European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 22, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                At left plaster copies of Vigeland s statues. Below part of the 80-acre Park in Oslo Norway that is devoted to his work. At left the face of a squawking boy in Bronze and the sketch from which i gel and worked. Quot the Park started with a Fountain and then it grew and grew and grew and grew. People were afraid he would take the whole of Norway Quot Thomsen says. A Bridge is lined with 58 Bronze sculptures showing mostly healthy vital people enjoying life. But at each of the Bridge s four Corners is a statue featuring a Granite Lizard. In one the Lizard embraces a willing woman. In two others a Lizard fights with a Man. In the fourth the Lizard clutches a naked Man. Beyond the Bridge is a Large Fountain the Centrepiece of the Park and the first sculpture unit a visitor encounters. Six giants hold aloft a Large Saucer from which water spills around them. The giants represent stages of life the Saucer life. Around the Fountain Are 20 bronzes each two meters High. Each features a tree and human figures Vigeland s Way of showing Man s relationship to nature. They also show life s evolution from birth to death ending with a Skeleton returning to the Earth suggesting the Cycle of life. The Park s next feature is called the Quot Monolith plateau in the guidebooks. Most apparent is the column More than 50 feet tall and featuring 121 figures. It was carved from one piece of Stone by three people who worked on it daily from 1929 until 1943. It weighs 180 tons. The figures seem to struggle upward. Some fall while others lend assistance to neighbors. The Nie Aning was kept a secret by the designer who said 1 could be interpreted in Many ways. At the top of the Monolith Are children below tem climbing adults. Could this suggest the human earn i Lor eternal youth or everlasting life which is heaven others have seen it As a Symbol of an incl s repetitiveness from one generation to the x. Borne see it simply As a phallic Symbol. Cd lug a belongs to the world of fantasy Quot a Geland said. More simple to inter rpt am Rio  pro a us Gnu me Monolith the boys fighting the Barri can8i5�u3e we Man resting against the bearded old Man and Many others. On includes other Vigeland designs Wall i a hin8 bom the Entrance Gates to the Fountain the Rita wonderful display his work. It All belongs to be City through a contract he signed in 1921. A year As plans for the Park grew he agreed to Ca / # give everything he created to the City. In Exchange the City built him a Large studio. Quot that is quite unique Quot Thomsen says. Quot we Don t know of any other artist who has done it this  Vigeland maintained control Over the project and was involved in Quot every Little detail Quot she adds. The Park s Story is told in the nearby studio now the museum. Many of Vigeland s original sketches for the statues Are displayed there As Are some plaster models for the finished products. Once he began planning the sculpture Park in Earnest Vigeland rarely left the studio which included his living quarters. In fact Vigeland is still there in keeping with his wishes his ashes Are stored in the museum s Tower. A amps photos by Gus Schuettler below a Granite couple in Vigeland Park. March 22, 1990 stripes Magazine 5