Konst på Ropsten T-bana

I am going to put up a lot of photos of this station because there is a lot going on.  I translated the whole plaque with the explanation (I am not sure they are meant to be explanations exactly)-and I found the writing quite whimsical.  They mention the black and white roof and that it is made of steel, but of course the black/white/rust-red accents that are found so often here, and then juxtaposed with a nature scene (the animal, dancers, sun hallway) are not explained just mentioned in passing.  Again, I think this is because as an aesthetic it is common. But I think of all the times I used such color schemes and was labelled 'goth'. 

 I am sad that you can not see the clock clearly, it has the seconds ticking off by small red lights that each light as a second goes past.

 Above is the 125 meter hallway, there are rolling platforms on each side, I walked up the center to take photos from each side, the plaque said that these 'playful forms, where a plane becomes a rhino, and people dance is to 'posture' us' as we roll by.

Then the exit, elevator and last hallway are completely different:

One of the interesting things I learned by giving this station (a station I am at frequently) my full attention is that the Swedish word for tiles is väggplator or essentially wall plate. Therefore grammofonplattor is records. 

Make sense?

Kristinebergparken: Swedish Playpark Take Two

I am not going to try and find out what group devised this ingenious play park, I am just happy that it exists and that I had friends to take me there.

This park with its owls, insects, and flowers all that are light up when twilight sets in, is however a nice juxtaposition to the last park I wrote about-

Historic town center as a play park 

There were three different areas, meant for different age groups.  There were hammocks, and nothing was purely to look at, each thing had an aspect of play, like the mushrooms that you could hang and spin from.

 

 

 

Thorildsplan T-Bana Konst

There is a lot to recommend this station.

Beyond the super-cute, somehow still relevant pop art, is the fact that there is a good skate park, one that can sometimes be used even during the rain.

Also, there are free late night outdoor cinema.

This is why I was here, but we had the wrong night, luckily we had snacks and a fun card game so the night turned out fine. Also this is my line, the green line, but the stop is on the other side of town, so I can always get a good seat, on my way home late at night.

 

Stadion T-bana Konst och PRIDE parade day

Zok and I went to a STRD fundraiser, a roller disco, which was early enough in the night for even us.  I had a lot of fun-even though I had to squeeze myself into a pair of shorts that to my minds eye looked huge but in fact 'just' fit.  Hello backside of my 40s!  The next day was the PRIDE parade, I decided not to take a heap of photos this year. (skater photo from 'Crack'her')  I just wanted to soak it all in this year- I think it was a record breaking year with a reported 60,000+ participants and over 600,000 in attendance. Which is more people than live in the entire state of Tasmania.

I always feel so hopeful at this parade, which is so large, my impression is that the LGBT community can only move forward.  My heart is happy that the HIV+ walking in the parade consisted of less than ten people.  While the rainbow families section was in the hundreds.  That is beautiful.

The parade ended near the Stadion T-bana, which is the stop for the Olympic stadium that was used in during Stockholm's hosting of the Olympics in 1912.  As you see there is a lovely rainbow hall-perfectly appropriate.

Sunbyberg T-bana Konst

Although this subway stop is one I go to often, I have not really taken the time to really look for all the subway art.  I come to this area to shop, and often I am with someone else, and I don't want to impose my need to see all the the art on people who may not care to look at it.

I know the main artist here was Lars Keen, and from what I can glean, with a bit of speculation is that the pieces are about industrial-industries which is a common theme in Sweden, there are areas and streets named for the people who used to live there- and many areas were populated by a single craft.  By example, you have an area where all the people who worked with dynamite lived, with street names reflecting that fact.  So either Sunbyberg was once populated by factories, or people who built factories or the art is just a tribute to the skill of those craftspeople- and the changes over the years.

"...sing me to sleep...sing me to sleep...I'm tired and I want to go to bed..."

There is a free tattoo exhibit on at the Maritime Museum (sjöhistoriska museet- sjö is actually the word for lake while havet means sea- yet sometime the word sjö means larger bodies of water- or here what we would call maritime...I can't explain maritime so I guess I have to let go of the fact no one can tell my the word for lake and sea and ocean can sometimes be different...or the same...)

 I have to say the best bit of the museum was the gift shop, super cute nautical themed china and stuff for kids.  There were no information in English, so I missed a lot of what was going on- the exhibit seems to center on the maritime-sailor tattoos and the times when sailors were the most likely person to have a tattoo.  As I may have mentioned, in Stockholm, it is not unusual for your personal banker to have a neck tattoo.  Tattooing is incredibly widespread here.

There was only a couple of pieces of older equipment- a few guns, one of the wooden ones that were powered by a foot pedal.

Mostly I was happy that the day was cool enough for me to go out.  I made my way through the first three days of 30c low of 24c- but then I had three days where really I sort of hid in the only shady corner in my apartment.

Even when I am out- I think "Oh I could do this or that" but a voice answers "Wouldn't that be nicer to do when Autumn comes?".