In Pursuit of THE GENUINE CHRISTIAN IMAGE Erland Forsberg as a Lutheran Producer of Icons in the Fields of Culture and Religion Juha Malmisalo Academic dissertation To be publicly discussed, by permission of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Helsinki, in Auditorium XII in the Main Building of the University, on May 14, 2005, at 10 am. Helsinki 2005 1 In Pursuit of THE GENUINE CHRISTIAN IMAGE Erland Forsberg as a Lutheran Producer of Icons in the Fields of Culture and Religion Juha Malmisalo Helsinki 2005 2 ISBN 952-91-8539-1 (nid.) ISBN 952-10-2414-3 (PDF) University Printing House Helsinki 2005 3 Contents Abbreviations .......................................................................................................... 4 Abstract ................................................................................................................... 6 Preface ..................................................................................................................... 7 1. Encountering Peripheral Cultural Phenomena ......................................... 9 1.1. Forsberg’s Icon Painting in Art Sociological Analysis: Conceptual Issues and Selected Perspectives ............................................................ 9 1.2. An Adaptation of Bourdieu’s Theory of Cultural Fields .......................... 18 1.3. The Pictorial Source Material: Questions of Accessibility and Method .. 23 2. Attempts at a Field-Constitution ................................................................ 30 2.1. Educational, Social, and Religious Capital in the Trajectory Formation of the Agent ............................................................................................. 30 2.2. Way of Life: Artistic and Religious Dispositions as Constructive Components of the Agent’s Habitus ........................................................ 40 2.3. Forsberg’s Literary Position-Takings and Dispositions in Public Debate .. 46 2.4. The Structural Creation of Entrance and Consecration .......................... 52 2.5. Genuineness and Acceptance .................................................................. 56 3. The Production of the Producer as a Space of Pictorial Position-Takings 69 3.1. Implemented Public Works – An Introductory Analysis ......................... 69 3.2. Icons in Finnish Lutheran Sacred Spaces – A Comparative Contextual Inquiry ..................................................................................................... 93 3.2.1. Antiquarian Icons ......................................................................... 93 3.2.2. Revivalist Byzantine Icons ........................................................... 98 3.2.3. Icon-type/Iconic Objects and Related Phenomena ...................... 112 3.2.4. Concluding Remarks .................................................................... 117 4. Formative Structures.................................................................................... 119 4.1. Language and Nationality ......................................................................... 119 4.2. Religious Distinctions ............................................................................... 125 4.3. Parish Administration ............................................................................... 135 4.4. Artistic and Cultural Currents ................................................................... 138 5. Conclusion: the Production of the Producer and the Space of Possibles 143 6. Appendix ......................................................................................................... 147 6.1. Preliminary List of Implemented Public Works ...................................... 147 6.2. Preliminary List of Icons and Icon-type Objects in Finnish Lutheran Sacred Spaces ......................................................................................... 151 6.3. Byzantine Pictorial Materials Published in Kotimaa, 1960–2000 ............. 155 7. Sources and Bibliography ............................................................................. 161 4 Abbreviations ACLM The Archives of the Committee for Liturgy and Music of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland AKF Arbetsgruppen Kyrklig Förnyelse (The working Group for Ecclesiastical Re- generation) KJMK Kirkon Jumalanpalvelus- ja Musiikkitoimikunta (The Committee for Liturgy and Music of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland) LW Luther’s Works VELPA Vaasa Evangelical Lutheran Parishes: Parish Archives VFPA Vaasa Finnish Parish Archives VPCA Vaasa Parishes Common Archives VSPA Vaasa Swedish Parish Archives WA Weimarer Ausgabe 5 « Cette opposition de principe entre le hiératisme byzantin et l’historisme occidental se retrouve dans l’interprétation de tous les thèmes religieux. Il en résulte une conséquence très importante : c’est que, tandis que la formule byzantine reste immuable, le thème initial apparaît dans l’art d’Occident en voie d’évolution continue. » (Réau 1957, p. 584.) “Conventional wisdom takes one of the two polarized views regarding the relation of art and religion: either art is the handmaiden of religion, or else the artist is an autonomous agent working out of his or her own inspiration, which may or may not parallel the specific concerns of religion. But surely the relationship is much more complex than this simplistic opposition suggests….” (Morgan 1998, p. 2) 6 Abstract This study applies art sociological, Bourdieusian methodology in an analysis of the ap- pearance of revivalist Byzantine imagery in Swedish and Finnish Lutheran sacred spaces in 1960-2000, with a particular focus on the icon painter Erland Forsberg’s large and still continuing production. Forsberg is presented as a produced producer, as an agent related to the social, cultural and religious structures making his production, his influence, and his position-takings manifest and possible. These structures are discovered among several Lutheran ecclesiastical agents and movements such as the High Church and Retreat move- ments, and also amid the promotional and restrictive field of the Swedish language and culture. Generally, the opponents and supporters of this phenomenon were divided in their opinions in terms of the authenticity of the production and the right to adapt Byzantine/ Orthodox pictorial expressions into Lutheran usage. The promotional agents, in particular, intermingled theology and art history in an attempt to present the re-produced religious image as the original Christian one. Ultimately, Forsberg’s production is conceptualized as related to cultural currents: earlier rejection of Byzantine expressions (in Finland), con- temporary esteem, modernist and post-modernist ideas, and Protestant consumption of reproduced religious prints. The analysis concentrates on Finnish acquisitions of the implemented public works of Forsberg. Often placed as Lutheran altarpieces and realized in several instances as triptychs and polyptychs, Forsbergian icons represent an infusion of Byzantine pictorial materials. Additionally, several details adopted from historical works of church art and certain adapted structural and spatial solutions make the icons appear potentially suitable for Lutheran ritual use. In comparison to the diverse icons in Lutheran sacred spaces in Finland, such as those pertaining to the emergence of the Marian image, Forsbergian icons present unequaled solutions as pictorial position-takings. Keywords: art sociology, Bourdieu, Byzantine, contemporary, culture, Finnish, icon, lan- guage, Lutheran, the Mother of God, nationality, Orthodox, Pantocrator, position-taking, religion, ritual, sacred space, saints, Swedish 7 Preface It is, indeed, an enjoyable task to show my appreciation of all the encouragement and support I have benefitted from while bringing this study to completion. Several individuals and institutional representatives made significant contributions in terms of data and meth- odological and practical support. The Christian Foundation for Support to Science and Art (Tieteen ja Taiteen Kristillinen Tukisäätiö), the Church Research Center and the Ecclesias- tical Board of the Lutheran Church of Finland, the Finnish Academy project “Växelverkan och identitet” (“Interaction and Identity”), the Faculty of Theology and the Department of Practical Theology at the University of Helsinki, the Finnish Graduate School of Theology, and the Rector of the University of Helsinki all had a significant role in the funding of the study. Firstly, I am greatly indebted to my advisor, Professor Markku Heikkilä, for his insightful and inspirational encouragement and guidance during the various stages of the research process. I would like to thank Professor Heikki Hanka in particular for his thorough guidance on matters concerning art history and the sociology of art, Kari Kotkavaara, Ph.D., for his wide-ranging expertise on revivalist icons, Professor Eila Helander at the Finnish Graduate School of Theology for her inspirational support, Professor Jyrki Knuu- tila for his encouragement and support, and Professor David Morgan for his endorsement and thought-provoking ideas that influenced my studies from the very beginning. I owe my deepest gratitude to Mr. Erland Forsberg and his family: it was his friendliness, his great cordiality and his interest in my study at the very start that made it possible to realize this project. Furthermore, several friends and colleagues have made valuable contributions at all stages of this enterprise. Timo Pokki, Th.D., crucially enriched my studies with his