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World's Best Parks

February 27th 2007 07:15

City parklands are usually welcomed by weary travellers as a sanctuary from the sensory overload that comes with dedicated sightseeing.
Of course, many parks are true tourist attractions in their own right, like New York’s Central Park, London’s Hyde Park, the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris and Munich’s English Garden to name just a few. But even at these world famous standouts, the appeal lies mostly in slowing down the pace, taking a break and watching the world, and the citizens of a foreign city, go by.

Oslo’s Vigeland Park however takes the standard park experience to a whole new level. This unique park on the inner western fringe of the Norwegian capital, is a smorgasbord of sights courtesy of more than 200 fascinating full-size human sculptures from local sculptor Gustav Vigeland.
Vigeland Park is probably best described as a study of human life. It could also be termed ‘giggle park’ judging by the squeals of many of the young female tourists during our visit.
See, all of Vigeland’s sculptures are nude. Not only nude but also nude and engaged in a diverse range of everyday pursuits such as crying, fighting, wrestling, hugging, holding hands, climbing, running, dancing, dreaming, sitting, standing and chasing. These granite and bronze sculptures, clustered along the park’s main tree-lined boulevard, depict human beings of all ages in an overall theme focused on the circle of life.
The centrepiece of this amazing open-air artistic showcase is the imposing 14 metre-high monolith. Carved from a single granite pillar, it features a writhing mass of entwined human bodies, all striving and undermining each other to reach the top. Like most of Vigeland’s works, and indeed any study of humanity, the monolith is open to endless interpretations, ranging from phallic symbolism to the struggle for existence.

The plateau area around the monolith continues the display of multiple-body sculptures with groupings of humans, from babies and children to elderly men and women, shown in a variety of activities and emotional states. The best thing about this art display is there are no signs not to touch. It is a real hands-on experience (just be careful where you put your hands!).

Another real showpiece of Vigeland Park is the fountain where six huge male figures are holding aloft a bowl from which water splashes down around them. The bridge and its bronze child-themed sculptures lining both sides is another highlight and this where you can find one of the park’s most popular and most photographed sculptures ‘Little Hot-Head’.
Vigeland’s talents are also showcased in the bronze wheel of life display and in the park’s iron gates. He also designed the architectural setting and layout of the grounds, which are a popular picnic, recreation and relaxation spot. This is just as well as you may be looking for some quiet park space to catch you breath in after taking in Vigeland’s stunning array of emotion-charged and thought-provoking works.
Unfortunately, Gustav Vigeland did not live to see the park named in his honour in its full glory. The City of Oslo recognised his sculpting talents in the 1920s and built him a studio in return for all his future works. Around the same time, the parkland was set aside for an open-air showcase of his works and Vigeland devoted the rest of his life to new sculptures for the park. However, many of these sculptures and architectural elements were not installed in the park until after his death in 1943.

Enough from me. This is my favourite park that I have come across in my travels. What’s yours?

This article was recently published in The Sunday-Mail in Adelaide.