Project Update

Goals: Photograph and interview at least one representative from each of the main Norwegian political parties (Arbeiderpartiet, Fremskrittpartiet, Høyre, Sosialistisk Venstreparti -done-, Krestelig Folkeparti, Venstre, Senterpartiet, Rødt and Miljøpartiet De Grønne).
Environmental groups should also be represented - Norwegian Society for Conservation of Nature (Norges Naturvernforbund), Zero Emission Resource Organisation (ZERO), Nature and Youth (Natur og Ungdom), Bellona, Eco-Agents (Miljøagentene)...

That should be enough for today's calling list!

Athens

After a semi-spontaneous and very welcome visit from my parents (carrying the most delicious of rations-cargo: homemade fudge!!), the three of us made our way down to Athens, Greece for a weekend. It was a fun-filled journey of sight-seeing and copious Greek food consumption that left us all wishing we could stay in the masterpiece archeological metropolis for longer.

Our journey took us first through Freiberg, a charming city closer to the Munich airport than the main Bavarian capital. We ate some wurst and enjoyed the beginnings of Oktoberfest (including an odd but entertaining parade, complete with marching band, through the airport).



Finally, we arrived in Athens after nightfall to enjoy a generous portion of Ouzo at the hotel bar, to scope out our room and to collapse immediately into a much-needed slumber. The next day, we hit the Acropolis.

Theater of Dionysus

Frieze behind marble stage

Herod Atticus Odeon - Theater from 1st Century AD on slopes of the Acropolis, still in use

Past wall of Odeon looking at Filopappou Hill, "the Hill of the Muses," which we could see from our hotel balcony:

At the Parthenon

Sprawling Athens, seen past the crumbling wall around the Acropolis

Erechtheion: dedicated to Athena and Poseidon after mythical contest in which Athena's olive tree surmounted Poseidon's freshwater spring and secured her rule over the city.



Frieze at Hephaistos (460-415 BC)

Acropolis from the Hephaistos at the ancient Agora

Inside the Church of the Holy Apostles (AD 1000) in the Agora

Statues of "the Odyssey" and "the Iliad" (2nd C AD) at the rebuilt Stoa of Attalos

Gold mosaic on Byzantine church precariously holding its ground in the middle of a modern Athens street.

Miscellaneous Oslo Photos

Opera House

Sunning on the summer iceberg

Santiago came to visit me a few weeks ago after completing his summer studies in Copenhagen.

The bustling Karl Johan's Gate

The lawn around Akershus Castle

Rådhuset on left

I love Vigelandsparken

Blueberry Warrior

Credit: Jeremy Jimenez, ordained minister, photodocumentarian and salsa dancer

Begerka, berries and Blå bon-bon blues boys

I have been riding my bike so much lately that sometimes it feels awkward to walk! I have devised a system that some may consider lazy, but I contend it is merely a resourceful method to accomplish as many tasks as possible while still conserving vital energy reserves for later. Here it is: I ride my bike downhill from Kringsjå Studentby, the area where I live, to my classes (either near Ullevål Stadion or at the UiO campus at Blindern). Then I bring my bike on the T-Bane back up the hill with me when I'm finished. Now, the hill down from Kringsjå boasts at least a 10% grade (see "Measuring Hilliness of Routes," Roberts, Kenneth S. http://www.roberts-1.com/bikehudson/r/m/hilliness/index.htm) for about 2 km. On a good day, I walk my bike only a small part of the way. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not against exercise by any means; I'm just against suicide, which is what that road can turn into after a long day of classes! I really feel that my love and dedication for Begerka boogie bike has a linear relationship with the amount of arduous riding I do. The average hilliness of roads around here is enough to have firmed up my leg muscles into a state that's twice (ballpark estimate) as solid as they were before I came here!

Anyway, yesterday I joined a couple other Fulbrighters and former Fulbright Program Officer for a berry-picking excursion. We walked the traditional route from Frognerseteren to Sognsvann (about 4km as the crow flies), finding occasional blueberry goldmines along the way. Tyttebær, like a miniature Norwegian version of the cranberry in taste and appearance, but growing more in hilly areas than bogs, grow in abundance near most blueberry bushes. I picked almost a whole liter of berries, enough to make a healthy supply of jam, I think. I also found a few raspberries - though these were few and far between and were begging to be eaten immediately rather than squirreled away in my berry container. I granted them that privilege. hahaha I will try to get a hold of a certain photograph a fellow Fulbrighter took of me after I had applied my "bushel-berry-badass" war paint.

View of Oslo Fjord from Frognerseteren

Rustic restaurant, also at Frognerseteren

Last night a few friends took me to a way cool cat's club that hosts a free jazz show on Sunday nights. Despite the glitzy, sequined or mirror-covered images suggested by the joint's name (Blå = "blue") the atmosphere is eclectic and welcoming. Missed the band this week but I will probably return there again weekly!

Two more portrait and interview sessions completed this weekend!! Pretty productive weekend! There is so much happening in 'mitt liv' right now, I should probably write more than once a week.

Hal Wilhite: Professor at SUM

The Project Proposal

You can also read more about me and my project at the following link (stories from the Seacoast Newspapers):
http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20090410-NEWS-904100337

The issue of sustainability, especially from an ecological perspective, is rapidly becoming one of the top concerns in the global consciousness. The "going green" agenda and such films as An Inconvenient Truth by Nobel Peace Prize-winner Al Gore have enlightened average Americans to a cause that some other countries have been profoundly aware of for many years. Norway has been one of the leading countries in sustainability research and ecological consciousness since the defining Brundtland Report in 1983. In February 2008 the Global Crop Diversity Trust built the Svalbard International Seed Vault on Spitsbergen, the first large-scale seedbank designed to withstand catastrophes like nuclear war. Tomra, one of the world's top companies for recycling innovation, is based in Norway. However, the question of sustainability is complex in Norway, where a government strongly invested in biodiversity still mandates a quota on Minke whale fishing. Also paradoxical, Oslo is currently the city with the highest cost of living in Europe, and the Norwegian economy is booming mostly thanks to their lucrative oil reserves. My goal is to investigate the broader meaning of sustainability and to compile a photographic document of the current trends of environmental consciousness in Norway.

As a student ambassador for the US in Norway, I can act as a liaison for communication between the two countries. A greater philosophical understanding of the concept of sustainable development has helped me realize how much all of the world can benefit from sharing ideas. I can think of no better country in which to conduct my research than the homeland of world-famous philosopher Arne Naess, developer of the Deep Ecology philosophy. My project will allow my own American ideas and concerns about sustainable development to mingle with the Norwegian mindset. The final project will enlighten citizens in both countries and inspire more creative solutions to issues like global climate change, increased socioeconomic inequality, and the energy crisis.

I hope to be enrolled in the Culture, Environment and Sustainability Masters of Philosophy degree program at the University of Oslo. My intensive study of Sustainable Development will inform my project and facilitate connections with Norwegians who specialize in this field of study. My photography project will reciprocally inform my research, perhaps even finding a place in the completion of my thesis. Thanks to a Norwegian initiative for furthering higher education, study in this degree program at the public University of Oslo will not incur any tuition fees. The Fulbright grant will financially support my first year of study in this program by covering my travel and living expenses and the expenses involved in carrying out my photography project. I plan to apply for an American-Scandinavian Foundation grant to finance my second year living in Oslo. Art is a crucial medium

To make myself more competitive for this graduate degree program, I am currently enrolled in two Environmental Studies classes at Rochester Institute of Technology. Next quarter, when I will complete my degree in Photographic Illustration, I will take another liberal arts class called Sustainable Development. Professor Harold Wilhite of the Centre for Development and the Environment (SUM) at the University of Oslo, has agreed to affiliate with me if I am accepted to their graduate degree program. This summer, I plan to enroll in the University of Oslo's International Summer School Intensive Elementary Norwegian language study program. This program will teach me the basics of Norwegian grammar, and provide me with a level of proficiency necessary to engage in conversation with native speakers. Until then, I will continue my self-propelled language study using Pimsleur teaching aids while practicing conversational Norwegian with those individuals I have met in Rochester who speak the language.

My studies at SUM will give me a deeper understanding of the complex concepts of Sustainable Development. This expanded knowledge will help with the creative aspect of my proposal. I will make a large series of photographic portraits to illustrate excerpts from interviews I will conduct with Norwegians from a broad sociological spectrum. I plan to meet and photograph students, corporate executives, scientists, teachers, artists, activists, and random people I meet anywhere and ask them one simple question: how do you define sustainability? This will serve as a jumping-off point for a more lengthy conversation about an issue that concerns us all. Connections with teachers and peers at the University of Oslo will be invaluable networking resources for finding apt candidates for portraiture. Already, my mentor here at RIT, Chip Sheffield, has put me in touch with several Norwegian individuals who have knowledge and insight regarding sustainability. In fact, he may be able to put me in touch with Gro Harlem Brundtland herself. Environmentally-conscious groups, such as the Norwegian Society for Conservation of Nature (Norges Naturvernforbund), The Green Warriors of Norway (Norges Miljøvernforbund) Zero Emission Resource Organisation (ZERO), and Nature and Youth (Natur og Ungdom), might also be able to supply me with contact information for other potential portrait subjects. I will offer copies of the photographs I make as compensation for my subjects’ time. I also plan to visit the offices of the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment and other government agencies dedicated to environmental protection. The promise of a professional, flattering portrait will be an important bargaining tool in making appointments to photograph businesspeople or political officials, especially.

The final product of my photography project, including the interview texts and photographs, will ultimately be a book. I have communicated with two different artist book publishers on the subject -Visual Studies Workshop Press and Preachers Biscuit Books. An online self-publishing source such as Lulu.com may also prove a venue for printing the finished product. The book will also be available on the web either through a university’s website or my own for easy access to all interested parties. I have some experience in two-dimensional and graphic design from my classes at RIT. I also plan to ask colleagues who work as graphic designers for input on the layout of the final book.

Colorful environmental images and other photographs from my travels around Norway will accompany the portraits of Norwegians. The book will be an exploration of sustainability from all perspectives and aspects. I intend to keep any and all travel stubs, tickets, receipts and found objects that I acquire while I am doing research and photographing individuals in Norway. I will make use of Norway's extensive train transport system. For meetings to photograph Norwegians in more remote areas, I may need to rent a car. When the time comes to compile the book, I will use the innate impulse for collage that pervades much of my work to add visual interest using these elements. The portraits may be interspersed with more reflective pages of collage and travel notes. In this respect, the final product will have a personal touch that I hope will intrigue my readers and remind us that despite some of the larger-than-life rhetoric used to describe sustainability, the concept is truly about each one of us and our children.