Daily Archives: June 15, 2024

The Astrup Fearnley modern art museum

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The Astrup Fearnley modern art museum

Thursday, 23-May-2024


And now for something completely different.

On what could possibly be the complete opposite end of the spectrum from Banksey, or maybe is closer than an Engineer like myself realizes, I brought myself to the Astrup Fearnley museum of modern art to continue the parade of culture into my brain.

When I arrived, I learned that the parade would be a bit shorter than I’d expected, though… as the museum was basically cut in half by a renovation project currently in process. The good news – admission was half off. The bad news – there was less than half of a museum left to see.

I’m nothing if not optimistic, though, so I took the half-full glass in front of me and headed inward to explore the museum available to me, consoling myself with the knowledge that I’d have some extra free time to visit other museums… and/or cafes… afterward.




What I found was… extreme. There were three pieces that I absolutely fell head over heels for (shown above), along with a fair number that I wasn’t particularly fond of. That’s modern art, though, right? A departure from the purely representational art of landscapes and light, moving into things that speak more directly to people’s ideas?

Maybe.

Or maybe I’ve been visiting too many art museums.

WE’LL NEVER KNOW!

The Banksey Exhibition in Oslo

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The Banksey Exhibition in Oslo

Thursday, 23-May-2024


Yesterday was my natural history day – the museum, the botanical garden… lots of beauty, but lots of natural beauty.

Today was for something no less beautiful. Today was my art day.

I started off at a really interesting pop-up that I’d noticed while perusing google maps – a show in town, not permanent, for an artist who I’ve enjoyed for quite some time. Banksey, arguably the most publicized graffiti artist in the world.



The exhibition was interesting. It was almost all reproductions, from what I could tell, which was disappointing… but also makes sense in retrospect. My biggest takeaway, surprisingly enough, was just how commercialized his work is. How many pieces have been sold, and just how much money’s been made by his work.

I wouldn’t say that’s a bad thing, though. The final entry in the exhibition was about how he “did what all millionaires do, and bought a yacht”… but, in keeping with the irony of his work, that yacht is actually a rescue ship working to save migrants in the Mediterranean.

Doing that is a good reason to be a millionaire, I have to say.