A PARK FULL OF SCULPTURE

 Today's adventure required us to take a tram ride. Woohoo! This meant that we also got to see a bit more of the city.

Our destination was the Vigeland Sculpture Park, where we expected to get out of the tram & look upon large exquisite wrought iron gates in art deco style. 
Instead we saw large buses spewing swarms of tour parties.... they literally blocked the view of those stunning gates, so much so that it took us a while to work out where to get in!! 

Gustav Vigeland was a sculptor (1868-1943), who lived in a studio built for him by the city of Oslo, on the condition that he would bequeath the rest of his work to the city.  The result is this beautiful city park.

We had seen advertising photos of some of his work, but even when reading that the park housed 214 sculptures, we couldn't really grasp the reality of what we were about to experience.  The sculptures were all about being human & having human relationships in all their variations.

The park was set out in groupings with the first being on either side of a bridge.  This is where we were so glad NOT to be in a tour party, because we got to spend time with each sculpture & walk up & down that bridge twice! 

My particular favourites were the ones showing relationships between parents & children.  Here are just a few;

The next section was an elaborate fountain.

 

In the centre, 6 giant men balanced a large bronze basin on their shoulders.  From it water flowed over the lip and into a square base at a level below.

Around the edge of the base were several trees, (supposedly representing life) & entwined in them were people going through the cycle of life.  Neither of us had seen anything quite like it.

 As if that weren't enough, around the sides of the base, bronze reliefs depicting relationships throughout life were also depicted.

 From the edge of the fountain we could see over the garden hedge, the famous monolith of bodies.  This is carved from a single piece of granite & took 3 carvers, working every day, 15 years to complete. There are apparently 121 figures spiralling up in this enormous piece.

What we couldn't see from that vantage point, was what sat below the column, radiating out from it & descending the steps. And I must admit, these took my breath away so much, that the mighty Monolith didn't get the attention it probably deserved!!

 There were 36 tableaus carved in granite & each explored intimacy in a variety of relationship scenarios.  Vigeland's sculpting style was less focused on showing musculature, than on where the 'weight' or tension was.  The faces & hands were not lined with wrinkles & veins, but had enough information in them to express emotion.  I found these so poignant. Here are just a few;

One of the things that struck me as we walked around these sculptures, were that people were recognising themselves or revisiting memories as they walked around these people frozen in stone.  Everyone was smiling.  They were connecting with what they saw. 
We thought that Vigeland had caught these moments of interpersonal relationships so well & had particularly captured the energy of children, that surely he had had a happy homelife with partner & family?
We've been looking through books & online information & he was not married, did not have a family of his own & no mention is made of relationships except for in his own youth!  It leaves us wondering who his inspirations were. We certainly hope that he can look down from whichever spirit world he inhabits, & can see how much thought provoking pleasure he has given to so many, including us.