About
When Marianne Heier donated her installation Saga Night to the Maihaugen open-air museum in Lillehammer in 2008, her intention was for the work to be displayed in the same way as the other heritage buildings and cultural artefacts there. This photograph documents the installation: a paved stretch of road that begins in the curve that corresponds to the year 1968 in Maihaugen’s chronologically ordered exhibition.
1968 was the year when oil was first discovered on the Norwegian continental shelf, and marks the beginning of an oil boom (known as “the oil fairytale”) that increased the standard of living and spurred economic growth. In her inaugural speech, Heier explained why she wanted to update the permanent exhibition at Maihaugen: “When I grew up during the seventies, the roads were of course not gravelled [as they are at Maihaugen], but were paved with a fresh, solid asphalt covering in line with modern, effective standards. … This was the seventies – there was no lack of money for things like that in Norway!” Heier, who on several occasions has used gift-giving as an artistic strategy, provided Maihaugen with a way to interpret cultural history, one that is not without critical connotations. Saga Night, whose title evokes both the Norwegian oil company Saga Petroleum and a memorable line in the Norwegian national anthem, prompts us to query how the museum represents modern Norwegian culture and oil-driven prosperity. How likely is it that homes from the 1970s and on are flanked by gravel roads rather than paved roads? Gravel roads serve perhaps to make the exhibition setting more idyllic, but shall nostalgia really count for more than accuracy when history is being presented? Saga Night is similar to other projects where Heier examines institutions in a critical light.
- Creation date:
- 2008
- Other titles:
- Saganatt (NOR)
- Object type:
- Photograph
- Materials and techniques:
- c-print
- Material:
- Bøk, Capa
- Dimensions:
- Height: 110 cm
- Width: 140 cm
- Keywords:
- Visual art
- Classification:
- 532 - Bildende kunst
- Inventory no.:
- NMK.2012.0129
- Cataloguing level:
- Single object
- Acquisition:
- Kjøpt 2012
- Owner and collection:
- Nasjonalmuseet for kunst, arkitektur og design, The Fine Art Collections
- Photo:
- Børre Høstland
- Copyright:
- © Heier, Marianne/BONO
Nasjonalmuseet's collection catalogue is a living resource of information gathered since the 1830's. Some records may contain language or ideas that today could be perceived as outdated, offensive or discriminatory with regard to for instance gender, sexuality, ethnicity or disability, and that may be at odds with the museum's values regarding equality and diversity.
Do you have suggestions for how this record can be improved? We would like to hear from you!
If you would like more information about specific objects in the collection or about objects that haven't been published online, please contact the museum. You can read more about how we work with the collection and our cataloguing practice here.































