Every summer a group of four of us from Art College get together for a weekend,
a good chance to eat, drink, gossip, laugh and understand more about where we all live.
This year it was time to go and visit my old room mate in Trondheim, Norway.
A stunning city full of multi coloured wooden building, very walkable and friendly.
And for me, a fantastic museum of Decorative Art and Design,
featuring an exhibition of the work by the Tapestry Artist Hannah Ryggen
Now I will admit she was not someone I was aware of and I should have been, it was powerful stuff.
But one piece blew me away (I asked if I could take these photos)
'We live upon a star' 1958
This is what the info said and explains the goose bumps.
We live upon a star is a commissioned artwork by Hannah Ryggen for the new government building in Oslo in 1958. The work is a philosophical depiction of humanity, and was meant to remind politicians everyday of how we should act towards one another and towards the earth itself. The work was damaged in the terrorist attack on July 22nd 2011 , making it all the more relevant as a statement of Ryggen's humanistic message and as a symbol for the struggle against violence and destruction. The scar is still visible in the lower part of the tapestry.
Powerful stuff
I think how they have repaired it also speaks volumes.
It has been mended but the scars are still visible,
what happened in now part of the tapestries story and message.
Hello Caro. Susan from California writing. This post was so well written and I learned much. I followed your links to read about Hannah and the massacres in 2011. I remember when the attacks happened, but only heard about the attack at the camp. It was so terrible.
ReplyDeleteI admire the beautiful tapestry by Hannah and am so thankful it wasn't destroyed.
I enjoy your blog posts very much.
Thank you so much for your kind word, it really was an amazingly powerful and beautiful piece. And I actually think the violence it suffered almost has made its message stronger. Hope you have a great weekend? Caro
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