Settling into Copenhagen

"Rain, rain, go away, come again another day!" The weather has been awful the past month! Denmark's best kept secret, is the ever howling onslaught of wind, so when its not raining your nonetheless often chilled to the bones… Okay, okay, perhaps that is a mild over exaggeration, regardless, my spirits have not be dampened and there is much to report.

Before getting into it, this posts music to read by is somewhat more mainstream/commercial- 

Aqua --which according to wikipedia was “the most successful Danish band ever” and a more recent Danish Duo, 'Nik and Jay' with “Lækker” (in Danish).

... and something more for almost everyones taste Lukas Graham with 'Ordinary things'. Lukas is from the infamous free town in Copenhagen called 'Christiania'. 

A weekend in Skagen was a welcomed change of pace. Outside of the main summer months Skagen is a sleepy town for locals and those with time-share rentals that simply want to get away. Being out of season it was very quiet- particularly with the weather against us. Nonetheless, Poul had a wonderful birthday, turning 84, and I still managed to wander along the beach and even go for a swim! Well more of a dip- my entire body stood to attention with the water at a refreshing 10 degrees!! 

Being in Skagen we of course strolled out to where the North Sea and Baltic Sea meet (pictured below).

Poul, Lars, Marianne, Me and Bodil.

A delicious unknown kind of shellfish.

One of many fabulous spreads Bodil put on whilst in Skagen.

Part of the Art Gallery- yellow with orange/red roofs
is the most common kind of building in Skagen.

The location of Skagen has over the years drawn many famous Danish and Scandinavian artists due to its special quality of light and as such we enjoyed an afternoon at the local gallery gazing over the Marie krøyer Exhibit- ‘It takes Courage to have talent'. The exhibit was striking for its depiction of the period as most works showed very relaxed everyday life scenes, of particular merit, for example;

Krøyer, 1906,  Midsummers Eve Bon Fire on Skagen's Beach ;

Laurits Tuxen, 1913, Den Drunknede Bringes I land;

Anna Archer's, 1879, work 'Counting Money';

and Michael Ancher's work, 1874, 'A maternity room in Jutland' which surprisingly captures a collective of unattractive lower class individuals. 

Particularly interesting was the original hotel dining room that survived the war, known as 'Brondum’s Dining Room', and designed by architects Ulrik Plesner and Thorvald Dindesboll in 1892. Brondum’s art collection had been incorporated into the decorations with portraits mounted in frieze and paint murals on the timber walls. It is hard to describe and imagine but picture approximately 30 artists and local residents of Skagen over the period starting 1870 to the turn of the century starring down at you :-0

For those interested you can read more about the artists here.

The Beach at Skagen.

Bodil, Lars, Marianne and Poul where the North and Baltic Seas meet.

 Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

Femke, Liv and Christina standing triumphant but with sore
legs at the entrance to the museum.

Louisiana was a fantastic day trip. Olivia, Femke, Christina and I began the journey with a two hour bike ride north along the coast and ended it with coffee in the gardens. We saw two exhibits, 'Self- Portrait' and 'New Nordic: Architecture & Identity'.

Christina in the garden at the end of the day.

Highlights from 'Self Portrait': 

Spainish cubist and surrealist Joan Miro’s self-portrait, Marc Quinn’s quote, “I always think if you can save yourself you can save the world too”, and Japanese artist, Yayoi kusama’s permanent installation mixed media work, ‘Gleaming lights of the souls’.

Myself and Christina inside Kusama's installation 'Gleaming lights of the souls'. 

Highlights for 'New Nordic: Architecture & Identity':

Conversation between Danish artist Juhani Pali asmaa and Peter zumthor and Jan Gehl’s talking point on 60km/h architecture, or rather, transport not as a technical but political issue. How to prioritize life in cities? Has the human scale been forgotten- respecting the senses, small and intimate an eye level scene.

Part of the New Nordic Architecture &
Identity display- only 29% of Danes drive.

The view from Louisiana Museum

 Hodgepodge

At the Mackelmore & Lewis concert in Copenhagen.

Student Welcome Concert in the Black Diamond (aka the Royal Library)

Alex and Sam at 'Mother' for dinner.

Lunch at Soph's place.

Sam, Sam and Marcus at Jura's (Law faculty) Thursday Bar.

Liv patting a goat.

Day trip to the zoo with Sam (yet another one), Kasey and Liv.

Top three interesting facts from the zoo:

1. In Sri Lanka 90% of male elephants are now born without tusks- the genetic material has been eliminated due to hunting.
2. Approximately 1 million tonnes of wild animals are killed every year in West and Central Africa.
3. It is estimated that rainforest areas disappear every year corresponding to 204 times the size of Denmark.

Dinner party #1- in which I blew a fuse! 

Alex and Marcus.

Soph and Alex at my place for a dinner party.

Marcus helping out in the kitchen at dinner party #2

Who knew Nick was an amazing musician!

Ben and Peta at the Opera House.
We went to the Ballet- 'The Golden Cockerel'.
Amazing set design & costumes!

Interesting points from the exhibition relating to Nordic Architecture and the Welfare society:

The Nordic welfare society is built on the idea of community-shared responsibility and equal rights to culture, health and education. Over the past half century The Nordic Model has designated a welfare society that is for everyone, irrespective of class income, workload and religious observance.

Geographical-cultural communities as Scandinavians understand them are today being challenged in Nordic countries by integration and globalization. Just as the distinctively Nordic- the Nordic identity if you like- is subject to constant change, the communities with which they identify are also constantly being broken down and renewed.

In Scandinavia the welfare society and the architecture are closely connected. The Nordic community perceives their identity to be, to a great extent, manifested in the built landscape. Schools, town halls, hospitals, student halls of residence, libraries and nursery schools are public buildings that form the settings for everyday life in the North. Awareness of the architecture as a social tool began as early as the 1920s, when Danish architects like Kaare Klint- and later Poul Henningsen, Arne Jacobsen and Finnish Alvar Aalto-designed houses and furniture that reached out to the general public in terms of both price and function. Their architecture has its roots in ideas of new social contexts and collectivities.

Nordic architecture today is also architecture that actively thinks with the Nordic model developing the public institutions- creating new functions, new institutions, new citizens. Everything must contribute positive signals to the city in which they are built. Public buildings are no longer perceived as authoritarian monuments, but as visible symbols of the democratic culture of the Nordic citizens- and of everyday life in the welfare society.

Today human wellbeing and sustainability are considered in the forming of public space- multifunctional urban spaces are created; city spaces that meet human beings at their own tempo and on their own scale, and which can be used by many different kinds of people.

Today the boundaries between private and public are breaking down in our society. 

The exhibition explored the great changes taking place at present in terms of our relationship with public spaces. It negotiated new territories in trying to extend our understanding of how public spaces look and what they can be used for.

Side note...

The exhibition was extremely thought provoking in exploring the benefits and the rationale behind aspects of the welfare state. Particularly as most nation states move to commodify heretofore public goods. Some of my fellow students and I have discussed whether corporatisation has led to a cultural shift in Australia? (However given we didn't live through free education it is difficult to formulate a decisive opinion) 

Does a corporatized imperative exist within our education system given in Australia knowledge has been commodified and is now highly valued by the market? Surely, Neoliberalism is not the dominant political philosophy of our time? Has a parsimonious mentality led to meek private responsibility when deciding public good? Do we have a prevailing passion for the acquisition of material goods and hedonistic lifestyles, rather a social consciouns that speaks for protecting public goods?

Favourite Danish Designer to date:
Henrik Vibskov- unbeknownst to me his one of Denmark’s Design Icons.
 
Copenhagen's best bar and cocktail bar to date:
For Cocktails head to: Madam Chu's, Gammel Strand;
And for beer: Mikkeller.

And lastly recommend restaurants to date:
Mother
Any of Madklubben