Museum Day
Written by: Kobe Seguin, Business
After being awake for over 36 hours, I slept like a log, but my 7-hour sleep has never gone by so quickly. What followed was a very busy day of touring Oslo by foot to get a grasp of what the city has to offer and in order to gain our bearings/orientation on our ‘rest day’. I was expecting to sleep well once more, hopeful to finally catch up on my sleep. Unfortunately that was not the case. Instead I found myself in bed awake at 3:00am thinking that I’m tired, frustrated, and have to be up in 5 hours, ready to put on my happy face and thinking cap to be prepared for our day of not 1, not 2, but 3 museums on my designated blog day. This was a challenge I knew wouldn’t necessarily be easy, but one I was ready to take on. The morning arrived, but my energy did not. I went down to the lobby to try and make up for my lack of energy through the consumption of 3 coffees and the yummy continental breakfast offered by the hotel. Although it tasted lovely, it simply wasn’t enough to bring me back to life. Regardless, our day began, and it was time to set out on the journey, even if I felt like a complete zombie.
Our first stop was at
the Munch Museum where Edvard Munch’s art is shared in a beautiful modern
building. Our purpose in being there was to explore the “Trembling Earth”
exhibit which included the depiction of his many variations of nature within
themed exhibit rooms such as “In the Forest”, “Cultivated Landscape”, “On the
shore” and more. To be fully transparent, I was a tad worried I wouldn’t enjoy
It because I am not typically an individual who is able to appreciate art to
the fullest. That said, my peers Trinity and Jessica would kindly share their
interpretations which would help me expand my thinking and understanding of
what messages were potentially being portrayed. The exhibit and art shared the
idea that humans and nature are not inherently separate beings, and neither of
them exists to dominate the other. Instead, they co-exist interdependently, and
if we respect/work with the land appropriately, then the land reciprocates and
provides and meets our needs. It seemed interesting to me that an artist from
the 1800/1900s was illuminating a relationship and concept that are so relatable
to contemporary issues when considering the relationship between humans and
nature/environment today. I enjoyed the way that humans were commonly depicted in the
art; they were rarely the focus of the piece. Instead, the art shared
the focus between nature and people, creating a balance. To me, no piece would
have been nearly as powerful if either subject was taken away. A few of my
favourite pieces are shown below.
After exploring the
Munch museum, the group took the heel-toe express and headed to the National Museum in
Oslo. We were fortunate to view the extensive exhibition of renowned Sámi
artist, Britta Marakatt-Labba, called “Moving the Needle”. The exhibit shared
Sámi history and perspectives on environmental/climate issues faced by the Sámi
people through the use of hand-stitched embroidery on a variety of materials.
It was fascinating to explore the work while also trying to comprehend the
skill and effort that went into making the art. By this time in the day, my lack of
energy had completely caught up to me and many others in the group. However, the
experience was not disregarded, and the exhibit remained inspirational for many
of us as many pieces seemed to create discussions in relation to our course and
projects. One part that resonated with my project-partner and I was the
paragraph and embroidery shown below. The first piece is depiction of a forest in its natural state
followed by another depiction after it has been deforested. This piece portrays
in a simple manner the impacts of natural resource “management” and human
intervention - benefiting some but ultimately interfering with nature's life
cycles and negatively impacting the landscape for Sámi people.
After exploring these two “heavier” art exhibits on “low-battery mode”, I was happy to sit down with the group to recharge and have a meal by the ocean. It was much needed before we departed by ferry to attend the FRAM (Polar Exploration Museum). This museum had me the most excited and it did not disappoint me. I could have spent much more time at this museum, but time restrictions and exhaustion squashed that opportunity. I love the interactive elements and being able to enter the first ship built in Norway for Polar research. It brought out the child in me. The ship was used for 3 explorations over a 19-year period and we emersed ourselves in information and a staged ship to see what life would have been like on the ship and expeditions. Although it was absolutely stinky in the boat, I thoroughly enjoyed exploring it.
Photo by: https://frammuseum.no/media-library/
After returning to the hotel from a long day, we dragged ourselves out to eat once more
and we ended the night hanging out, sharing stories of our experiences from
the day. A group of people who never knew each other before are coming together
and a variety of personalities are clashing in the most perfect ways. This contributes to the beauty of this trip and experience.
Once again, I found
myself lying in bed, but this time feeling at ease. I fell asleep thinking
about the travelling reminder that when you take everything in stride,
you can handle any challenging that is presented. My low energy was
counterbalanced by amazing experiences and the lovely individuals there to help
carry the weight.
For more photos and content, follow us on Instagram: @tilenorway2024.
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