Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Circle clockwise to the next stage: love scenes. In the third corner, life be-
comes more complicated: a sad woman in an animal-like tree, a lonely child,
a couple plummeting downward (perhaps falling out of love), and finally an
angry man driving away babies. The fourth corner completes the cycle, as
death melts into the branches of the tree of life and you realize new geniuses
will bloom.
The 60 bronze reliefs circling the basin develop the theme further, showing
man mixing with nature and geniuses giving the carousel of life yet another
spin. Speaking of another spin, circle again and follow these reliefs.
The sidewalk surrounding the basin is a maze—life's long and winding
road with twists, dead ends, frustrations, and, ultimately, a way out. If you
have about an hour to spare, enter the labyrinth (on the side nearest the park's
entrance gate, there's a single break in the black border) and follow the white
granite path until (on the monolith side) you finally get out. (Tracing this path
occupies older kids, affording parents a peaceful break in the park.) Or you
can go straight up the steps to the monolith.
4. Monolith:
The centerpiece of the park—a teeming monolith of life sur-
rounded by 36 granite groups—continues Vigeland's cycle-of-life motif. The
figures are hunched and clearly earthbound, while Vigeland explores a life-
time of human relationships. At the center, 121 figures carved out of a single
block of stone rocket skyward. Three stone carvers worked daily for 14 years,
