Ekebergparken is unique, an outdoor museum. It’s a trek through the historic, hilly forest of Ekeberg where Iron Age grave mounds and Bronze Age ritual sites lie. The sculptures spread across the 63-hectare park are the treats, so to speak. Your curiosity, if not the love for art, makes you seek out the next piece. If completed, then it’s a day’s worth of cardiovascular exercise and a priceless addition to treasured memories.

A water feature in the park.

When the sculptural park on Oslo-owned property was inaugurated in September 2013 through the initiative and financing of art collector Christian Ringnes, there were 31 sculptures installed, all owned by the man’s foundation.

One of my favorites. Matt Jognson's  "Levitating Woman" ( 2013. Bronze, 76 × 213 × 99 cm.). Its location & the season  was perfect.

Look at this from different angles. Tony Cragg's "Cast Glances" (2002. Bronze, 240 × 190 cm.)

"Ace of Diamonds" (2004.Stainless steel, 700 × 250 cm.) by British sculptor Lynn Chadwick.

The kids are loving it! "Möbius triple" (Möbius Triple. 1998. Diabase, 95 × 140 × 125 cm.) is by Aase Texmon Rygh, a Norwegian modernism pioneer.

Of the 31, I knew it was the published image that I had to see first. I viewed the oscillating tightly hugging silver figures hovering between trees, glistening in the morning sun from afar, near and under. Louise Bourgeois’ “The Couple” in aluminum was larger than life.

The other figure I sought out was in silver, a figure of a curvaceous, full-figured sensual woman. The image it represented is recognizable to many and British artist Richard Hudson’s is successful in that aspect. His organic art style molded a “Marilyn Monroe” from stainless steel.

Curvaceous & full-figured, RIchard Hudon's "Marilyn Monroe"

Yep, the hips are real. :)

The third sculpture in painted bronze might just be the most popular among the lot maybe because it’s along the walking path and anyone can “walk with it”, maybe because it’s so lifelike down to the detail of beads of perspiration or because it’s surprisingly tall for a woman who strides through the woods with intention. Sean Henry’s 7-footer “Walking Woman” attempts to heighten the spectator’s awareness of art and the nature around it.

Sean Henry’s 7-footer “Walking Woman” attempts to heighten the spectator’s awareness of art and the nature around it

I can feel the perspiration dripping on her face.

It's Des' turn to walk with the lady.

One can’t help go near Diane Maclean’s “Open Book”. Standing in front of her artwork, I became part of her piece as the pages reflected an image of me standing before a forest. This was what Maclean wanted to project— “blending books and knowledge with nature and its landscapes.”

Be one with the masterpiece. DIane Maclean's "Open Book" reflects her intention- to blend books & knowledge with nature

I became part of the story.

What I thought I would only see inside a museum can be found here, exposed to the elements. With the 21st century artworks are the older bronze pieces of the masters— Auguste Renoir’s 1914 “Venus Victrix” and 1917 “La grande laveuse”; Auguste Rodin’s 1881 “Eva” and the “Cariatide tombee a l’urne”; and Salvador Dali’s “Venus Milo aux tiroirs.”

Washing clothes. Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "La grande Laveuse" (1914-1916. Bronze, 122 × 134 cm.)

After the fall from grace…. Auguste Rodin's "Eva" (1881. Bronze, 84 cm.)

Salvador Dali's "Venus de Milo aux tiroirs" (1936.Bronse, 220 cm.)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Venus Victrix" (1914-1916. Bronze, 180 cm.) aka Venus the Conqueror, depicts the goddess of love who has vanquished her competitors

With funding set aside, the Ekibergparken is planning to acquire more pieces to total 80 sculptures in the future. With this year’s plan to add more trails, water details plus the addition of 25 new sculptures, it would be an exciting thought to revisit this park soon.

Buy Buseyne's "Reflections" (2006) was inspired by Rodin's "The Thinker"

It's placed near the park's sandbox & often children keep it company. For example: see photo below.

Keeping her company & doing my own reflecting.

From a page on a magazine to real time, Ekiberparken- checked.

The 45-hectare green expanse is the Frogner Park (Frognerparken) in the borough of Frogner. Made public in 1896, this is the largest park and the most popular tourist attraction in Norway receiving an annual visitor count of about two million.

The name of the borough and park was derived from the manor in the South side of the park, the Frogner Manor, which also houses the Oslo City Museum. The Park also holds a bath (Frognerbadet), a stadium, a pond, and the most popular section at the park’s present center, which many erroneously refer to as the “Vigeland Park.”

Maybe because it’s the section (perhaps, the only) most of us would see when visiting the Frogner Park that it was eventually lead to be called the “Vigeland Sculpture Park.” Vigeland is not a park but the name of the art arrangement in Frogner Park.

Originally called the Tortberg installation, the 1920-commenced installation of the sculptures by artist Gustav Vigeland is world famous. It is the world’s largest sculpture park made by a single artist.

Vigeland’s section occupies more than 2/3 of the park size, or 32 hectares. A total of 212 granite and bronze statues sculpted in the Human Condition theme are exhibited, most of which are placed in five units along an 850-meter long axis starting with the monumental Main Gate forged of granite and wrought iron.

The Frogner Park gates

A closer look at the forged iron & granite gate

Second, the Bridge with 58 sculptures including the most adorable and perhaps the most popular— the Angry Boy (Sinnataggen), a boy having a temper tantrum. At its end is the Children's playground 8 bronze statues of children at play.

The bridge holds 58 statues

Life imitating art which imitated life. Perhaps the most popular sculpture of the 212 Vigeland sculptures- the Angry Boy

Third, the Fountain of bronze, which projects “from death comes new life,” is surrounded with 60 bronze reliefs of humans in tree branches.

Fourth, the Monolith plateau sits on the highest point of the park and the most popular attraction. At its center is the 14.12-meter tower carved from a single block, which took 14 years for 3 carvers to finish.
The composition is of 121 embracing human figures rising towards the sky with a single purpose—to get closer with the spiritual and divine. Surrounding the monolith are 36 figure groups extending a “circle of life” message.

The Monolith plateau is the most popular area in the park

121 embracing bodies with a single purporse rising towards the sky. On the right, 1 of the 36 sculptural groups surrounding the monolith

Fifth, the 1933-crafted Wheel of Life lies at the end of the axis. The wheel is a wreath of four adults, a child and a baby, which symbolizes man’s journey from “the cradle to the grave”, the overall theme of the Vigeland installation.

My leisurely stroll in the park took several hours off my very short visit in Oslo, which didn’t even include seeing the Manor. Why? Because I was like a kid at play enjoying the sculptures across the park. It was worth every minute of the visit.

For more photos about this story and other travel stories, visithttp://jeepneyjinggoy.blogspot.com/.For lifestyle stories, visit http://apples-and-lemons.blogspot.com/


Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on August 20, 2015.