Gudmundur Oddur Magnusson (Goddur) has been a professor of Visual Communication at the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavik since 2002. As a scholar, he investigates the heritage of Icelandic imagery and symbols, putting them into context with imagery from other countries, finding connections and patterns. He also hosts regular shows about culture on national television. Alongside his interest in the past, his big heart, eyes and ears are always at the center of what is happening at the present. He has done this ever since he studied under Dieter Roth at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts in the ’70s, and he still does it, as a friend and a collaborator of artists of all ages. You can always expect Goddur to pop up with his camera and then disappear just as suddenly and quietly as he came.
In the summer he lives in an old factory in Seydisfjördur, a small town on the east coast of Iceland, where old and new friends join him for the bright summer nights in his semi-commune. A storyteller, shamanist and a satanic priest, Goddur is at the heart of the alchemy of the art scene.
Goddur has worked with artists such as, Robert Filliou, Herman Nitsch, Magnús Pálsson, the Roth family, Ragnar Kjartansson and Bjarni H. Thorarinsson. He has lectured and taught and exhibited his work in Scandinavia, the European continent and in China. His work can be found in publications from TASCHEN like Graphic Design for the 21st Century · 100 of the World’s Best Graphic Designers by Charlotte & Peter Fiell and Graphic Design NOW by the same authors as well as 55 Degrees North · Contemporary Scandinavian Graphic Design. Author: Patrick Sundqvist. Published by Laurence King Publishing Ltd, London and NORTH by NORTH · Scandinavian Graphic Design. Published by dgv- Die Gestalten Verlag, Berlin · London -Edited by Robert Klanten and Hendik Hellige.