OSLO

 

Oslo and straight away it was obvious that I was once again in a big city. This was the first large city since Helsinki nearly two months ago and although Bergen was a city, being only in the downtown area, it did not feel all that big. But the moment I stepped out onto the street, Oslo had a different feel to it.

There was more bustle, busy buses and trams and people everywhere. There were some high rise buildings near the station which had a sleek modern look to them. The hotel had 13 floors and was full. Yes, Oslo has the characteristics of the large urban area.

I picked up a copy of the city guide when I called into the tourist office on arrival. There were certainly plenty of places to visit or at least choose from. I went through and marked the venues that I thought I could be interested in seeing. Amazingly, many were free admission. The National Gallery for instance and the History Museum were free.

On day one my priority was to visit the Norwegian Film Institute to see it I could get some information but also to look at the film museum. I didn't take very long to find the building, just a couple of blocks from the tram stop. It was clearly marked and looked a little like a cinema entrance, which it partly was.

I met Christina Iverson on the front desk and asked a few questions about the production I had seen in Bergen. In just a few minutes I was seated beside her behind the desk checking out the information she was bringing up on the computer screen. She was extremely helpful and I now have more ideas of what I will write for SCRIPT about the director and the production itself. They also had a vacuum flask of free coffee on a table which was a nice touch. When I had finished behind the desk, I went into the Film Museum. Christina called in to say goodbye as she was heading off and offered to answer any further questions via email. I found other staff equally helpful. If this is typical of the the whole staff of the NFI then it is a very impressive organisation. During my visit they were operating on a skeleton staff as most were on holiday. But at least they were open. Later I was to find the Danish Film House closed for the whole month.

Before I left the NFI, I picked out a small selection of DVDs to purchase as well as a copy of a book on Bergman's film 'The Silence'.

Later on when I returned for the 6 pm screening of 'Orion's Belt' – a 1980's Norwegian movie, one of the staff came up and explained that they had only given me empty cases and they realised that I needed the contents as well. So they replaced the DVD's and that was all done before I had even had a chance to check them out. Most likely I would have just posted them home without checking inside. The next morning I found an email from Christina telling me of the problem but I think it is sorted out. Anyway they have been posted home.

The Film Museum was certainly worth a visit. Although it is centred around the history of film in Norway, it is still fascinating to wander around. The early exhibits are of items such as Mutoscope and all of the early mechanical devices for making small strips of pictures into moving pictures such as the Praxinoscope. Some you could even set going and so it was a bit interactive. They had a working example of the Edison Kinetograph which was a single viewer machine running short lengths of film. I am not sure that I have ever had the chance to see a working example before. So I did find the visit worth it even if only for that experience. I tried to take a video through the narrow slit the viewer looked through but I don't think it turned out all that successfully. I will have to work on it in my editing software and see if I can get the flicker removed. I do have one or two ideas to try out when I get home. I also liked the model of Edward Muybridge's set up to photograph a series of pictures of a galloping horse and which proved that at some point in the galloping, all of the hoofs were off the ground. The resulting strips of photographs were like the frames of a movie film.

There was a old silent cinema projection box set up, but only with a single projector. It was fairly similar to the old De Luxe cinema box in Lower Hutt, where I spent quite a bit of time as a small boy. On the other side of the wall were a few rows of old cinema seats facing a screen on which a video projector was screening recent Norwegian short films.

There were several locally made silent 35mm projectors complete with a handle to turn the mechanism and run the film. There were examples of the changes in sound film recording and several hand held 35 mm cameras which could be used by news cameramen.

There were several cases of models used in puppet animated movies as well as a TV screen showing some examples of these. There were some costumes from period movies and a display containing a still or publicity photo from every Norwegian movie up to the early 21^st century.

While the museum was not huge in size, it did give a really interesting over view. I found the room related to changing censorship standards interesting and they were even screening a loop of examples of what had been cut from films over the years.

I was interested to notice that there was a steady flow or visitors through the museum, including some family groups. Not hundreds, but there was always someone or a family, moving around the displays.

It would be really great to have our film commission or the film archives set up a similar museum about New Zealand film history. I know that they have had a room containing a few examples and a screening room but there is the opportunity for so much more to be included.

The 6 pm screening of 'Orion's Belt' was interesting to watch mainly because it was set on Svalbard and having just been there, I could relate to the setting and to some of the dialogue comments. It was not the best film ever, just an enjoyable time filler. Never the less I have hunted it out on Amazon and have it on the way to home. A couple days later at the Fram Museum I found copies on sale. I could have saved the Amazon postage costs although I think the purchase price was higher at the museum. Not a large audience, perhaps 20. Admission charge was 50 NOK which was about the same as at home. However, here I understand it was cheaper than the commercial cinemas charge.

Today I also went for a tram ride. The single ride ticket is good for one hour, so I just stayed on the tram and went to the end of the route were it looped back along different streets to the city centre again. I was actually filling in time until the Film Museum opened. However, I did pass the park with all the sculptures which I want to visit. I spotted the lines of tour buses parked outside as well. However it was a large park and I am sure that crowds will not matter when I go there.

Back in the city centre I took the opportunity to visit the big Domkirke, the Lutheran Cathedral. It had some interesting paintings on the ceiling. I am always amazed at the way in which artists got paintings up onto the ceilings of churches and palaces. I assume that they must have been able to lay down to do the artwork above them. They were actually murals and were painted 1936 and 1950. The Domkirke itself was opened in 1697 although there has been a series of additions put in place since then.

There was a steady flow of visitors and the odd camera flash although flash was not suppose to be used.

The church had a large pipe organ at the back over the entrance doorway and the usual Lutheran plainness broken by the decorative raised pulpit and the wood carved altar. There were some narrow but colourful stain glass windows as well.

There are several national museums, each with a specific purpose. The Nasjonal Galleriet is a large building given over to exhibiting art. The main displays are of Norwegian and Nordic art, where landscape seems to dominate the subject matter. I think that is a natural reaction to the way the land so much controls the human activities. However, there are other subjects including a few nudes, portraits and still life subjects. This apparently Norway's largest art collection. In general it was an interesting over view. It only goes to 1950 so I guess that I needed to go to the Gallery of Contemporary Art to see later work – but I ran out of time.

There was a large temporary exhibition which again covered Norwegian artists. There were 87 paintings hanging in this and I think I read that they were from the private collection of one man – Sejersted Bodthker. Most if not all.

One highlight for me was to walk into a room and suddenly spot names I was familiar with. Here were the gallery's gems; Vincent van Gough, Monet, Matisse, Mondrian, Gauguin and Picasso, to name a few. Plus bonzes by Rodin and Degas. This was a very enjoyable time looking at the famous artists' works. In an adjoining gallery was a larger collection which tended to major on 16^th and 17^th century European art. In the early 20^th century a Norwegian industrialist or brewery owner actually I think, decided that Norway should have the opportunity to see great works of art. So he quickly built up the collection, donated it to the gallery and the cost of building a special room, lit from windows above, to exhibit it in. That was exceedingly generous of the man and even today there was a steady flow of the public and tourists, coming to see it. I recognized a three of the artists names only; El Greco, Rubens, and – oh what was his name?

Of course most of the gallery visitors were coming to see room 24. Here were the Edvard Munch paintings. Most obviously was 'The Scream". This is said to be the definitive version, as he painted several and did lino or wood cuts and prints as well. This was certainly a powerful painting, smaller than I had expected and I suppose already familiar so that the impact was lessoned. Most of the other paintings were larger works. I was impressed by one of his first paintings 'The Sick Child' which had a roughness and grittiness unmatched by the other works on show. This was his remembering the death of his sister eight years earlier. Done when he was just 22 years old, it was the first or one of the first of his paintings to be exhibited. The style was not the currently accepted style amongst art critics and so it caused a lot of discussion and anger. Later at the Munch Museum I saw a 'more finished' painting of the same subject and thought that it had far less impact.

At the National Gallery I thought that his 'Madonna' was the one which held my attention the most. Until I saw a print in a shop window a couple of days ago, I had no idea he had a painting like this. In fact to be honest, I only knew 'The Scream', so seeing the range of his work was a process of discovery for me. No doubt that he was an important 20^th century artist.

The same model appeared in another painting, 'The Morning After' which also had some power. 'Three Girls on a Pier' was another interesting work. Here I could spot some of the swirls and use of colour as was done in 'The Scream'.

Another strong large picture was 'The Sick Room' were the grief on the various faces seen seemed to indicate a recent death.

The National Gallery did not allow photography. However, the Munch Museum, which I hunted out the next day did. This despite having had 'The Scream' and 'Madonna' stolen a few years back – they were returned. I did have to go in through airport grade security though.

Several of, if not all, of the works at the National Gallery are also seen here in another painting of the subject by Munch. He seemed to have no problem redoing subjects in any medium. He was a good graphics designer and produced lithographs wood cuts and other forms of print making. Two of his lithographic stones are on display. Munch would pay the print maker large sums to get ownership of the stone rather than have the printmaker repolish the surface for a different print.

In his woodcuts he was worried about not being able to make the full use of colour as in his paintings. So he invented a technique of using a fine fret saw to cut up the carved wood block. He would individually apply colour to the various parts and then carefully reassemble the whole block and print it all at once, giving him a coloured print – well block colour anyway.

Munch Museum had a number of large portraits of various people, such as Friedrich Nietzche, on display as well as equally large self portraits. There were landscapes and a still life. It was interesting to see the range of painting styles which he had mastered. Obviously Munch was not a one style artist but a very talented multi facit artist. He was obviously as interested the big questions of life and existence as he was in exploring eroticism.

Over 60 years..." Munch developed his unique form, while exploring several different styles from Naturalism to Symbolism and Expressionism." (Museum leaflet)

Munch did some series of related paintings. The most famous is 'The Frieze of Life' This series has a room to itself and contains Madonna, The Kiss, Vampire Kiss, The Voice and Summer Night – plus about six more. Each is quite attention grabbing in its own right.

So this was another really worthwhile visit. The museum is a little off the beaten track and not that easy to get to. I had to work my travel route out carefully and it involved a swop from tram #17 to bus #20 at one intersecting point. Lots of fun doing it and finding that it worked out just fine.

The History Museum was next to the National Gallery. It shows Norwegian history over 9000 years. There is of course, Viking section and I was interested to look at the jewelry and treasures of the period rather than at the weapons. I did find a model of how iron was produced from bog deposits very informative and I did not know about the source or techniques used previously.

They had a section on Medieval Christianity with the ornate carved wooden door lintels from several old churches. The carving reminded me of Maori meeting house front panels. The had a reconstructed copy of a carving of the Madonna and the Christ child. The original is decomposing rapidly, so this copy was done using the medieval techniques and pigments in the paint. The highly coloured result is unlike anything you see in a museum where similar old carvings are displayed. However, this does represent the way the medieval church goers would have seen their carved and painted statues. And that was something I found very interesting as well.

This museum had a coin room displaying the history of Norwegian coinage and as part of this it had a model of the Trondheim cathedral mint – which I have seen the remaining floor of at that cathedral museum. As you travel, things start to link up don't they?

There were rooms given over to African. Arctic North American and East Asian indigenous cultures. There were some mummies from Ancient Egypt. I moved fairly quickly through these sections.

There was a temporary photo display showing life in a Bhutan Buddhist monastery.

What I did find interesting was a temporary showing related to Runic language and artifacts.

Runic was a communication system, well a language actually, which predated the development of old Norse. It was used in Scandinavia North Europe and in Britain. One source suggests it was used throughout Europe and that it most likely developed from Latin or Etruscan.

Much of the little I knew about it, related to its use on some of the standing stones I have seen in Britain. However here I also saw it used on household objects such as combs, on rods and on bricks.

It was obviously used in everyday Norway for a long period as there were examples of rude toilet type humor found written down somewhere..There are religious and magic examples, trade and graffiti . It began to exist side by side with the development of modern languages and influenced them and in turn, was influenced by them. Mostly it was dying out by the Crusades and plagues of the 13^th century. Most of the existing inscriptions come from the late 11^th century.

Vigelandsparken is Oslo's famous park with the statues. Here spread around the grounds are over 200 sculptures produced be Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943). He was also responsible for the design and layout of the park grounds as well. So what we see here is his life's work. From the ornamental main gates a long pair of paths leads down to a bridge. This is lined with his statues in the same way that Prague's Charles Bridge is also lined with statues of saints kings and religious events. Here how ever, there are no saints or religious aspects which I could see – well perhaps I could come up with an idea or two but they may not match his intentions.

All the statues are nude and are both male and female adults and children. I wondered if they were produced today if the artist would be considered un-PC and I would suppose a controversy would break out. Mind you there may have been one with these but I do not know about that.

The statues are male dominant. By that I mean that they feature men holding children, men tossing children and such like. Then there are the ones where a male is lifting a female in various ways. In some they would need to be strong men or gymnasts to hold the position. Yes there are some of a couple standing happily together, or a couple with children together. Vigeland must have had a very fertile imagination to come up with the ideas and designs. I thought that over all it was a good display with a distinct unity of style and theme, yet they must have been made over a number of years.

Some of the children's toes have been polished to a golden colour by repeated touching from passers by. No other part of anyone's anatomy has been similarly polished. So why children's toes? I don't know.

All the statues along the bridge are metal, brass I think while raised up on a terrace are the carved marble or was it concrete works. There are several flights of steps each going up a terrace until the peak is reached. Here is a carved column on a base of steps. Radiating out like spokes on a wheel are rows each containing three sculpture pieces. I think each of these pieces was a group of figures. Some of children were a mass of tangled bodies mixed together like a rugby scrum.

However, it was the column which commanded attention. Perhaps 10 metres high, or perhaps even taller, this white column was composed of tangled interwoven bodies of male and female adults and children I think that they would all have been life sized. It was an amazing collection and like a tower of life reaching heavenwards.

In the distance was a great circle made up or inter twining bodies. This hoop like display was on a raised block base.

One further part needs mention. This was a large raised square pond with a equally large raised bowl containing a fountain. At each corner of the square pond there were sculptured trees with children climbing amongst the branches.

Around the outer walls of the pond there were a series of brass panels each about a metre square and showing some activity involving human figures. Looking closely at some of these I decided that there was a certain kinkiness in some of the scenes depicted.

Near by was a formal rose garden with plenty of roses, but most just past their prime.

It was early evening when I left to catch a tram. Around the park lawns there were lots of groups having picnics or BBQs with disposable fire trays. Everyone seemed to be so relaxed at the end of a hot day. It seemed to be a good place to bring families.

I had enjoyed my visit here and wondered about the sculpturer. What a fertile imaginative he must have had to come up with so many different poses. What a passion he must have had to have stayed on task for the years the project must have taken.

From the gates I looked back at the great white column glistening in the early evening sunlight. At the happy crowds moving around or heading for the gates. Only one tour bus was left waiting. I read that over one million visitors come here every year. I wonder how many of those arrive in a tour bus?

I decided to ride my tram past the hotel stop and have another of my tram sightseeing rides. I went to the end of the route and then hopped onto a returning tram. We passed through a number of small suburban areas with local shops and bars and cafes. Usually there would be a small park nearby. There were quite a few areas I would describe as 'scruffy'. A bit run down and in need of a clean up. A number of road works and construction areas also added to the somewhat depressed look.

However, it is a good way to get a cross-section of the city and tram rides do not cost very much at all. And riding in a tram is fun, a novelty for someone from a land without trams.

On the ride out I spotted an interesting looking cafe so on the way back that is where I left the tram. It was only a few blocks from the hotel. It was an organic based menu using local produce. I had perhaps the best veal ever with Sardinian red wine which was ok too. Turned out that the owner had spend six months in NZ a few years ago and she would love to return to do more travel.

One day I took the tram to the part of the harbour where the ferry boats leave from. My tram ticket was valid for the ferry as well. It was a ten minute to ride across the harbout to the part of an island where several museums are grouped. I was heading for the Kon Tiki Museum.

The Kon Tiki Museum is based on Thor Heyerdahl's epic sailing adventures. Inside they have a full sized copy of the Ra. Several papyrus bundles make up the hull and there is a small hut on top and a sail. It did not look like a vessel you would want to sail across the Atlantic in, yet they did on a second attempt. Kon Tiki was a flat deck raft made from balsa trunks which are light but can easily dry out and break up. It took 101 days to sail from South America to one of the Tahitian islands in 1947. I can remember my primary school going to the cinema to watch this movie in the early 1950's. At the time it won an Academy Award for the best documentary. That Oscar is on show at the museum, which I thought was something special.

Heyerdahl also spent time on Easter Island trying to work out when and who were its first inhabitants.

So for each of these three areas there are supplementary displays of photographs and diagrams. Downstairs there are reconstructions of Easter Island caves which you can walk through. Not a lot to see though. There is also a small cinema showing films about the expeditions.

Despite the museum's suggestions that he was a great researcher and explorer, my understanding is that he was and still is a controversial figure in anthropology.

Across the road is the Fram Museum. Here the building was constructed around the actual ship. The Fram is a famous polar expedition ship. It is perhaps best know as the ship that took Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen to the Antarctic when he became the first person to reach the South Pole. But it was used by other Norwegian explorers such as Fridtjof Nansen.

The Fram was specially designed for work in ice. The hull was wider and rounder than the usual ship and it was smooth. The idea was that when it was trapped in the ice instead of the pressure crushing it, it would slip upwards. That the theory worked is evident by it being on display 100 years and more later.

It was possible to walk around the ship at several levels. From the top level I was able to walk onboard. Several decks were open for inspection. I was struck by the small size of the cabins for the 'top people', but they had little luxuries as well. For example a small grand piano and a horn gramophone.

Earlier the Fram had spent three years trapped and floating in the Northern ice flow. I also managed to sail across the north of Russia. So it is a sailing and steam vessel with plenty of history.

I gave the Maritime Museum a miss although there were a number of boats floating in the sea beside the museum and the ferry wharf. I did not go off to see the Viking Ship Museum because I have seen Viking ships in a Danish museum.

Late one afternoon – well more like early evening – I took a tram back into town to hunt out a building of interest which I had noticed from a distance previously. It was on the harbour front behind the railway station. The building was impressive and was in fact the Opera House. This could become a challenge to the Sydney Opera House.

It was all made with slabs of white marble. There was a large courtyard whish sloped down to the water level. Marble terraces ran along both sides as well. From the ground level great marble sloping inclines ran up beside the auditorium so that you could actually walk right up to the flat marble roof. I walked up as many others were doing and looked out over the harbour. Everyone seemed in a happy mood and they were obviously enjoying the outing.

Inside was a large foyer with vertical wooded slats running floor to high ceiling. This would be an acoustic device. Rom the cafe I got a salmon wrap and a glass of chardonnay (which cost much more than the wrap but was nice) and sat on the terrace pretending that I was some rich dude living it up. Ha-ha!

I would love to have gone to a concert or opera in the auditorium but nothing was on and it was my last night in the city.

Other city points:

being given free cans of an energy drink by the National Theatre buildings. The featured ingredients on the can label were the bottom of the ingredients list. Water then sugar then caffeine where the main ingredients. Still it was an experience and if need be I would consider dinking one again. And looking around the small park by the National Theatre, I could see people of all ages sitting and enjoying their free samples as well.

Statues – there are statues everywhere. Many are of nude or semi-nude figures which are mostly female. It was easy down by the ferry boats to count over a dozen near by just by turning a full circle. Most of the statues look like they have been in place for a long time. Perhaps they have.

I also thought that it was a multicultural city with many Moslem women in long dresses and head coverings. They were often accompanied by several children and often had a baby in a pram as well. As I traveled around and walked to cafes near the hotel, I would often pass groups of Middle Eastern men standing or sitting around chatting.