Photo Essay: Oslo's pride - the Vigeland Sculpture Park

The Monolitt is the crown of the Frognerpark, which contains 212 sculptures in granite, cast-iron or bronze. The Monolit it self is 17 meters and stands maybe as a symbol of the human struggle for the devine? Are the 121 figures drawn up towards the heaven? Nobody knows, but you can find hope, despare and longing amongst the people carved in stone over a period of 14 years.

From a photographers point of view the park is a free-models-who-stand-in-posision-forever paradise! Here you have over 200 statues in every thinkable posision, you have as many stone statues you would like and you have the monolit, where numerous of people climbe, sit, give up, struggle, live or die.

I used one early moring to go there to take some photographs. I stood up at 5.45 am (OK not so early), the park was empty, and I could find a parking-lot just ourside of it. The parking-lot is free until 9 am, but it has only a few slots.

The sun was on its way up and gave me some dramatic shadows. It was just for me to set up my manfrotto and start taking pictures. The granit calls for black and white pictures, but the bronze are well suited for color pictures. The park are over 800 meters long with water, a fountain and lot's of grass. You can often see dogs and their owners doing their thing, or families having a picnic in the park during the summer-times.

For americans - this is the park where the 4th of July party is arranged every year in Oslo, usually on the weekend before 4th of July.

Back to the Monolit. The solide stone were the work of three stone-carvers over a period of 14 years, between 1929 - 1943, the vision was Gustav Vigelands alone. Gustav Vigeland lived between 1869 - 1943.