Art at Flatåsen School

Artists: Annika Simonsson, Lars Erik Svensson. Title: ‘Life in a tree’ 2011 Kathrine Berg. Title: ‘Drømmeskogen’ 2011 Fredrik Raddum. Title: ‘Hoppeballer’ 2011. Kunstkonsulenter/Art consultants: Annika Borg, Sissel M. Bergh.

Flatåsen Primary and Lower Secondary School is divided into two separate buildings, referred to as the “upper building” and “lower building”, and the art is spread across a large outdoor area. In the upper outdoor area, you do not have to walk far from the building in order to see Annika Simonsson and Lars Erik Svensson’s artwork. It is a deep-etched aluminium image mounted on the exterior wall next to the main entrance, depicting a blue tree. With the title ‘Life in a tree’, the two Swedish artists have aimed to create a tree with vital force and a will of its own, letting it “grow” around the corner, into a third dimension. A circular image within the image has room for a big dinosaur and makes the tree look larger than it is. Simultaneously, the tree’s historical timeline is drawn far back in time. Surrounded by creatures from prehistoric times or the present time, the tree will always stand strong.

Kathrine Berg’s fibreglass sculptures in the little grove next to the lower building are shaped like mushrooms. The light yellow fungi pop up from the ground in several places in the shadows of the tall, dominating fir trees. After dark, however, it is the mushrooms’ time to shine – literally. They are emitting light, some standing in clusters, and some on their own. Each mushroom has a word written on its cap: nice, kind words such as “joy”, “trust” and “love”, which combined could make up a little narrative. Combining light and sculpture has been a trademark for this artist for a number of years. She lives and works at Ottestad outside Hamar.

On the path between the two school buildings are Fredrik Raddum’s two ‘Hoppeballer’ (“Space Hoppers”), one red and one blue. Both of them have a bronze figure holding on to the handles on top: a tortoise on the red one and a human-like hare on the blue one. The reference to Aesop’s fable about the Tortoise and the Hare racing each other is evident. Both figures look gleeful like children on top of their bouncing balls. They are placed quite far apart, which gives an illusion of movement along the path between the upper and lower schoolyards. These sculptures are one of a number of projects in which Raddum mixes humour and joy into his figurative works.