
Imagine walking into a dimly lit gallery. Around you, nine enormous screens project video footage of different musicians—each alone in a separate room of a grand, historic mansion. They play an hour-long song in unison, isolated yet connected by headphones, filling the space with a hauntingly beautiful harmony. It is an experience in 360⁰.
This is The Visitors (2012), a popular video installation by Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson, hailed by some critics as one of the greatest artworks of the 21st century.
I have to admit, I was skeptical when I first heard about it. Sure, it sounded intriguing, but “best of the century”? That’s a bold claim. Couple that with my own nervousness around some contemporary art—in my own work and research, I've focused on art prior to 1820. Contemporary art can feel intimidating even to me, an art historian.
Still, when the installation returned to SFMOMA (where I had the chance to see it), I decided to check it out—kids in tow. And I won’t lie: I was immediately mesmerized. There’s something hypnotic about watching these nine musicians, each in their own world, slowly merge into a shared experience. I felt inspired. I cried. It was an intense and unique experience that I personally loved. I'd revisit it in a heartbeat.

What Makes The Visitors So Special?
The Visitors was filmed over a week at Rokeby, a sprawling mansion in upstate New York. Kjartansson gathered a group of his close friends—many of them musicians—and set out to create something entirely unique. Each musician was recorded in a separate room, playing their instrument and singing a repeating refrain. They couldn’t see each other, only hear through headphones, which makes their eventual synchronization all the more impressive.
The song itself is a haunting, repetitive melody with the refrain:
*“Once again, I fall into my feminine ways.”*
It’s poetic, melancholic, and strangely comforting. The title of the work, The Visitors, hints at themes of transience, isolation, and the longing for connection—ideas that have taken on an even deeper resonance in recent years.

Isolation and Connection: Themes for Our Time
When The Visitors debuted in 2012, it was celebrated as a masterpiece for its immersive beauty and emotional power. By 2019, it topped The Guardian’s list of the 25 best artworks of the 21st century. But the past few years have given it a new layer of meaning. After months of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us can relate to the experience of being alone yet longing for connection. Watching the musicians slowly come together—first through sound, then physically as they gather on the porch in the final moments—feels like a metaphor for our own collective reemergence into social life. It's also just haunting to experience.
Kjartansson himself appears in the installation, strumming his guitar in a bathtub (yes, naked, though bubbles are conveniently placed) while singing along with the others. It’s an image that borders on absurd but feels entirely human, a reminder of the vulnerability we all experience in moments of solitude.
I didn't expect to feel emotional while watching and listening, but silent tears streamed down my face. Even my young kids sat, enraptured.

A Work That Captures This Moment
Certain artworks have captured the spirit of their time—works like Manet’s Olympia, Picasso’s Guernica, or Warhol’s Campbell’s soup cans. These aren’t just great works because of their artistic merit; they resonate because they “mainline” something bigger happening in a culture. Some critics and art historians have suggested that The Visitors belongs to this category.
Its themes of isolation, gradual connection, and shared experience capture so much of the 21st century moment, especially as the global pandemic changed the world. But in our current context, these themes also feel uncannily prescient. It’s as if Kjartansson anticipated a world where we’d all be separated in our own rooms, connected only through technology, waiting for the moment we could finally reunite. I find The Visitors unsettling as much as I find it alluring. But I am left hopeful about the idea of connection and reuniting.

An Experience You Won’t Forget
To truly understand The Visitors, you have to experience it. You can watch videos and here audio clips, or even see still photographs. But describing it only goes so far—it’s the kind of artwork that envelops you, making you feel like you’re part of something larger. The darkened gallery, the haunting music, the isolated yet unified musicians—it all adds up to something greater than the sum of its parts. I promise it is worth it if you have the opportunity to visit it.
What’s remarkable is that while the installation deals with big themes like love, loss, and connection, it never felt heavy-handed or cloying to me. Instead, I thought it felt deeply personal, intimate, and strangely (even disconcertingly) joyful. By the end of the hour, as the musicians gather together on the porch, you can’t help but feel uplifted. You might even cry.
Verdict: Is It the Best Artwork of the 21st Century?
Is The Visitors truly the best artwork of the 21st century? That’s for each of us to decide. I am still thinking about it all these months later—I experienced it in March 2024. But whether you’re a fan of contemporary art or not, it’s hard to deny the power of this work. It’s beautiful, moving, and completely unforgettable. I left feeling uplifted. I like many others cried—and this collective catharsis was so amazing, so strangely meaningful, so human.
So, if you ever have the chance to see The Visitors—whether at SFMOMA or another venue—I highly recommend it. It is at SFMOMA through September 28, 2025.
CITE THIS PAGE: Kilroy-Ewbank, Dr. Lauren. "Ragnar Kjartansson’s The Visitors: The Best Artwork of the 21st Century?." lkilroyewbank.com <Insert date you accessed> https://www.lkilroyewbank.com/post//ragnar-kjartansson-the-visitors-the-best-artwork-of-the-21st-century.
Learn more
The Guardian's article about the best art of the 21st century
The Guardian's article specifically focused on The Visitors, as the maddest house party ever
Comments