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.

              

Works by Edvard Munch

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.

Works by Britta Marakatt-Labba

 

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.

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