“The Ball”
by Ilya Kabakov
The Ball by Ilya Kabakov can be perceived as a reflection of the human urge to explore, to create, to conquer, and to reach the top. The sculpture was unveiled in 2017. Photo: Kistefos.
The Ball
- Unveiled 2017
- Artist Ilya Kabakov
- Where Show on map
Through the art, Ilya Kabakov observes and reflects upon the human reality, often based on his memories of the old Soviet Union, or other utopian and man-made projects. A common feature of these political or economic declining systems is a strong human vision, capability, and conviction. Like the Greek king, Sisyphus, whom for his misdeeds, as well as his personal convictions, was sentenced to daily rolling the same rock up a hill for all eternity.
While the Greek myth gives a lesson and amorality, and Kabakov's work, therefore, could allude to human dissatisfaction and the monotony of everyday life, the artist’s nod to the story is perceived more as a reflection of the human urge to explore, to create, to conquer, and to reach the top. Here, Sisyphus is not alone, but aided by others through unity and teamwork. Thus, the artist emphasizes the importance of the collective and the humane, rather than the individual, as one strives to keep on top of life mountain.
The installation, with its location in the midst of nature, can also be seen as a commentary on man's relationship with nature. Man has always sought to control and conquer the forces of nature, but time and time again nature prevails. Facing south, it is as if the ball becomes a symbol of the sun in its orbit from east to west, where we either help it up or try to hold it back on its way down.
The sculpture is a gift from Christen Sveaas.
Detail from the installation The Ball by Ilya Kabakov. Photo: Ian Brodie, Visit Innlandet.
Detail from the installation The Ball by Ilya Kabakov. Photo: Ian Brodie, Visit Innlandet.
The Ball by Ilya Kabakov. Photo: Nichlas Hvesser.
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01 Ståle Kyllingstad, Installation
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02 Nils Aas, Consul Anders Sveaas, 1840-1917
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03 Nico Widerberg, Time
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04 Beate Juell, Stallion
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05 Kristian Blystad, Playing horse
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06 Bjarne Melgaard, Octopus
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07 Kjell Nupen, Stille, Stille/Mediteraneo
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08 Kjell Nupen, Mediteraneo
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09 Edgar Ballo, Blå tulipan
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10 Anne-Karin Furunes, Christen Sveaas
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11 Olafur Eliasson, Viewing machine
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12 Siri Bjerke, Mounts of the Samurai The Third Day
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13 Fernando Botero, Female Torso
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14 Tony Cragg, Articulated Column
The energy and shape of the sculpture easily give associations to the surrounding natural landscape, especially the water and the waterfall's fierce power/energy.
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15 Fabrizio Plessi, Movimenti della Memoria
This installation is placed inside the Wood Pulp Mill
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16 Elmgreen og Dragset, Forgotten Babies # 2
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17 Marianne Heske, Homage to Leo the Lion
The sculpture is placed inside the Wood Pulp Mill
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18 Shintaro Miyake, Welcome to our Planet
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19 Kristin Günther, Hesten
The sculpture is placed inside the Wood Pulp Mill
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20 Tony Cragg, I'm Alive
This sculpture, with the fitting title I’m Alive, at first glance looks like a powerful creature meandering forward.
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21 Tony Cragg, Bent of mind
Bent of Mind looks as though it is constantly growing and changing. The two profiles, which make up the sculpture’s main motive, constantly change character as you move around the sculpture to see them from different angles.
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22 Petroc Sesti, Energy-Matter-Space-Time
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23 Magne Furuholmen, Hypnos Descending
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24 Elmgreen og Dragset, Warm Regards
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25 Anish Kapoor, S-Curve
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26 Oldenburg og van Bruggen, Tumbling Tacks
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27 Thomas Bayrle, Sternmotor Hochamt
You´ll find Sternmotor Hochamt inside the Furnace House, just outside The Wood Pulp Mill
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28 Marc Quinn, All of Nature Flows Through Us
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29 John Gerrard, Pulp Press (Kistefos)
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30 Fredrik Raddum, Teddy - Beast of the Hedonic Treadmill
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31 Fredrik Raddum, Catastrophic road Signs, Sun
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32 Per Inge Bjørlo, Slektstrea, Genbanken
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33 Phillip King, Free to Frolic
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34 Jeppe Hein, Modified Social Benches Kistefos
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35 Jeppe Hein, The Path to Silence
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36 A Kassen, River Man
River Man by the artistic collective A Kassen took form as liquid bronze was poured directly into the waters of the Randselva river.
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37 Ilya Kabakov, The Ball
The installation, with its location in the midst of nature, can be seen as a commentary on man's relationship with nature.
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38 Tony Cragg, Castor & Pollux
With Castor & Pollux, Cragg takes a new and radical step in the development of the Rational Beings series. Raw muscle power and animal energy are just some of the things you experience in the encounter with this monumental work.
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39 Lynda Benglis, Face Off
Benglis visited Kistefos and became inspired by the landscape and atmosphere of the site, Scandinavian mythology, and folklore. The sculpture can be seen as partly frozen waterfall, partly giant.
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40 Yayoi Kusama, Shine of Life
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41 Mark Manders, Silent Studio
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42 Giuseppe Penone, Identity
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43 Elmgreen & Dragset, Point of View, Part 1
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44 Elmgreen & Dragset, Point of View, Part 2
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45 Tony Oursler, Scat Skat Skatt
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46 Lawrence Weiner, Stedsspesifikk skulptur
This sculpture is placed in two different locations in the park.
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47 Magne Furuholmen, The Birthright
Text and letters have always been central as a pictorial element in Furuholmen's work. What happens if you deconstruct sentences, break them down into single words or put them together in new combinations?
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48 Carol Bove, PASANASAP
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49 Ida Ekblad, A DEADLY SLUMBER OF ALL FORCES
Ekblads sculpture is a fascinating hybrid of her artistic practices. The work is a sculptural collage made of fragments from her own paintings.
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50 Pierre Huyghe, Variants
The work comprises artificial intelligence, 3D-scanned objects, living creatures and organisms, and offers something completely unique in the sculpture park.
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51 The Twist Gallery
The Twist is a gallery, a bridge, and a sculpture, all in one. The 1000 square meter building twists into a sculptural form and spans 60 meters across the Randselva river. The building was designed by the Danish star architects BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group and is named as a "must-see" cultural destination by the New York Times, Bloomberg and The Telegraph, among others.
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52 Marianne Heske, Blue
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53 Tatiana Trouvé, Bench
The essence of Kistefos is encapsulated in the sculptures, inviting contemplation and reflection. These works allude to the workers’ community which was a defining feature of Kistefos until the mid-1950s, while also mirroring distinctively Norwegian values and ruminating on the universal human experience.
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54 Tatiana Trouvé, The Guardian
Essensen av Kistefos er kapslet inn i skulpturene og inviterer til ettertanke og refleksjon. Verkene henspiller på arbeidersamfunnet som preget Kistefos frem til midten av 1950-tallet, men speiler også verdier som er særnorske og som drøfter det universelle ved det å være menneske.
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55 Kader Attia, Whistleblower
The artwork consists of six blue glass sculptures placed in the forest south of The Twist.
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56 Tone Vigeland, Skulptur I, 2022
Abstract in idiom, Sculpture I, 2022 almost seems like a distorted piece of jewellery as it changes expression every time you move around it.
