2011

Anders Behring Breivik

Anders Behring Breivik

There is very little to be gained from a study of Anders Behring Breivik. He was a loner who was alienated from the society he lived in, suffered from depression, played violent video games, used steroids, listened to angry music and was of above average intelligence. This profile describes half the spree shooters in the last two decades, right down to the Columbine Massacre.

It is not Breivik's politics that make him significant. He was an outsider who despised society and escaped into romantic fantasies of omnipotence fed by video games and popular culture. Breivik cultivated a detached attitude toward the people around him and was obsessed with violent exercises of his masculinity. All this is common to killers of all political stripes and of no political affiliation whatsoever.

anders behring breivik

Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is the capital of Norway and one of the most interesting European capitals. There are numerous attractions for tourists to visit such as the City Hall, changing of the guard at the Royal Palace, the Viking Ship Museum, the Norsk Folkmuseum, the Kon TIki Museum, the Sjofartsmuseum, the Fram Museum, , the Akershus Fortress, the National Gallery, and the Vigelan Park. Take a look at the video below.

oslo

Lucian Freud

Lucian Freud

Another exhibition I saw in Paris was of Lucian Freud, at the Pompidou Centre. The exhibition was composed of around 50 large-sized paintings as well as photographs.The paint is so thickly applied to the canvas that it's almost as if the sitter is entering the gallery through his or her frame. The thickness and pigmentation of the oils also give the subject a fleshy and grisly look, Freud said himself, "I want the painting to be flesh."

One element of the exhibition, which I really appreciated, was the range of works. Some were nudes, some were of his garden, some were old others were relatively new. This gave a wide overview of Freud's work and allowed me to see how his style had altered over the years.