Ragnar Kjartansson's 'Sunday Without Love' Video Installation at Luhring Augustine Explores Nostalgia and Repetition

Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson showcases his video installation 'Sunday Without Love' at Luhring Augustine in Tribeca, New York, until December 20. This nineteen-minute work features ten performers dressed in ambiguous European folk attire, with Kjartansson taking on the role of lead vocalist and guitarist, singing an English rendition of the German song 'Ohne Liebe Leben Lernen' (1996). The piece, inspired by a postcard from his daughter’s baptism, evokes a sense of nostalgic yearning, despite its message of living without love. Kjartansson referred to the costumes as 'total cultural appropriation.' This artwork explores themes of contemporary European political nostalgia and cultural stagnation, building on ideas from earlier projects like 'Three Sisters (remake of Jay Ranelli's Lost Photo c. 1990)' (2021).