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On view at the American Swedish Institute May 10 to Oct 19, 2014To mark the 200th anniversary of syttende mai (May 17, Norway’s Constitution Day), ASI is partnering with the Royal Norwegian Honorary Consulate to commission and premiere the work of contemporary artist Ian Ward Garlant in North America. Garlant’s sculptural reliefs celebrate and illustrate the principles that the peaceful separation of Norway and Sweden embodies – a monument to love, mutual acceptance and compassion. Love Norway X opens at the American Swedish Institute on May 10, 2014 and runs through October 19, 2014.Born in 1962 to an English father and Norwegian mother, Garlant left an illustrious career in London’s top fashion houses, including the men's clothiers Aquascutum and Hardy Amies, to dedicate his life to making art full time on Norway’s Hardanger fjord. Working with and within the landscape, Garlant’s creative process involves burning, bathing and scraping pre- used wood, asphalt and sand of the fjord to create new sculptural interpretations of ancient earthly monuments. His work has been embraced and co-created with community members from Hatlestrand, Norway, a small village on the edge of the Hardangerfjord. Together with local craftsmen, Garlant has found new ways to use readily available materials, some traditional and others high tech. Utilizing an array of quotations, words, symbols and patterns, culled from both the ancient and the modern, the pieces reflects mankind's continued hopes and wishes to create the best of all possible worlds – a testiment to love.Presented in the historic Turnblad Mansion Galleries, Love Norway X is comprised of two sculptural reliefs: " The Construction of Love", based on the Norwegian National Flag, measuring 14’ by 11.5’ and composed of 47 wooden box frames, each carrying a single symbol, attached to a freestanding "baffled" wall. The second, "Virgil's Column / A Golden Ideal", is a contemporary version of a freestanding runestone or dolman. The exhibition is produced by the American Swedish Institute, with support from the Royal Norwegian Honorary Consulate and in partnership with Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. Love Norway X is made possible through the generous support of the Anne Ray Charitable Trust and the American Scandinavian Foundation. The American Swedish Institute is a gathering place for all people to share experiences around themes of culture, migration, the environment and the arts, informed by enduring links to Sweden. 2600 Park Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, USA. ASImn.org.
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5/24/2018 American Swedish Institute - LoveNorwayX :Installations by Ian Ward Garlant Gallery Guide
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The Construction of Love
Sculpture
2014
Ian Ward Garlant
This giant Norwegian flag integrates symbols, words,
and meaningful quotes from a range of cultures. Tibetan
inscriptions appear next to Chinese hexagrams. Nordic
runes bump up against Arabic calligraphy. Each language
is unique, but the words are created with strikingly similarlines. Universal themes of love and compassion come
together to form a collage of global truth.
Tui = Joy (I Ching)
The I Chingis an ancient Chinese text, originally used for
divinaon and now considered a book of wisdom. In the
I Ching, sixty-four hexagrams provide advice on everyday
challenges. Each hexagram consists of a combinaon of
six horizontal lines, either unbroken (yang) or split in half
(yin). This parcular hexagram means tui, or joy. Look
for it in the upper right quadrant of the ag.
Wahdah = Harmony (Kufic)
Kuc script is the earliest version of Arabic, and its geometric style diers from
the owing lines and curves recognizable as Arabic wring today. Because Kuc
script consists of straight lines and 90-degree angles, it was ideal for inscribingon metal coins or stone buildings.
This word, wahdah, means harmony in Kuc. Look for it in the lower right
quadrant of the ag.
Alu = Spirit (Nordic Runes)
Aluis oen translated as spirit, and
it appears frequently in runic texts
as a charm word designed to invokemagic. Alu has also been translated
as ale, perhaps referring to the
spiritual feeling that can accompany
intoxicaon. The English word spirit
shares this double meaning. Alu
appears sideways on the ag.
5/24/2018 American Swedish Institute - LoveNorwayX :Installations by Ian Ward Garlant Gallery Guide
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Ann ek r = I love you (Nordic Runes)
Je taime. Te amo. Ich liebe dich.
Every language has a version of this phrase. In Ancient Nordic
runes, it appears in poetry as Ann ek r.What does this
short and sweet phrase mean? Simply, I love you.
Can you ndAnn ek rin the ag? Where might you nd
other hidden inscripons of love?
Sheirab = Wisdom (Mongolian)
Looking at this Mongolian word, you can recognize
similaries among ancient scripts. The shapes andlines of this Mongolian text appear very similar to
the Tibetan and Kuc scripts; all rely on paerns of
straight lines and rectangles.
This parcular word, sheirab, means wisdom in
Mongolian. Although the word is wrien vercally, it
appears horizontally in this piece.
Tseina = Love (Horyig)
The wrien Tibetan language has remained largely
unchanged since the early 800s A.D. Horyig was a
type of seal script, meaning the symbols seen herewere used to seal ocial documents. The wordtseina
means love in Horyig text. Although its wrien
vercally, this word appears sideways across the top
of the ag in this piece.
The Construction of Love
Sculpture
2014
Ian Ward Garlant
Artist Ian Ward Garlant constructed this flag out of tough
yet lightweight boat foam, typically used to construct
lifeboats on Norwegian oil rigs. He meticulously carved
each word and symbol into foam panels and then adhered
those panels to a wooden grid, coating it all with a veneer
of silvery paint.
Use this gallery guide to explore The Construction of
Love. Search through the lines and zigzags. Seek out
meaning. What can you find?