I enjoy that Peter Zumthor and Louise Bourgeois' monument to victims of the witch hunts in what is Steilneset in modern Norway. Particularly in its bleached winter form, it is a reminder that even the most desolate and seemingly empty places can hold powerful memories. At the end of this post, click "read more" to read Liv Helene Willumsen's The Witchcraft Trials in Finnmark, Northern Norway – A Survey.
Also, I should mention the efforts and support of those at National Tourist Routes in Norway who kindly provided the imagery for this post as well as the background information featured below.
"At the end of the 16th century, witch-hunts started to spread through large parts of Europe. More people were convicted of sorcery and burned at the stake in Vardø than anywhere else in Norway. From 1600 to 1692, a total of 135 people were accused of sorcery in Finnmark. 91 of these were convicted and executed."
"The history is communicated through excerpts from historical sources as well as art and architecture in an international format, realized in a unique collaboration between the artist Louise Bourgeois and the architect Peter Zumthor. Bourgeois’ contribution comprises a chair with five gas flames reflected in seven encircling oval mirrors. The artwork is located in a separate glass and steel building designed by the architect Peter Zumthor. His contribution also comprises a 125 metre long building with an illuminated window for each of the victims who were executed in Finnmark. The memorial is located in the vicinity of the assumed execution site.
Through her studies of the old court records, the historian Liv Helene Willumsen has elucidated the fate of the 91 persons who were convicted and executed, their stories being retold on individual memorial plaques with the names of the victims."
"The texts for the exhibition in the memorial hall at Steilneset are written by Liv Helene Willumsen (b. 1948) on the basis of court records from the 17th century. Willumsen is Assistant Professor of History at the Department of History and Religious Studies, University of Tromsø.
Willumsen is the country’s foremost expert on the Finnmark witchcraft trials, having studied these for several decades and with a PhD degree in the subject. Willumsen has published several books on the Finnmark witchcraft trials, the most recent being a major treatise in Norwegian and English, containing the original sources of the trials."
Louise Bourgeois (1911 – 2010)"Louise Bourgeois is considered to be one of the most influential artists of the contemporary era. She was born in Paris, but did not have her real international breakthrough until she was 70 years old. In 1938 she moved to New York, where she lived and worked until her death. Bourgeois’ projects have strong symbolic connotations. Her youth, which was marred by conflicts and gender complications, the struggle she faced as a woman in an art world dominated by men and the experience of motherhood constitute the thematic backdrop of her work.
Bourgeois’ creations are mostly sculptural and range from the abstract to the figurative, executed in various materials such as glass, metal and textiles. She is also well known for her intimate drawings, which are often combined with text fragments. In recent years, the art of Louise Bourgeois has been shown on major retrospective exhibitions in London, Paris, New York and Los Angeles. The project in Vardø became the final major installation that Louise Bourgeois created."
Peter Zumthor (b. 1943)"As the son of a cabinetmaker in Basel, Peter Zumthor from an early age learned to give shape to materials. In the sixties he studied at the Pratt Institute in New York and soon became involved in restoration of historic buildings. His constructions, in which he explores the structure and sensory qualities of rooms and materials, have brought him wide international acclaim. He lives and works in Haldenstein, Switzerland.Zumthor’s approach tends to be minimalist, and his works emanate an exquisite, poetic sensuality in their choice of materials, surfaces and spaces. His work has been relatively little documented; his approach is that architecture should mainly be experienced in direct encounters.In 2009 Zumthor received the Pritzker Architecture Prize, which is the most prestigious award an architect can earn. Zumthor is also commissioned by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration to develop Almannajuvet gorge near Sauda in Ryfylke to a unique attraction in the framework of the National Tourist Routes."
Links:
Peter Zumthor
Louise Bourgeois
Liv Helene Willumsen
National Tourist Routes in Norway
Peter Zumthor wins RIBA (Guardian)
Louise Bourgeois (Guardian)
Read Liv Helene Willumsen's paper "The Witchcraft Trials in Finnmark, Northern Norway – A Survey" below.
