Sacred to the Touch: Nordic and Baltic Religious Wood Carving

by Thomas A. DuBois

Overview

With near-mythical forests of birch and pine, the Nordic and Baltic countries boast a rich tradition of religious wood carving that is in many ways emblematic of their cultures. Sacred to the Touch examines the spiritual and intellectual projects of six twentieth- and twenty-first-century artists who have adapted and revitalized this tradition. Through interviews and analyses, folklorist Thomas A. DuBois explores the notions of continuity with the past that these artists seek to express through their art, examining the forest church of late Finnish artist Eva Ryynänen, the carvings of Norwegian Americans Phillip Odden and Else Bigton that decorate a planned replica of a stave church in Southern California, the medieval Catholic-rooted work of Lutheran Sister Lydia Mariadotter (Swedish), the grave markers and roadside figures of Algimantas Sakalauskas (Lithuanian), and the merging of Lutheran and pre-Christian traditions by Lars Levi Sunna (Sámi). With color photographs and detailed descriptions, Sacred to the Touch reveals the interplay of tradition with personal and communal identity that characterize modern religious carving in Northern Europe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780295742427
Publisher:	University of Washington Press
Publication date:	01/01/2018
Series:	New Directions in Scandinavian Studies
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	216
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Thomas A. DuBois is the Halls-Bascom Professor of Scandinavian Studies, Folklore, and Religious Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of Lyric, Meaning and Audience in the Oral Tradition of Northern Europe and Nordic Religions in the Viking Age.

Thomas DuBois is the Halls-Bascom Professor of Scandinavian Studies, Folklore, and Religious Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of An Introduction to Shamanism (Cambridge 2009), Lyric, Meaning and Audience in the Oral Tradition of Northern Europe (Notre Dame, 2006) and Nordic Religions in the Viking Age (Pennsylvania, 1999). He is also translator of Johan Turi: An account of the Sámi (Nordic Studies Press, 2011).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Eva Ryynänen: Karjalan Kukkiva Puu (The Flowering Tree of Karelia) and Continuity Uncovered

2. Phillip Odden and Else Bigton: In Search of Knowledge and Continuity Covered

3. Sister Lydia Mariadotter: “Försök! Fortsätt!” (“Try! Continue!”) and Continuity Rediscovered

4. Lars Levi Sunna: “Válde dat dego dat lea ja don boađát oaidnit” (“Take it as it is and see what happens”) and Continuity Recovered

5. Algimantas Sakalauskas: Tikeimas (“Belief”) < Tik Éjėmas (“Just Walking”) and Continuity Discovered

Conclusion

Works Cited

Index

What People are Saying About This

Lizette Gradén

"Sacred to the Touch accomplishes an enthralling illumination of the conditions for artistic practice in twenty-first century civil society and adds to the scholarship of material culture."

Barbro Klein

"This is a brilliant analysis of religion, art, nature, culture, folklore and history in Northern Europe. In erudite, yet accessible, introductions DuBois elegantly situates these artists and their works in the religious histories of their communities. This will appeal to a broad range of readers with interests in religion, art, the humanities and social sciences."

Nancy L. Wicker

"Thomas DuBois makes a meaningful contribution to the study of religious art in the contemporary world."

Lizette Gradén

Sacred to the Touch accomplishes an enthralling illumination of the conditions for artistic practice in twenty-first century civil society and adds to the scholarship of material culture.

Patricia Berman

"Sacred to the Touch models a fresh approach to a pan-national, interdisciplinary means of studying material culture. It is exemplary in its analysis of ‘micro-histories’ that open up into deep areas of historical study."

Interviews

Sacred to the Touch examines the spiritual and intellectual projects of six modern Nordic and Baltic artists who create sculptures of religious significance in the ancient and culturally-charged medium of wood. In interviews and analyses of works of art by Finnish, Lithuanian, Norwegian-American, Sámi, and Swedish artists, most of whom are self-taught or learned their art informally from other artists, folklorist Thomas A. DuBois explores the notions of continuity that such artists seek to express or obtain through their creative acts. The study presents the historical sources and periods that Else Bigton, SisterLydia Mariadotter, Phillip Odden, Eva Ryynänen, Algimantas Sakalauskas, and Lars Levi Sunna draw on in their works, ranging from pre-Christian to medieval Catholic, to conversion-era, to Reformation-era to modern and postmodern, and Neo-pagan. Through images and descriptions, the chapters reveal the interplay of notions of tradition and personal and communal identity as these shape the works of artists living in some of the most secularized societies of modern Europe. The study contributes to the fields of Art History, Baltic Studies, Folklore Studies, Religious Studies and Scandinavian Studies.