Thursday in Oslo, Part I: Garden Art

 

Thursday morning I landed at the Oslo Airport, took the train to the main station, changed to a tram out to the university, and met with a colleague in history of medicine. He let me have lunch with his department, I admired his new book on the history of tuberculosis in Tanzania that had just arrived, and then I set out for my Air BnB in the Majorstuen neighborhood. For the 24 hours until my conference started, I had rented a bedroom with a full bathroom in an apartment in an old building from the turn of the previous century, with use of the kitchen and living room. She even let me wash a load of laundry.

My goal for the afternoon was the Vigelandsparken at the center of Frognerparken. This is a large, open-air sculpture park with more than 200 pieces set among flower beds and water features. It was the brainchild and life's work of Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943), who spent four decades creating a variety of mostly life-sized, unclothed human forms alone and in family groups. After entering through a semi-circular gate, you walk down a long, tree-lined alley to the bridge lined with 58 bronze figures.

Beyond the bridge is a rose garden.

Next comes the Fountain with its life cycle.

More gardens before the very phallic "Monolith" at the top of the hill.

Around its column of striving bodies are granite couples and families.

Beyond another set of gardens and a grassy slope is "The Wheel of Life."

Above: peeking over the last wall, a fountain greets park-goers from the north.

Below: looking south back down the slope toward the monolith.

Next: Thursday in Oslo, part II