Sissel Undheim

@unsissel.bsky.social

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Religious studies professor @University of Bergen, studying religion in Late Antiquity, Lego, pop culture and public schools. https://www4.uib.no/en/find-employees/Sissel.Undheim

Screen shot of text. For the whole speech, follow the link in the post. "reeds and a bird. Some have been asking when will the steel structure be removed? The answer is never, because it supports this beautiful mosaic and shows us that we support one another. The monument links together the city and the island of Utøya. The names of all 77 victims are engraved in the steel beam at the bottom. And when we look towards the mosaic, we are in fact also looking towards Utøya."
Monumental 300 000 tesserae black and white mosaic depicting a fragile wading bird and its upside-down reflection in the water, surrounded by thin reeds, framed and supported (also partially) over the motif by a massive blue steel rig. The sun only reaches the upper half, leaving the bird's reflection in the lower half in the shadow.
Text: Decorazione pittorica di una nicchia con Aiace e Cassandra Dalla Necropoli di Porto all'Isola Sacra, tomba 87 Pictorial decoration of a niche with Ajax and Cassandra From the Necropolis of Portus on the Isola Sacra, tomb 87 Meta del II secolo d.C. / Mid-2nd century AD Intonaco dipinto (affresco)/ Painted plaster (fresco) Inv 10115
Cassasanda clinging to the altar and statue of Athena while Ajax forecefully drags her away from it. The motif is well known in myth as well as visual art. From the museum's label: "Decorazione pittorica di una nicchia con Aiace e Cassandra Dalla Necropoli di Porto all'Isola Sacra, tomba 87 Pictorial decoration of a niche with Ajax and Cassandra From the Necropolis of Portus on the Isola Sacra, tomb 87 Meta del II secolo d.C. / Mid-2nd century AD Intonaco dipinto (affresco)/ Painted plaster (fresco) Inv 10115
Photo of the reconstructed colossal statue of Constantine the Great in the gardens of the Musei Capitolini, Rome. Me in front for scale.
Image of inscription where Trump's name was added to the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Photo from this article: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/30/trump-kennedy-center-nye-band-cancellation
Street art av Pøbel, sett fra Bryne stasjon. Feirende Erling Braut Haaland. Tekst: "Snakk med fødne så går helste alt aent godt"
Three books: Emily Wilson's Crossing the wine-dark sea, Jacqueline Arthur-Montagne's Fiction and education in the Roman world + Anna Bonnell Freidin's Birthing Romans.
To the left, Piam (in Phrygian cap) kneeling, pleading Achilles (not shown/preserved) to return his son. The whole scene appears very crowded and with a lot of movement, with Trojans accompanying Priam and Greek men in the background. The body of Hector, carried by two men, is foregrounded and occupies the central space of the relief. Mourning women, identified as Andromache, Cassandra and Hecuba, together with Hector’s son Astyanax, to the right of Hector's body.
Text on the sign outside the gate: "PORTERIE DU GRAND COUVENT XVe - XVIII siecle Cette porte du XVIII siecle marque l'entrée de la porterie du Grand Couvent, monastere de femmes fondé par saint Césaire en 508 et comportant un cloître, des bấtiments conventuels et plusieurs églises. L'abbaye Saint-Césaire fut un des plus grands établissements religieux de la ville d'Arles jusqu'a la Révolution Francaise. Les abbesses, élues chaque année étaient les filles des familles nobles d'Arles."
Street art in Arles 2023. Seemingly elaborately framed version of Élisabeth Vigée-Le Brun's portrait of her daughter, Julie Le Brun, where the girl's face is covered by a black scarf mask with a red circle A.
Partially broken and somewhat faded part of a wall at Villa San Marco (near Stabia). Centrally located in the framed scene is a sphinx (profile view) turned towards a man below who faces upwards to the sphinx.
Large part of the wall with elaborate and detailed decorations, some so-called"Egyptian style" and Egyptian deities. Also botanical elements near the floor. Dark (faded black) background. The winged snake centrally placed on a horisontal band decorated with tiny figures. Villa dei Misteri, Pompeii
Winged snake with a head ornament, posing elegantly on an elevated kylix-like "plate". Square frame, black background.
Male figure seated on a large rock at the center of the mural, his face reflected in the water below.
Text in the museum's description: Seated Narcissus is reflected in the water beside a cupid with a torch Villa del Petraro, frigidarium 17 Stucco, c. AD 79 61002 Narciso seduto si specchia nell'acqua, accanto un amorino con fiaccola Villa del Petraro, frigidarium 17 Stucco, 79 d.C. ca.
Photo of hallway with text indicating direction toward: "Hell Congress Hall". Taken in the lobby of Scandic Hotel Hell, Norway.
Snow covered field w/black dog in grey sweater decorated with a smiling Mickey Mouse motif on the back.
The museum's description of the "Sarcophage dit de la Nativité".
Central scene on a late 4th century sarcophagus, divided in two square "boxes". Baby Jesus in the manger centrally placed, with ox and ass facing him and seemingly smiling. Mary on his left, with the star above her head. A shepherd on the right. The three magi in the "box" below, apparently discussing and pointing to the scene above them. Musée départemental Arles antique. Photo: me. Photo of the museum's description will be posted below.
Tabby cat sleeping in the middle of the Pompeii street (via Consolare, at the porta Ercolano). Photo: me, 17.11.2025
Profile, 3/4 of man reading in central panel, with light background and delicate architectonical features, flanked by red and yellow mostly monochrome panels, partly framed by architectonical elements. Villa Arianna (Ariadne), Stabia
Part of wall fresco at Villa San Marco in Stabia. Lower part of the panel in dark red background, small female figure dressed in yellow over blue long dress standing at the bottom, holding the partly veiled Palladium (?) and a downward pointed rod. Upper panel:light background, female, semi-dressed, sitting with her back and face turned towards the viewer, holding a lyre. Panel framed by delicate gold pattern on left side and a slim solid golden column on the right.
Photo of hallway with text indicating direction: "Hell Congress Hall". Taken in the lobby of Scandic Hotel Hell, Norway.
Sign at the site of ancient Thorikos, Greece. Yellow attention triangle above a round red/white/black sign that looks like a human standing on a crossed out couch.
Photo from "Alternativmessen" 2024. Tondo depicting female angel holding a light, set in a dream catcher like frame decorated with white, light brown and pastel purple feathers. Lighted from behind by a Christmas tree light chain.
Close-up face of a black dog (spaniel-mix) with big open eyes begging for cheese.
Black dog sleeping on a couch.
Ginger and white cat in a green, overgrown yard being stroked on his back by the front paw of a black, slightly bigger dog. For ginger cat appreciation day 😻
Photo of mare and foal. Norwegian horse breed called fjording.
Photo of exhibition text: "EN In "Fan Their Hearts, Inflame Them More", artist Aurora Passero wove the threadsn in traditional plain weave at the top. The seven-meter-long dyed warp threads that flow freely from the weave constitute the work's centrepiece. The title borrows from Greek poet Homer's Odyssey, in which Penelope is besieged by hopeful suitors while waiting for her husband Odysseus to return from war. Penelope promises that she will choose one of them when the carpet that she is weaving is finished. What no one knows is that she unravels the carpet at night and starts over the next day. Penelope inflames the suitors but chooses none of them. This work marked a turning point in Passero's artistic practice, when in 2010 she began working in monumental woven formats. Aurora Passero's woven works are like abstract sculptural paintings, where colour and texture create an immersive visual experience. She usually creates works specifically for the spaces in which they are to be exhibited. The relationship with architecture is an important starting point for her artistic process, which explores the resistance and balance between material, form, colour, space and content. "Fan Their Hearts, Inflame Them More" is one of twelve artworks shown in the exhibition Skudd, Fangst og u(Ro) as part of the Norwegian Association for Arts and Crafts' 50th anniversary in 2025. www.norskekunsthandverkere.no/nk50"
Aurora Passero: "Fan their hearts, inflame them more". (2010). Monumental textile artwork. Deichman library, Bjørvika, Oslo. Exhibition text in thread.
Representation (almost grafitti like drawing with pale colors) of a nude male figure hanging/standing? on a rock formation, arm spread. Bird on his left side appear to pick its beak at the man's ribs. Detail from the Columbarium of villa Doria Pamphilj, Palazzo Massimo, Rome.
Cover of book: Tsakos, A. , & von der Lippe, M. (Ed.). (2025). The Archangel Michael Beyond Orthodoxies: History, Politics and Popular Culture. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Retrieved April 25, 2025, from http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781350302716
Two facing images: left marble sitting sighthound, (one of four) guarding a corner of an ancient Roman base; right: my black Poodle/Spaniel mix dog Sirius, - otherwise very fluffy but now with a fresh, sleek fur cut, - with the same pose.
Women dressed in white (as "Vestal Virgins") carrying vessels and walking in procession down a narrow street. Screenshot from IG reel linked in skeet above.
Photo of long inscription dedicated to the deceased woman Allia Potestas. Exhibited at the Museo della Comunicazione Scritta dei Romani (Terme di Diocleziano) in Rome.
Sunset view and ferry on Bjørnafjorden with black dog on deck in the foreground, POV from crossing ferry.
Lego box Orchid from Botanical collection. 608 pcs.
Man (bald, bearded, - "teacher style") seated 3/4 profile facing partly towards smaller girl standing in front of him apparently reading from a scroll. Tunica clad people, probably slaves, in the background. Fuller description (in French) of the whole sarcophagus in the Louvre-link in the post.
View of Bjørnafjorden towards Folgefonna glacier, as seen from the windows of our workshop meeting room at Solstrand hotel today.
Call for papers: We invite proposals for 4 sessions: 1. An open call for papers re: "New Developments in GRR." 2. New Directions in Comparing the Bible & Greco-Roman Religions (with Hebrew Philology). Comparison of the Bible (HB/NT) and the G-R world has recently experienced a resurgence. This new conversation has shifted away from linear influence, instead asking broader questions about how these literatures and cultures illuminate each other. We welcome papers that advance such comparative study, whether through new comparanda or methodological reflection on biblical/G-R comparison, especially those that engage G-R philosophy and other kinds of cultural discourse in their relationship to religion. 3. Honoring Frederick Brenk: Religion & religious thought in the early and high Roman empire (with SAMR). We invite papers on the relationship between religion, philosophy, and literature in Plutarch and others in the first two centuries of the Roman empire in honor of Frederick Brenk. Topics might include Plutarch's views on religion and society; studies of Plutarch's and his contemporaries’ religious thought; figures of the Second Sophistic as religious practitioners and theorists; 1st and 2nd c. treatments of religious practices; connections between Middle Platonic philosophy and religion; the legacy of Brenk’s work. The panel aims to celebrate Brenk's contributions while fostering new discussions and insights. 4. The Divine Feminine. For decades, the “divine feminine” has admitted to broad conceptual definition and to diverse methodological approaches. This panel builds on last year’s on Goddess Worship by considering how this broad concept pertains to G-R religions and to connections/comparisons between these and Judaism, Christianity, and related traditions. Viable topics include degree and forms of correlation between the divine feminine and divine being(s); relationship of devotees’ gender to deities; impact of the divine feminine on worship practices and institu…
Photo of catalogue from exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum: Saints and Salvation. Black cover dominated by a large photo of a gold glass roundel, with rich pattern of couple (portrait) in the center and biblical scenes encircling them.
Museum's description (from link in post): "Fondo di piatto con Agnese orante, a figura intera, fra i busti di Pietro e Paolo; intorno al capo dei personaggi, didascalie".
Glass roundel with leaf gold pattern depicting standing female figure identified with the letters AG NE above her head. She is in a spread arms pose, with two bust size figures on either side below her arms, identified with letters as Peter and Paul.
Black dog (doodlemix) in a grey knitted sweather with Mickey Mouse on the back. Dog sits on a snow covered road with his back towards the camera, looking left.
Photo taken from above of black dog with stick on the ground in the snow. Dog looking upwards. Wearing beige dog parka. Snow on the nose and spinkled in the fur.
Screen shot from Duo lingo (French) with English to be translated: "After Christmas, I'm on a little diet".
Christmas tree ornament with panda ant text Panda Ridge, San Diego Zoo