Window Displays Offer Insight to Hopes and Aspirations of Stavanger Residents

Many Norwegians take for granted the ubiquitous window displays, or mini-galleries, that grace the streets of Stavanger. I have been greeted with shrugs of shoulders upon my inquiries to locals about the nature and meaning of the artwork, which has only left me more curious. Transcending the social and economic strata, this proliferation of individualized window art has also been noted and swiftly adopted by many immigrants, so it is no longer a uniquely native Norwegian phenomenon. Indeed, it is a common thread that binds everyone who lives in or passes through Stavanger, and therefore is a major source of pride in the area.

But what does it all mean? There are far too many displays for it to be considered purely an action by quirky individuals crying out for attention or validity in a socially conservative society. I have come to understand it as a window into the thoughts and dreams of the local residents.

The displays have been interpreted as a way to distinguish one house from another, since most are strikingly similar in appearance and texture, the colors ranging from white to gray to pale yellow and "baby poop" yellowish brown, but I think that no matter how disoriented one becomes under the influence of intoxicants, one can always find his own home.

Frequently plastic flowers are featured as a centre-piece to the exhibits. The better ones are faded by the sun, to give the appearance of comfort, like a familiar old pair of blue jeans. But the flowers are not a necessity - many windows feature flowerless plastic plants, again, the more faded the better. Some have interpreted the plastic plants and flowers as a softness in the heart of the Norwegians, like the longing for a more moderate climate that could foster such a sophisticated, beautiful type of organism. I have found, however, that an indoor environment almost anywhere is conducive to growing flowering and non-flowering plants, such as orchids, ferns, and geraniums, with only a minimal care needed.

Flowers, in general, represent the conception of an eternal Spring - a time of freshness, growth, curiosity, newness, imagination, enchantment, love, wonder, renaissance, and fruition. Plants represent a simplicity of life and basic needs, a balance of give and take. The plant collects light, water, and nutrients from the Earth, and in exchange changes carbon dioxide into fresh oxygen. It represents co-existence of different life forms. It says that we need each other, and on a more profound level, we are all inter-related, be we Scandinavian, African, Latin, Asian or Continental. Our different skills and cultures help each other to thrive. Add the plastic nature into the picture, and the result is a well-intentioned, manufactured synthetic society. In this society, appearance matters more than substance. Like hospitality to a stranger, at first it seems genuine, but over time the enthusiasm fades, as do the plastic flowers. A presentation of how we see the unlimited possibilities of our bountiful world when we are young eventually turns into a presention of the faded hopes and aspirations of a manufactured world as we age and our egalitarian ideals fade, and we turn our attention and imagination toward making and hoarding money. In seeming compensation, many of the older displays feature pottery, sculptures and idols, to represent the exchange of beautiful ideals for garish material wealth, the more crass the better the representation. Others feature old-timey artifacts to demonstrate the longing for simpler more innocent times. In fact, these days, many of the newer exhibits dispense entirely with the illusion of moral beauty and feature only distasteful knick-knacks, sometimes interlaced with pseudo-religious or sexual undertones. Some of the disillusioned younger folk even dispense entirely with all of the above and display only spent beer bottles to show their frustration with the situation. No fooling around here.

To underscore the popularity of these displays, Stavanger boasts numerous retail establishments that service this demand, and a Saturday market has even sprung up by popular demand, where residents can purchase or trade all levels of such demonstrative objects, as pictured below.

In the end, the window art exhibits are an expression of visual protest to the inescapable closed-minded manufactured society that has been allowed to dominate the lives of the inhabitants.

Norway Swings to the Left

Joins Spain, Portugal, France, Holland and Italy in leftward shift.

"The bloc led by Labour Party is set to get 88 seats, while Mr Bondevik's coalition is trailing with 81 seats. Labour has vowed to spend more on welfare benefits using oil revenues. Mr Bondevik had called for tax cuts. "

Broken Umbrella, Broken Bicycle

I've literally stumbled upon a brilliant Norwegian concept based on, and in answer to Broken Column, a set of sculptures that an Englishman placed about town. Many websites feature all of the quantitative data associated with Broken Column, such as distance above sea level, size, and maps to locate them, detailed information on constuction and placement methods and so forth, and refrain from trying to interpret the meaning of the work. The following Norwegian concepts defy quantitative analysis, and therefore the viewer is left with a more pure environment for reflecting on the nature of their meaning.

Broken Umbrella is a popular interactive work in which many loosely associated artists participate. The umbrellas, once transformed to appear to be broken, are placed about town, but not actually secured to the ground, so each day the sculpture actually physically changes shape and form! Most are neither open nor closed but somewhere in between, some appearing to be open and closed concurrently, I imagine to represent discord, and they are always carefully placed to approximate the illusion of the randomness of life in flux. New umbrellas are constantly being added in the Broken Umbrella Festival season, which usually runs from October through May, with the exception of December through February, which is Lost Glove Festival season. If you observe closely, you can even catch a glimpse of these elusive anarchic artists creating their works.

From June through September, a different subset of artists take over, and Norwegians celebrate Broken Bicycle. BB follows the same pattern, but features a combination of temporary and permanent works. You need to be quick to chart the location of, or photograph the temporary ones because the locations are frequently changed. The exhibits are a striking portrayal of the human spirit. Once new, clean and free to fly about, and over time, piece by piece, component by component, gradually worn down and damaged from overwork and rusted from an opressive environment, the tyres flattened and dry-rotted from supressed emotions, feelings, dreams, imagination, and finally, with a lack of care the bicycles, representing spiritual freedom, are disposed of like a cheap commodity.

Also from June through August, but mostly on Thursday through Sunday nights, the related Broken Bottle and Broken Nose festivals, dubbed "Living Art," are celebrated. The overarching principle is careful planning to ensure an appearance of chaos to the viewing public.

These works specifically define and secure Stavanger's place in its new title of "European City of Culture, 2008."