stockholm, part two.
My first full day in Stockholm started off with me getting up super early to get as much done while it was still light out. Like the UK, it gets dark around 3PM in Stockholm, so you must enjoy daylight while you can. First on my list of things to see and do was the Moderna Museet on the Skeppsholmen island. I could have walked there if I really wanted too, but I took a bus instead.
Right after I got off the bus to Skeppsholmen, I wandered around the island, killing time whilst waiting for the Moderna Museet to open. This island houses a bunch of other museums and some interesting sculptures.
Alexander Calder, The Four Elements (1938/1961)
I’m pretty certain I’ve already gone on and on about my love for contemporary art so it’s safe to say that I absolutely loved the Moderna Museet. They have an amazing Turner, Monet, and Twombly exhibition on right now till the 15th of January. This exhibition focuses on the three artists’ later works and the common threads that link them. If you’re in Stockholm, go and check it out!
Cy Twombly, Untitled (2007)
Claude Monet, Saint-Georges Majeur au crépuscule (1908)
Claude Monet, Londres, le Parlement. Trouée de Soleil dans le brouillard (1904)
The museum also has another great photography exhibition called Another Story. It basically takes up the rest of the museum, which is surprisingly long. Another Story was separated into three parts - Another Story: Possessed by the Camera, Another Story: See the World!, and Another Story: Written in Light. The exhibition featured famed photographers such as Irving Penn, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Cindy Sherman, and it also featured a host of well-known Scandinavia photographers.
Miriam Bäckström, Mirrors (2009)
Ulf Rollof, RGB/Lime, koppar, guld (2011)
Close up shot of Ulf Rollof's RGB/Brons, silver, svart (2011)
A couple of Ed Ruscha books
Annica Karlsson Rixon, truckers (red) (1994-1999)
Left: Irving Penn, Salvador Dalí (1947)
Right: Irving Penn, Two Poor Lovers (1979)
The museum had this awesome interactive project where anyone can upload photos to the museum’s website and they would be printed out and added to the growing number of photos on the walls.
Dan Graham, Pavilion Sculpture II (1984)
Originally, I was going to take a walk through the Old Town on the Gamla Stan island, but someone at my hostel’s reception desk told me that there would be a racist Nazi protest in the Old Town and it would be best to avoid that area. Well, I still walked over to Gamla Stan and saw the back of the Royal Palace. I couldn’t go much further because the police had taped off many of the streets, notifying people of the protest that was going to happen. So, I walked back up into the Norrmalm area and got lost again. I passed by an anti-fascist demonstration and later on, I somehow ended up on Drottninggatan. And shopping I did once again! I dropped by Weekday again and got a pair of Cheap Monday jeans and a Cheap Monday cocoon jacket. Also, while I was walking down Drottninggatan, I heard some high-pitched wails and screams. Fearing that it was that Nazi protest, I got a little scared. But that was stupid of me as it turned out to be a huge group of tween girls marching for Justin Bieber. They had huge banners, printed tees, posters, you name it. Youtube ‘Justin Bieber Parade SwededDecember 2011 and you’ll see what I mean.
I went back to my hostel to rest up and finish off my leftovers from the previous night’s dinner. As I knew that the Nobel Prize award ceremony and banquet were happening, I walked over to Stadshuset, Stockholm’s City Hall, to see the banquet’s many attendees arriving. I snapped a few pictures and as I was leaving, a car flanked by a motorcade arrived and I’m pretty certain it was one of the Swedish Royals. The car had two of Sweden’s flags standing in the front and there were police holding the crowds back.
Stockholm was a very interesting city to be in this day, to say the least. With a Nazi protest, an anti-fascist demonstration, a Justin Bieber parade, and the Nobel Prize awards going on, there was just about enough craziness in the city.
Stay tuned for part three!