News and Events
Barflies: Reykjavik by the Snorri Bros,
Release of a Icelandic photography book
In 1993 in Reykjavík, Iceland, a bar named Kaffibarinn Frikki & Dýrið opened its doors to the public. It is a small place on two floors, in a modest old corrugated iron house on a side street near Reykjavík’s main shopping drag. In its first year, the electric atmosphere at this bar became the source of legends, and Kaffibarinn (as it was commonly known) became the epicenter of Iceland’s Gen-X. The people portrayed in Barflies are the regulars at Kaffibarinn, the people who made up the scene: “Bartenders, musicians, actors, actresses, writers, models, entrepreneurs, photographers, computer geeks, students, filmmakers, artists, and some just plain old barflies with nothing much to report."
All of the portraits were shot within a short time period, and each subject was shot only once. All of the pictures are framed in the same way, shot with the same camera, the same lens, and the same film, against the same background, with the same lighting. The camera used was an old Hasselblad with a Polaroid back, which the Snorri Bros. decided not to clean; this only increased the charm of the resulting images.
The pictures in the book originally appeared in an exhibition in Reykjavík in April of 1994, to favorable reviews. Since then they have scarcely seen the light of day, until now.
Einar Snorri Einarsson and Eiður Snorri Eysteinsson are childhood friends that started their creative partnership in 1991 in Reykjavík, Iceland. They made an immediate impact with their fresh and original fashion, advertising and portrait photography, which they referred to as "picture-making" rather then photography at the time. They have always been intrigued by, and engaged in, various kinds of creative work other than photography, which means that their repertoire is rich and diverse, including music videos, TV commercials, music, design, and art direction.
The big world outside Iceland was alluring, and the Snorris got their feet wet in the United States in the early 90s as photographers, which eventually led to them to settle in New York in 1995 and is where they base their company Snorri Bros to this day with branches in Iceland and Europe. For the last few years the partners have mostly been working in the film and commercial worlds which has brought them around the world and back many times over working on projects ranging from music videos to short films and TV commercials for some of the world's most recognized brands. Today the Snorris are three. Snorri Sturluson, an old friend of Eiður´s and Einar´s joined them in 2006 and there are many exciting prospects in the works for these progressive photographers, filmmakers, musicians and entrepreneurs.
Jón Kaldal is Editor-in-Chief of Fréttablaðið, Iceland's biggest daily newspaper. Before he joined Fréttablaðið he was Editor-in-Chief of Iceland Review, an English-language quarterly magazine on all things Icelandic, reaching subscribers in over 100 countries, and Ský, a bi-monthly magazine for the domestic market on current affairs, culture, and entertainment. He crossed paths with the Snorri Bros. while working with them on a small independent music magazine in the early nineties.
PHOTOGRAPHY/ICELANDIC STUDIES HC, 10.25 x 10.25 inches, 100 pages, 80 duotone photographs ISBN 978-1-57687-441-7 $40.00
To preview the book please visit http://www.powerhousebooks.com/barflies.pdf High-res scans to your specification are available upon request; scanning from the book or lifting images from the mechanical file are strictly prohibited. Mandatory credit line: from BARFLIES: REYKJAVIK by The Snorri Bros., published by powerHouse Books.
For more information, please contact Sara Rosen, Publicity Director powerHouse Books, 37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 Tel: 212-604-9074 x105, Fax: 212-366-5247, email: sara@powerHouseBooks.com
