

Morgunblaðið says crisis is unlikely.

On April 9, Morgunblaðið reports, "New Moody's report says crisis unlikely." At once the headline sums up a rosy conclusion of a report from an agency that has recently downgraded Iceland's banks to C- and lowered Iceland's outlook to negative. The article begins by stating Iceland's exceptional quality in being the only Aaa ranked country with C- ranked banks, as if this was almost a good thing. It goes on to say, "the state of the banks is said to be concerning, but it's unlikely that they will be the cause an economic crisis." Additionally, it reports, "Minister of Finance Árni M. Mathiesen says discussions during the last two to three weeks have been moving in a positive direction. Moody's is very well acquainted with the country and their positive report should push discussions in that direction."

Thus, it's generally a positive report.

Morgunblaðið fails to mention that the banks are nine times Iceland's GDP, and does not include Moody's warning: "The banking sector in Iceland represents the most burdensome contingent liability. Moody's considers the three large commercial banks in Iceland as "too big to fail," a concept that is not affected by the banks having been fully privatised, meaning that we would expect a very high degree of systemic support by the Icelandic authorities for the banks in the event of a stress situation. Given the scale of the banks' international operations, however, any systemic threat would prove extremely costly to the government if that eventuality were to materialize."

Of course if they had included all of this, the Minister of Finance would have appeared incompetent and they couldn't have written up such an overwhelmingly positive interpretation of the report.

Fréttablaðið says speculations are ridiculous

On the following day, April 10, Fréttablaðið covers Moody's report in an article called, "Ridiculous speculations." The article

The Watchdog That Didn't Bark

The media is often recognised as the fourth branch of government sitting next to the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Recognising its importance in 1787, United States Founding Father Thomas Jefferson said, "were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."

If fulfilling the role of the 4th branch was the goal, then Iceland's two most widely read newspapers, Fréttablaðið and Morgunblaðið, by and large failed to fulfil their duties before the crash. On the contrary, the papers often served as a mouthpiece of the government and financial institutions, through which they spewed positive propaganda to the public. Although, for example, Morgunblaðið's editor at the time, Styrmir Gunnarsson, claims the paper, "adequately evaluated external news and information [before the crash]," an examination of what the newspapers had in their hands in terms of external warnings and what they then passed on to the public reveals a serious lapse in journalism.

Before the crash, external agencies like Moody's, the OECD and Merrill Lynch, consistently issued reports warning about the enormity of the commercial banking sector and the absence of a lender of last resort. Each time, the newspapers remarkably minimised their reports and ignored or refuted any critical information about the banks.
April – Moody's is worried about Iceland's banks
On April 9, Moody's issues its annual report on Iceland, reiterating its
decision to downgrade Iceland's banks to C- and lower the government's
rating to negative in February and March, respectively.

Morgunblaðið says crisis is unlikely.

On April 9, Morgunblaðið reports, "New Moody's report says crisis unlikely." At once the headline sums up a rosy conclusion of a report from an agency that has recently downgraded Iceland's banks to C- and lowered Iceland's outlook to negative. The article begins by stating Iceland's exceptional quality in being the only Aaa ranked country with C- ranked banks, as if this was almost a good thing. It goes on to say, "the state of the banks is said to be concerning, but it's unlikely that they will be the cause an economic crisis." Additionally, it reports, "Minister of Finance Árni M. Mathiesen says discussions during the last two to three weeks have been moving in a positive direction. Moody's is very well acquainted with the country and their positive report should push discussions in that direction."

Thus, it's generally a positive report.

Morgunblaðið fails to mention that the banks are nine times Iceland's GDP, and does not include Moody's warning: "The banking sector in Iceland represents the most burdensome contingent liability. Moody's considers the three large commercial banks in Iceland as "too big to fail," a concept that is not affected by the banks having been fully privatised, meaning that we would expect a very high degree of systemic support by the Icelandic authorities for the banks in the event of a stress situation. Given the scale of the banks' international operations, however, any systemic threat would prove extremely costly to the government if that eventuality were to materialize."

Of course if they had included all of this, the Minister of Finance would have appeared incompetent and they couldn't have written up such an overwhelmingly positive interpretation of the report.

Fréttablaðið says speculations are ridiculous

On the following day, April 10, Fréttablaðið covers Moody's report in an article called, "Ridiculous speculations." The article

The Watchdog That Didn't Bark

The media is often recognised as the fourth branch of government sitting next to the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Recognising its importance in 1787, United States Founding Father Thomas Jefferson said, "were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."

If fulfilling the role of the 4th branch was the goal, then Iceland's two most widely read newspapers, Fréttablaðið and Morgunblaðið, by and large failed to fulfil their duties before the crash. On the contrary, the papers often served as a mouthpiece of the government and financial institutions, through which they spewed positive propaganda to the public. Although, for example, Morgunblaðið's editor at the time, Styrmir Gunnarsson, claims the paper, "adequately evaluated external news and information [before the crash]," an examination of what the newspapers had in their hands in terms of external warnings and what they then passed on to the public reveals a serious lapse in journalism.

Before the crash, external agencies like Moody's, the OECD and Merrill Lynch, consistently issued reports warning about the enormity of the commercial banking sector and the absence of a lender of last resort. Each time, the newspapers remarkably minimised their reports and ignored or refuted any critical information about the banks.
April – Moody's is worried about Iceland's banks
On April 9, Moody's issues its annual report on Iceland, reiterating its
decision to downgrade Iceland's banks to C- and lower the government's
rating to negative in February and March, respectively.

Morgunblaðið says crisis is unlikely.

On April 9, Morgunblaðið reports, "New Moody's report says crisis unlikely." At once the headline sums up a rosy conclusion of a report from an agency that has recently downgraded Iceland's banks to C- and lowered Iceland's outlook to negative. The article begins by stating Iceland's exceptional quality in being the only Aaa ranked country with C- ranked banks, as if this was almost a good thing. It goes on to say, "the state of the banks is said to be concerning, but it's unlikely that they will be the cause an economic crisis." Additionally, it reports, "Minister of Finance Árni M. Mathiesen says discussions during the last two to three weeks have been moving in a positive direction. Moody's is very well acquainted with the country and their positive report should push discussions in that direction."

Thus, it's generally a positive report.

Morgunblaðið fails to mention that the banks are nine times Iceland's GDP, and does not include Moody's warning: "The banking sector in Iceland represents the most burdensome contingent liability. Moody's considers the three large commercial banks in Iceland as "too big to fail," a concept that is not affected by the banks having been fully privatised, meaning that we would expect a very high degree of systemic support by the Icelandic authorities for the banks in the event of a stress situation. Given the scale of the banks' international operations, however, any systemic threat would prove extremely costly to the government if that eventuality were to materialize."

Of course if they had included all of this, the Minister of Finance would have appeared incompetent and they couldn't have written up such an overwhelmingly positive interpretation of the report.

Fréttablaðið says speculations are ridiculous

On the following day, April 10, Fréttablaðið covers Moody's report in an article called, "Ridiculous speculations." The article

The Watchdog That Didn't Bark

The media is often recognised as the fourth branch of government sitting next to the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Recognising its importance in 1787, United States Founding Father Thomas Jefferson said, "were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."

If fulfilling the role of the 4th branch was the goal, then Iceland's two most widely read newspapers, Fréttablaðið and Morgunblaðið, by and large failed to fulfil their duties before the crash. On the contrary, the papers often served as a mouthpiece of the government and financial institutions, through which they spewed positive propaganda to the public. Although, for example, Morgunblaðið's editor at the time, Styrmir Gunnarsson, claims the paper, "adequately evaluated external news and information [before the crash]," an examination of what the newspapers had in their hands in terms of external warnings and what they then passed on to the public reveals a serious lapse in journalism.

Before the crash, external agencies like Moody's, the OECD and Merrill Lynch, consistently issued reports warning about the enormity of the commercial banking sector and the absence of a lender of last resort. Each time, the newspapers remarkably minimised their reports and ignored or refuted any critical information about the banks.
April – Moody's is worried about Iceland's banks
On April 9, Moody's issues its annual report on Iceland, reiterating its
decision to downgrade Iceland's banks to C- and lower the government's
rating to negative in February and March, respectively.

Morgunblaðið says crisis is unlikely.

On April 9, Morgunblaðið reports, "New Moody's report says crisis unlikely." At once the headline sums up a rosy conclusion of a report from an agency that has recently downgraded Iceland's banks to C- and lowered Iceland's outlook to negative. The article begins by stating Iceland's exceptional quality in being the only Aaa ranked country with C- ranked banks, as if this was almost a good thing. It goes on to say, "the state of the banks is said to be concerning, but it's unlikely that they will be the cause an economic crisis." Additionally, it reports, "Minister of Finance Árni M. Mathiesen says discussions during the last two to three weeks have been moving in a positive direction. Moody's is very well acquainted with the country and their positive report should push discussions in that direction."

Thus, it's generally a positive report.

Morgunblaðið fails to mention that the banks are nine times Iceland's GDP, and does not include Moody's warning: "The banking sector in Iceland represents the most burdensome contingent liability. Moody's considers the three large commercial banks in Iceland as "too big to fail," a concept that is not affected by the banks having been fully privatised, meaning that we would expect a very high degree of systemic support by the Icelandic authorities for the banks in the event of a stress situation. Given the scale of the banks' international operations, however, any systemic threat would prove extremely costly to the government if that eventuality were to materialize."

Of course if they had included all of this, the Minister of Finance would have appeared incompetent and they couldn't have written up such an overwhelmingly positive interpretation of the report.

Fréttablaðið says speculations are ridiculous

On the following day, April 10, Fréttablaðið covers Moody's report in an article called, "Ridiculous speculations." The article

More Than Meets the Eye

The current exhibition at Reykjavík Art Museum – Hafnarhús, 'Power has a Fragrance', is by the New York and Tokyo based Norwegian-born artist, Gardar Eide Einarsson. Through paintings, sculptures, flags and photographs, using a predominantly black and white palette, the artist applies inherent punk and skateboarding aesthetics to an examination of art and cultural power structures. The layered work intends to raise questions rather than conclude empty statements. He has been one of the most celebrated young Nordic artists, and participated in the Whitney Biennial in 2008. I had the pleasure to sit down with him and engage in an insightful conversation about his enigmatic work, the art world and his love for Tokyo.

The title of your exhibition at Hafnarhús, 'Power has a Fragrance', fits the work well, suggesting an intangible trace of authority.

That's what I like about it. It says that power isn't necessarily something that you experience head on. It's about having this trace of power around. Fragrance is not a smell it's more of a hint. It's a title from the band Death in June. I have used some of their titles before.

What is your connection to the punk and skateboarding scene? Was there one you were a part of in Norway?

Yes. When I was growing up, all I did was skateboard. It was also tied to other parts of west coast cultures with music, and so on. That was the foundational aesthetic for me. That was how I started having a real relation to aesthetics; through those types of aesthetics. And interestingly, I think it works with appropriation, which I do with my work. At that time, I also worked with a limited colour palette because work was photocopied, it was pre-internet…When I was growing up in Norway, skateboarding was actually illegal there. I think it was one of the only countries in the world where skateboarding was illegal. So you would have to smuggle boards in from other countries and if the cops caught you skateboarding, they would confiscate your skateboard. Norway is crazy.

How else did growing up in Norway influence your work?

There was a certain element of shock of moving from Norway to New York, and also moving to New York on September 10, 2001, which is when I moved there. It was a very specific time, that decade from then to now. I think that kind of discord between the Norwegian experience and the experience in New York has been important to me.

It seems that a primary component of your work is combining a political message, regarding the individual's relationship or conflict in society, with appropriation and institutional critique…

Institutional critique is originally a historical event; it's an art historical genre. I think as such, it's not possible to be doing that. It is a bit dead but it's still important for my work. That genre became a natural part of art making today. My work has the traditional institutional critique baked into it. Hopefully it's subtler and more humorous than how I find traditional institutional critique, even though I love that work.

Your work contains some irony…

There's an element of humour. There are jokes in the work, either formal visual jokes or puns and that's where some of this institutional critique lies, when I evoke institutional critique. It is hopefully in a little bit of a humorous way. The work's definitely the relationship between institutional critique and the political critique. I am trying to set up a parallel between these two power structures, thereby saying that this work is also a victim to power