I grew up in a Scandinavian culture, and so every year around Christmas time my mom would get out all of our decorations for the holiday season. Reindeer and birds would fill my home, and little tomte men would sit around the house in various hiding places. As the holiday season nears, I thought I would ring it in with some of my own personal culture and love of the Scandinavian art I grew up with. This artwork can be traced back to the Viking period, when the powerful leaders of the time were not just the captains of massive ships, but were also artists. Around this time so long ago, the northern region was much more isolated from the rest of Europe than it is today. Looking back, Vikings traveled around on beautifully decorated ships that were detailed with incredible carvings and designs. Often times, the Scandinavian people used mythical creatures and beasts to touch on legends and tales of the past. Over time, as the wars began to cease from the culture–there was an emphasis on the agriculture and and industry in the region.
Folk art began to morph and transition from tales of conquering and legends, to more peaceful stories with details of birds and flowers, though still incredibly moving and powerful. The two images above are examples of this type of artwork, and unfortunately since most of the artwork done in this time was not attributed to any specific artists, I was unable to find a specific name or artist by which these were done. This style of artwork has carried a deeper meaning and reflecting of culture and beliefs. Folk art is simply beautiful, and that is why it is still commonly used today, not only in my home.
In the above images, I found two quilts; these quilts are made by a company “Nazmiyal” which is named after the founding artist Jason Nazmiyal. He specially designs Scandinavian style rugs. In the bottom left is just a little dwarf man called a “tomte” and they are very often in the folk stories and the legends behind the different art pieces. I think one thing that draws me the most into this style of artwork is the simplicity and minimalism. I really appreciate this style and most of my house and way of decorating is based off of it. I love minimalism and I personally think that having few but beautiful things is wonderful and simple.
WORKS CITED:
Scandinavian Folk Art | Scandinavian and Swedish Folk Art Designs.” Nazmiyal Antique Rugs, 23 June 2017, nazmiyalantiquerugs.com/blog/scandinavian-folk-art-traditions-and-common-motifs/.
“The Uniqueness of Scandinavian Folk Art by Doris Leslie Blau.” Antique Rugs by Doris Leslie Blau, www.dorisleslieblau.com/articles/scandinavian-folk-art.
“Folk Art.” ArtHistory.net, Bitter Soup LLC, www.arthistory.net/folk-art/.
C L A I R E S C O R N E R 
Hi Claire,
I really enjoyed your blog exhibit. I appreciated the peek into your life, it helped to bring the art alive to see your perspective. I had never given the Vikings enough thought to consider them as artists and not just conquerors. I also appreciate the minimalist artistic approach. It is so pretty and beautiful as well as simple. There are not so many subjects that I do not know what to look at. I know exactly what the artist intended me to see and I can enjoy it better knowing what to look at. I find it interesting that the Viking artwork differs so widely from the artwork found in the rest of Europe. Despite the proximity to these other cultures, the Vikings did not adopt their styles. Perhaps this was because the Vikings were also conquerors and did not take the time to examine the artwork in the places they conquered. Thank you for sharing such interesting pieces with us!
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Great choice for a non-western blog exhibit. I didn’t grow up with Scandinavian art in my home but I have lived in small Alaska town that was settled by Norwegians for 7 years so it has become a common sight for me. It was really interesting reading your research about Scandinavian folk art, especially the transition from battles and victories to animals and calmer mythology. My favorite piece you shared was the piece with the bear in the center. The colors and symmetry are very aesthetically pleasing and the bear focal point is something I like in general as well. It also reminds me of all the rosemaling that I see around my small Norwegian settled town. I found a really great webpage that lays out the history of rosemaling too: http://www.rosemaling.org/history.htm . It was actually really interesting for me to learn more about the history of rosemaling and the shift in the style as the artists moved away from the guilds into rural areas to work, then shifted further as rural, untrained artists began taking up rosemaling. I also found the websites observation that “Rosemaling went out of style in about 1860-1870. Rosemaling experienced it’s revival in America in the 20th century when Norwegian-Americans gave attention to the painted trunks and other objects brought to America by their ancestors.” That is exactly what happened in my town. People brought their family treasure with them, that were rosemaled, and it resurged as people tried to breath their own heritage into their new town.
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I thought you exhibit was beautiful. It is also pretty cool that this style of art is part of your actual culture. The print work is what stands out to me the most. I also found out that Scandnavian art is still close to its purest form due to the style staying close to home. Though I don’t think outside influence is a bad thing when it comes to art it but it seems it would be rare for a community to keep its style so traditional.
https://nazmiyalantiquerugs.com/blog/scandinavian-folk-art-traditions-and-common-motifs/
In truth not my first choice of art style but still enjoyable to see.
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I really enjoyed your exhbit. I also grew up with alot of scandinavian art in our home and had at least one stuffed “tomte” when i was young. I am also drawn to teh simplicity of the folk art. I am sure there are legends or stories that accompnay these peices, which makes it even more intriguing to look at and think about. I am also drawn to the symmetry and deliberateness of each work. It shows how developed the thought and plan was behind each piece.
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