The Kalevala has inspired artists in many disciplines. Its stories have been turned into not only visual art but also opera, comic strips, heavy rock, poetry, prose, drama and dance. The entire Tolkien Trilogy was inspired by the Kalevala, The Kalevala is the Homer of all Nordic peoples well before the Vikings.
The Kalevala was published for the first time in 1835 and in a revised edition in 1849. The publisher was the Finnish Literature Society, which promoted the collection of old folk poetry.Finnish rune-singing has a tradition going back over 2000 years. The poems are in a distinctive alliterative four-beat metre (trochaic tetrameter) that came to be known as 'Kalevala metre'. They were sometimes sung to a kantele accompaniment. The ancient singing tradition was strong throughout the country up to the 16th century but began to weaken after the Reformation.
Elias Lönnrot gathered some of the poems together to form a single epic narrative. The result was a story with a continuous plot, held together in places with new additions.
When the Kalevala was published, Finland was an autonomous Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire. Right from the start, the work played a major role in strengthening the standing of the Finnish language and culture. The Kalevala began to be thought of as the country's national epic, and its publication aroused immediate interest abroad, too. To date, it has been translated into over 60 languages.
The Kalevalastory begins with a description of the creation of the world and ends at the beginning of a new cultural era, when Christianity reaches Finland. It describes mythical events, the battles and heroic deeds of two warring clans, the peoples of Kalevala and Pohjola.
Kalevala Poetic
Swirling air and legs alight and the lands are formed .... the Eggs open spilling out the mystery of creation.....launching windswept Vessels transporting the sage song-weaver Vainamoinen ...... always to be rekindled.... recreated in Sampo's fiery light washed upon the shores .........in a whirling quiet of creativity.
CONSTRUCTION:
Completed in an astonihsing 9 days. Opening event for Helsinki, World Design Capitol 2012
Project PROGRAM:
12' X 24' approximately
10-12 ft above ground approximately
Must float off the ground on 6 steel feet 2 ft minimum off rock site
Must be used all year, will have fire heaters
Seats minimum of 12-15 with central table.
FUNCTION:
Think tank retreat for meditating, contemplating, mediating, communicating, everything except agitating. Nature, the Kalevala lyrics, and modernity are evoked both within and without as a form and as an inner space.
