Vigeland Park is a major tourist attraction in Norway. It is a one of a kind. Not only is it a place you can go jogging through, play in, go for walks, or just sit, it is an open-air gallery. The park is 80 acres big containing 192 of Vigeland's sculptures with more than 600 figures. The park is open day and night, year round. I have seen people playing football and frisbee in the park, and even on the fourth of July the American Independence Day celebration is held there every year. THe park is a nice place to just take a stroll by yourself or with a loved one because it is so beautiful. If you want to, you can sit on one of the many benches and read a book or look at the nature that surrounds you. "Vigeland designed the architectural setting and the layout of the grounds with their far-stretching lawns and long straight avenues bordered by maple trees."(1) The park as a whole is about life in general, but each group and individual statue represent an individual part of life and/ or a specific stage in life.
The total nudity of all the figures makes the park special. I feel as if the statues are showing that they are not ashamed of their lives and have nothing to hide. Vigeland made his sculptures the way he did because they help portray the evolution of man and to unite sculpture with nature and to symbolize life. He also wanted people to be able to identify with nature and to symbolize life. He also wanted people to be able to identify with the sculptures, to feel a part of them. So the sculptures were often very realistic. They were very detailed, showing how time and life affected the human figure. The facial expressions are also very realistic. To me it is almost scary how you look at the face of one of Vigeland's sculptures, and see almost the exact same expression on yourself.
Expanding to the Vigeland Park