There has always been a lot of mysterious and mystical in art. For example, there are entire sculptural parks in the world that make a completely irrational impression.
Gustav Vigeland's Infernal Park
The Norwegian capital Oslo is home to one of the world's largest sculpture parks. It was created over 35 years, from 1907 to 1942. sculptor Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943).
The exhibition is part of the Frogner Park in west Oslo. On an area of 30 hectares, there are 227 sculptural objects depicting people in different conditions and engaged in various activities. Moreover, all the characters are naked and their nakedness is ugly, and not at all aesthetic, as in the examples of ancient art. The plots also sometimes cause rejection among viewers who are not able to understand the philosophical implications of the work. So, one of the sculptures depicts an adult man fighting off a horde of babies. Critics do not exclude that the composition is based on biographical motives: Vigeland flatly refused to communicate with two children, whom one of his wives gave birth to, his former model Laura Andersen, and when entering into relationships with his models, he always demanded that they do not even think about pregnancy …
Monolith.
However, many of Vigeland's creations describe deep philosophical concepts. For example, the Monolith obelisk is carved
Promotional video:
from a solid block of granite. Its height is 14.12 m, and the composition includes 121 sculptures. Around the plateau there are 36 sculptural groups depicting people symbolizing the "cycle of life". To get to the plateau, you have to overcome eight pairs of ornate wrought iron gates. The general idea is to show the path of man from the earthly to the divine.
Another composition, a bronze fountain, is decorated with statues of people and skeletons hanging from the branches of giant trees. The bottom of the fountain is lined with white and black granite. The main idea is that after death comes new life.
The Wheel of Life was hand-made by the sculptor in 1933-1934. The "wreath" of sculptures depicting four adults and a child symbolizes a person's life, which in fact represents his journey from birth to death.
The wheel of life.
Sanctuary of William Ricketts
At Mount Dandenong, near the Australian city of Melbourne, on an area of four acres, is the so-called William Ricketts Sanctuary (Sanctuary of William Ricketts), today turned into a national park. Sometimes it is also called a reserve.
Ricketts (1898-1993), a native of Richmond, in addition to sculpture, was engaged in pottery and jewelry, as well as playing the violin. He had no family. At 33, he purchased a piece of land right in the middle of the Olinda rainforest and built a wooden hut there, which he called Potter's Sanctuary (Sanctuary of the Potter). From 1949 to 1960 the master wandered across Central Australia, living for a long time in the communities of local aborigines.
In such conditions, he spent more than 30 years and during this time created 92 sculptures, which are a whole exposition in the open air. Some of the creations are made of wood, others are made of ceramics. But these are unusual works.
Ricketts believed that the aborigines of Australia have a special, mystical connection with the nature around them, that they are an integral part of it. The sculptor was worried about the environmental crisis, the separation of man from nature, he dreamed of leaving a message to future generations, to convey to them his view of the world. “Spirituality is eternal and I want people to appreciate it.
the sanctuary is like an eternal path. All my work pays homage to eternal life,”Ricketts said. "I believe that we are connected with this whole life and we cannot be separated."
The moss-covered torsos of the statues protrude directly from tree trunks and giant boulders. There are men, women, and children here … It is as if a whole tribe is in front of us. There are even tattoos on bodies, and the color shades are close to natural. Some statues have wings. Some are related to each other. So, "Earthly Mother" depicts a naked woman, into whose body many human heads have "grown". Children carry exotic local animals on their shoulders …
At the entrance to the park, tourists are greeted by the master's statement: "Each of us is a transformer of Divine Power, and when love searches are formed in sculpture and music, we are richly blessed, because through this we can reach God." I think the goal has been achieved.
Veijo Rönkkonen Alien Park
In the village of Koitsanlahti, Parikkala commune (Finland), the Patsapuisto park is laid out, decorated with a huge number of concrete sculptures made by Veijo Rönkkonen (1944-2010). He sculpted 560 statues for 50 years.
Some sculptures depict people doing yoga, others - ordinary people, possibly those with whom the sculptor was familiar, including children. Still others are natives. The fourth - it seems, too, people, but some strange, look like aliens … Many statues without clothes. There are also images of animals and birds.
It seems that you are in some unreal world inhabited by unreal characters. Despite the "rudeness", many of them look alive and even frightening. This effect is most likely caused by the fact that the statues have glass eyes that seem to be watching you all the time. One way or another, the Patsapuisto Sculpture Park makes an ominous impression on almost everyone and in 2015, according to media reports, even entered the top twenty most frightening tourist destinations.
Author: Irina Shlionskaya