Anna von Hausswolff is an experimental musician and composer based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Her latest record, ICONOCLASTS, is out now on YEAR00001.
(Photo Credit: Philip Svensson)
Mood Board is our column where artists share with us a few of the things that inspired their new record. This time, the experimental Swedish musician/composer Anna von Hausswolff tells us how Caravaggio, Naomi Klein, Lotta Antonsson, and Kendrick Lamar helped shape ICONOCLASTS — out today on YEAR00001.
— Annie Fell, Editor-in-chief, Talkhouse Music
1. Caravaggio
The use of light, the biblical meaning, the humanizing of the divine, and the uncompromising commission work he did for churches all around Rome. He didn’t let institutional expectations or traditional iconography pressure him into submission. Instead, he refined art with his vision and by staying true to himself.
2. Naomi Klein’s Doppelganger
There’s something about this book that makes me think about the impending doom of our society, and how light and dark need to co-exist and feed off each other’s existence. The iconoclast is the same, there is no iconoclast without an icon. The perception of good and evil will always vary and we are dancing forward in circles to entertain and sustain life. It’s not my typical book, but it just resonated so well with the conceptual work around ICONOCLASTS, and why it’s important to step out of your comfort zone every now and then.
3. Lotta Antonsson
She’s a prominent figure in contemporary photography, with a humoristic and feminist twist to her images. She manipulates old photos of models and covers the object’s eyes, teeth or entire faces with seashells or stones. There’s something diabolic in her way of covering these beautiful faces up. At the same time, she’s making great art out of destroying something old.
4. Kendrick Lamar
He illustrates so beautifully in all of his work how resistance and strength can be created out of trauma. He’s a fighter and an outsider in spite of being the biggest hip hop artist alive. He manages the impossible of being an icon and an iconoclast at the same time. He became very important in the making of this album, an artist I kept coming back to.
