Have You Received Your Invitation?

It's been a long, hard winter!

The winter season has finally come to an end. Spring has arrived and the month of May is heating up with activities! I've been watching the mailbox for all the invitations to arrive and I'm ready to go. There are several very interesting social activities that really should not be missed!

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ABBA

First of all, Stockholm Sweden was abuzz with the opening of the ABBA exhibit. Somehow, my invitation didn't arrive in time for the May 9th opening ceremony, but there's still time to see the exhibition.These Swedish members formed a group that became a world-wide  sensation as Singing Superstars of the 1970s. The group had many memorable hits that remained musical favorites long after the group disbanded in 1983. Using the first letter of their first names, they formed the group ABBA. After disbanding, they went their various ways, still keeping their musical talents at work.The Stockholm ABBA museum is expected to  be a popular tourist attraction.
  Swedish politician Kristina Axén Olin said: "As a Stockholmer, this is what you have been missing." Abba's former members issued a statement proclaiming it would be "a fun and swinging museum to visit".

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And wouldn't you know, someone lost my notice to attend another exhibition that opened April 27th!

Queen Sonja of Norway

Norway's Queen came to the  US to open an exhibition. The American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) presented MUNCH-WARHOL , an exhibition featuring two of the 20th century’s most prolific and inventive printmakers.The exhibition will be on view April 27 through July 27, 2013 at Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America.

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Edvard Munch

Organized in honor of the 150th anniversary of Munch’s birth in 1863, the exhibition closely examines  graphic motifs produced by Munch at the turn of the century, including The Scream,  and Self-Portrait with Skeleton Arm ,later revisited by Andy Warhol. Everyone is well-aware of Munch's unhappy and despondent life leading him to express his bizarre imagination in various prints.His most famous work entitled The Scream sold in 2012 for over $119 million, setting a new record.

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The American Artist Andy Warhol

In a parallel lifestyle, an American artist shared the style of Munch and is also honored at this exhibition.
Andy Warhol was an American artist who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explored the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture and advertisement that flourished by the 1960s. Born on August 6, 1928, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Andy Warhol was a successful magazine and ad illustrator who became a leading artist of the 1960s Pop Art movements.In third grade, Warhol had Sydenham's Chorea (also known as St. Vitus' Dance), the nervous system disease that causes involuntary movements of the extremities.  He became a hypochondriac, developing a fear of hospitals and doctors. 

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It was during the 1960s that Warhol began to make paintings of well-recognizable American objects such as dollar bills, Campbell's Soup cans, Coca-Cola bottles, famous celebrities  and photographs of police dogs attacking civil rights protesters.Warhol's painting of a can of Campbell's soup cost $1,500 while each autographed can sold for $6. Warhol's aim was to bridge the gap between avant-garde artists and the public. This exhibition notes very similar attitudes between these two artists: A pre-occupation of morality, ideals and alienation in life,both person and general..

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“What's great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you can know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke too....”
- Andy Warhol

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Over in Sweden, there's a celebration concerning a Crown Princess. An anniversary of a baptism!

Crown Princess Estell

Princess Estelle of Sweden, Duchess of Östergötland (Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary; born 23 February 2012), is the only child of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland. She is the first female in the history of Sweden to be born with a right to inherit the throne that cannot be superseded by the subsequent birth of a male heir. Some very important people are invited to the anniversary party.

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Her godparents are Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Prince Carl-Philip of Sweden, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, and Anna Westling Söderström, her father's sister King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

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                                 And to top it all off for activities in May, Syttende Mai will be the crowning glory for Norway.once again.

    
This is the Constitution Day of Norway. On May 17th, 1814, the Norwegian Constitution was signed at Eidsvoll, Norway. The day is celebrated throughout the country, with mainly children's parades. The children are  the center of celebration on this day in Norway, as they are the nation's future. This is in the spirit of poet Henrik Wergeland, who was the one who took the initiative to celebrate this day. High School grad students who traditionally wear overall outfits in different colors representing the type of education they have finished have their own celebration.

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To commemorate Wergeland's contribution, the "russ"  in Oslo place an oversized hat on his statue near the Norwegian parliament. Norwegian Constitution Day is the National Day of Norway and an official national holiday observed on May 17. A noteworthy aspect of the Norwegian Constitution Day is its very non-military nature. All over Norway, children's parades with an abundance of flags form the central elements of the celebration. Each elementary school district arranges its own parade with marching bands between schools.

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I can't wait for the mailman! Where are my invitations?

 Happy Syttende Mai!