News

Munch Moments

04/09/2017
Viking cruise
Viking Sea in Eidfjord
Hot footing it from my Saga cruise, I arrived in Bergen to board the magnificent vessel "Viking Sea", for another two weeks in Norway and the Baltic, lecturing on Edvard Munch and many far less well known artists from the Nordic lands. Viking cruises make a big deal of Edvard Munch, and have in many ways themed their new ship around the great man's work. Everywhere there are original works, and in the main atrium is a huge LED screen which shows a constantly changing digitised exhibition of his life's work. In addition, every evening there a is a cocktail hour called "Munch Moments" during which the images are displayed accompanied by seminal music of the time, not least by Grieg. I was delighted with the attendance at my lectures, and thrilled once again to be given the opportunity to present a very special lecture on art nouveau and national romanticism in Helsinki, that combined both the music of Jean Sibelius and the literature of the Kalevala. This went down especially well, as the graphics, art work and computerised sequencing made a very attractive presentation, and I look forward to presenting this again for the Arts Society in the near future. It was extremely good to meet up again with fellow lecturer Sir James Hodge, and American professor of history Dr Gary Stark, sharing as we did our interest in all things Russian and Scandinavian.