Department of Art and Media Studies

From royal crown to a crown of thorns

Church art from the Middle Ages reflects the dramatic societal changes that were underway during this period. Artists changed the way they depicted Christ from a regal figure with a crown of gold to a suffering Christ with a crown of thorns.

Japan’s cuteness phenomenon is hundreds of years old

You’ve seen the pictures and the products: Japanese teenage girls in a pastel little-girl world, and children and adults who love Hello Kitty products. They’re all part of the Japanese kawaii phenomenon, which actually started several hundred years ago.

How forgetting about Middle Age treasures saved them

One of Scandinavia’s finest collections of church art from the Middle Ages lay hidden and forgotten in Norwegian churches for centuries. Indeed, this long forgetting is precisely what preserved the unique church art.

First film in Southern Sámi language wins prize

The verdict is in: the film Sámi Blood has won the grand jury prize at the Seattle International Film Festival. It’s the latest in a slew of awards the film has garnered. Film researcher Monica Mecsei predicts it will be highly important for Sámi filmmaking and identity.

Fear and dread in the Norwegian landscape

Norwegians generally have a good relationship with nature. But if you’ve seen any Norwegian horror movies, you might have a different impression. An important characteristic of these films is that the Norwegian landscape is fully developed as an element of the horror.

Winter is coming — likely with less violence against women

The HBO hit series “Game of Thrones” is driven by an incredibly dedicated and creative fan base that has build a multimedia universe around the TV series and original books. One researcher believes that fans will have helped tone down the amount of violence against women in season six of the TV series.