Art on Campus
Art on Campus
Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life, Pablo Picasso tells us. I think he is right. But what on earth does the crucified bronze cow outside of the Veterinarian institute mean? Or the picnic bag in front of Urbygningen? The grotesque iron valkyrie outside of Sørhellinga? Our brain struggles to find a box in which to put these strange works of art. They are detached from our regular experience of our material surroundings; our points of reference which have guided us through the world since birth. Art unfastens us from our uninspiring academic routines and stereotypical lives, and catapults us into a dimension where our brain is at its greatest capacity: the dimension where we think, wonder and reflect – and do not really know. What is better for the student mind than art, which forces us to think in new ways?
Journalist & Translator: Benjamin Alexander Faulkner
Photographer: Margreta Brunborg
Now, with these words put to bed, let us begin our journey through KOROs new art guide for our campus: “The art of the art walk”, as it is so appropriately called. It is filled to the rafters with curious descriptions and intellectual avalanches. Not all of you have the time, or even the desire, to walk the whole tour, so Tuntreet will do it for you – with a scarf and a beret. Here is a little collection of artistic highlights you will find on campus!
Nr. 2 Steinar Haga Kristensen. The Study, 2020.
This thing suddenly appeared by Ås gård in 2020. It is enigmatic and aloof, high up on the heath. The human head appears to be engaged in an intimate confrontation with an undeterminable mass. Perhaps an artful depiction of our encounters with abstract ideas and concepts? Approach the sculpture, and gaze upon this interplay between man and thought.
Nr 4. Two parts. Maren Dagny Juell. Tutorial#14 The Party, video, 2021 and The Party, 3D-printed plastic bottles on steel poles, 2021.
Just as we left Nordskogen, we had a visual of our target. A few meters into the thicket, we saw a congregation of bottles, suspended in mid-air. They were quite colourful and quite peculiar. As students of this sinful society, we are used to seeing discarded bottles on the ground, but here they are almost transcendent. “Here we are,” they said. “We are not like the others.” And they are right. These are biodegradable and may disappear completely within a decade.
On the edge of Arboretveien, we eyed the second part of this art installation. An enormous screen, displaying the rolling credits of a film as we approached. There was only one thing to do. To see it. And that we did. Though a few vague existentialist notions and semierotic descriptions of food containers burnt a hole in our skulls, we are none the wiser. The film is set in a kind of futuristic society where a few young women have ordered a sort of transcendental “tupperware” experience. It was a good old critique of our human fascination for plastic food containers. If you have ten minutes to spare, then go watch the film!
Nr 11. Fritz Røed. Veterinarian on carneval in Venezia, ca 1990.
This sculpture excites many of us. A suit of armour, the head of a cow, a spiked jockstrap, stilts, violent dragon spikes and a sweet disarming flower on the knee. Behold this beast of an artwork, created by Fritz Røed and cast in bronze. It is hard to decipher its purpose here, but one can always wonder. I really can not say any more. On a more serious note, Fritz Røed has also produced the artwork “Swords in mountain” by Hafrsfjord.
Nr 26. Aurora Sander. The Secession, 2020.
Want to go on a picnic? The next work of art is a carpet, supported by springs to imitate the experience of sitting on a flying carpet. This artwork may be a reference to the legendary cooling bag in front of Tårnbygningen. From here, you can contemplate the kitchen garden, but watch out for the ants!
Nr 27. Daniel Dewar and Grégory Gicquel. The Waste, 2020.
We have arrived at a tasteful chunk of Portuguese marble, also known as the bathroom marble of the 80s, also known as the marble of your grandmothers. But there is something amiss. On top of the marble, a human being is nearly engulfed by the rock, ending up at a sink. The art piece is titled “The Waste”, and questions our human relationship with rubbish. On a different note, it is a great birdbath.
Nr 28. Siri Bjerke, Des Fleurs V, 2021.
Behold this miniature obelisk in Turkish basalt with a pleasant lump on top. Someone has taken great care in carving in a sort of grid system on top, as well. Embrace the rock, and feel the transition from polished stone to hard, rough rock at the bottom. Tuntreet appreciates Multiconsult for their contribution to NMBU.
Nr 29. Kathrin Schlegel. Feeding from the Tree of Knowledge, 2020.
As the artwork is described, the person behind it has extracted a piece of lichen from Tuntreet by Cirkus and Tivoli, placed it under the microscope and used it as inspiration for this astonishing artwork. It is a great explosion of organic life, cast in bronze, and a monumental celebration of the academic accumulation of knowledge. The sculpture is just fascinating, so spend some time looking at its shifting shadows and forceful movement.
Nr 56. Boge Berg. “Frøya”, a goddess of fertility, 1982.
Gaze upon the Beauty of Sørhellinga and despair: an unparallelled BDSM fantasy stands before you. Here, Freya, the Norse god of war and sex, has taken a repulsive guise, and the intimate intercourse between her and the two people underneath expresses a different experience of the erotic; one of domination and awe. Random elements have seemingly latched onto her body. After all, she is not a defined being, but the end product of what we want her to be. We did not linger by this sculpture for too long, as it somehow gets more and more discomforting as time passes.
Nr 64. Carl Nesjar, Helårsfontene, 1971.
Go to Aud.Max and take your hat off for this great monument, created by Carl Nesjar. Its orbiting musical staves flutter about like our culture here at Ås does, and the triumphal globe on top celebrates Samfunnet’s international cultural supremacy. Drunk or sober, on your way to a concert or kicked out with a footprint on your arse; the sculpture bids you welcome with inebriated optimism.
This art walk is a splendid Sunday activity! Sculptures and artworks situated outside can change dramatically, according to weather and season, so take a few more walks throughout the term. We are grateful to KORO for producing this excellent art tour. Remember: a description of an artwork is just another personal perspective. How you experience art is radically subjective and unique, so try not to debase your first encounter with an art piece by reading the fixed description first. Enjoy!
