Celebration of life

Late summer, I was visiting  a friend in Oslo. The weather was great, the city was busy and we tried to find somewhere to eat at Karl Johan (Oslo main street). While waiting for food, I looked around and my attention was drawn towards a statue in the park across the street, and people's reactions to it and interaction with it.

The statue depicts the pagan god Pan and Pan was known for his sexual powers. So there he was in the middle Oslo with an erected organ and was getting a lot of attention from people passing by, young and old. A great photo opportunity.

I loved to sit and watch the 'buzz' and the playful interaction the statue created with it's 'audience'. So simple and joyful. A lot of neglected public art would envy this attention. The statue is a creation of Per Ung who died recently (2013). Per Ung was/is probably one of the greatest norwegian artists of our time and I guess that he would love to see his statue becoming 'alive' this way.  A celebration of life.

Sheep Station

The cool thing about New York is the surprises you experience just by being there. After a nice walk along the High Line, we walked into a filling station, a Getty Station. A derelict station with a green garden. I count 25 sheep on the lawn.

I learned that 'Getty Station' is a public art program based at the former Getty filling station curated by the art collector Michael Shvo and Paul Kasmin Gallery to bring outdoor exhibitions to a broad audience. The program centers on site specific installations with the idea to present twentieth century art icons in a contemporary setting. The sheep are made of epoxy stone and bronze and are "Moutons" made by Les Lalanne. Les Lalanne refers to the french couple, Claude Lalanne (b. 1924)  and François-Xavier Lalanne (1927 - 2008). They're known individually and collectively since the 1960s. Les Lalanne developed a style that defines inventive, poetic and surrealist sculpture and both found inspiration for their works in nature.

On the wall by the station there is a street art work by JR and Jose Parla ('wrinkles of the city'). The street art, the industrial gas station architecture and the 'Moutons' creates a surrealist landscape in the middle of the city. ‘Moutons’ have become Lalanne’s most iconic work and the 'sheep station' installation gave us energy and started lively talk among us as we migrated further into the urban jungle.