oslo ++++

this is an epic post, so get comfortable.
GOOD NEWS!
Jesper, my trusty officemate and friend, helped me find a community center where i could develop my own film for a very low price. and last night i did a marathon and developed 8 rolls! so, i have the negatives that i can scan and share with you. i am still working out a scanner that really gets the negs well, but this post has some scans that i tried to make presentable enough for you, my savvy readers.

first, meet Lasse! This is Ane, Kristin and Årild's dog. I stayed with them in Blaker and they were amazing hosts. I will post pics of them when i can scan the negatives better. all the people shots are too light.



That is most definitely Lasse hording my shoe. I took it as a sign of affection, though he wouldn't let that thing go. I was scheming a plan to lure him away with a piece of Jarlsberg cheese(his current favorite--such a mature, Scandinavian palate), when Årild came into the house and there is really no better distraction than his Papa.

The first night that I actually stayed in Oslo, I didn't have any plans, but I had seen a poster in a bar window for music that was free and something about caught my eye, so I decided I would have a beer there after I had rested from my day of walking around. When I got there, the band was sweet--playing good covers--and then they had a break. I had brought a book on the off chance I would find myself alone and so I began to read. Not long after someone asked my what I was reading and before I knew it I was meeting a whole table of Norwegians who were sweet and fun and great conversation. I mentioned that I thought the hotdog stands were cool and one guy told that, that day's paper had a magazine insert with Norwegian hot dog stands as the cover story. On my way home I picked up a copy and it was true! 8 pages of glossy hotdog glory! It was incredible. I have scanned a few to show you, though, I haven't really dedicated myself to trying to read the text. but, i am not alone. in fact, i may have really struck a chord with this hot dog stuff.


And, though a Danish dog is not perfect by any stretch, I do have to say I rate it higher than the Norwegian dogs, which are mostly steamed, not grilled. Big difference.



One last thing. My colleague at the Center is writing her PhD and one of her subjects is a town not far from Copenhagen. Her main text is a book from the 50's that has all these cute drawings/pics of the town and one has the cutest hot dog stand in it. The three pics above are the drawing, a close up of the hotdog sign(i highlighted the text in yellow) and a picture of the new stand that is there now, present day. Cool. So, as I suspected, the Danes have been doing this hot dog stand gig for quite some time now. Maybe I can find an even earlier example.

oslo + trivia

i finally submitted a draft of my thesis. i am taking today off because i have worked so many hours since i returned and then it is back to 9-5, using my freetime to make things, daydream, take walks and explore copenhagen. today i am starting to post about beautiful oslo, our partner to the north. on my first day exploring, i did the museum circuit and regret not buying books for the Sverre Fehn exhibit at the National Museum for Art, Architecture, and Design, which by the way if FREE to ALL, ALL THE TIME.

a page from Sverre Fehn's many sketchbooks which put my sketchbooks to shame but also opened my eyes to so much more that i could do. his drawings are anything but perfect, but extremely accurate. full of feeling and life. i was very impressed. and i don't think i really know how to talk about his architecture so i will leave it to you do discover. why didn't i buy that book!? i thought it was too heavy. darn.

Løwaas and Wagle

can anyone identify this?

can anyone identify this?
Then i crossed the street to the Museum of Contemporary Art
which is also FREE to ALL and there was an exhibit with a huge collection of WOVEN arts! Løwaas and Wagle weave fabric, paper, panty-hose, you name it and the results are incredible. I was really struck by there work. Do, go to the link and scroll through the 10 or so images on the front page and see more. it is so worth it. it really inspired me to take those woven postcards to the next level! The collection there was very impressive and full of things that i would pick if i could afford them. i think we must have similar taste! i was making notes in my little pocket notebook about the names of the art/artists above but some of the pages are missing and i need your help. does anyone recognize these? maybe there is a prize in it for whoever guesses, so if you answer, leave your address.

ok. it's my day off! i am going to go mess around and do NO work!

this one's for grandma

i haven't been able to get into a dark room to develop all the film pictures i have taken (and it's soooo expensive at the photo store) and so, first, all summer i will be posting pictures from the trip that are held in the silver gelatins of my tiny film canisters. i sure wish i could see them now. but second, the most urgent consequence of not printing real pictures is that my grandma doesn't use the internet, as far as i know, so i haven't been able to show her what i am seeing. so, i found a cheap old polaroid at a flea market in berlin full of exposures and with a new cartridge of exposures. the film that was in the camera must be old, but the effect is kind of pretty. these are my two most recent polaroids and one is the beginning of posts about norway. the color striping only happened when i scanned it. they really are almost exclusively orange and yellow. click the photos to see them at full size.