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Proclaiming
Faith
by
Art
in
Mjendalen
Church,
Norway
BY
TOR
TJERANSEN
|
TED
NEWS
little
bit
up.
Straight
for-
ward.”
With
a
steady
hand,
Tor
Magne
Eilertsen
maneuvered
a
large
forklift
in
the
main
sanc-
tuary
of
the
Mjgndalen
Sev-
enth-day
Adventist
church,
Norway.
There
were
shouts
from
excited
members
of
the
decoration
committee
as
large,
wooden
elements
were
mounted
on
the
church
walls.
When
completed,
four
panels
make
up
a
red,
circular
instal-
lation
with
religious
symbols
and
quotes
from
the
Book
of
Revelation.
This
is
just
one-
third
of
a
larger
installation
depicting
biblical
themes.
The
installation
marked
the
completion
of
eighteen
months
of
skilled
work.
More
impor-
tantly,
it
is
an
expression
of
the
personal
faith
of
Adventist
artist,
Dag
T.
Hansen.
For
the
Mijgndalen
congregation
it
is
also
a
desire
to
convey
their
faith
through
sight,
not
just
through
words
and
music.
Hansen
has
always
been
an
artist,
but
not
always
an
Adven-
tist.
While
at
art
college
in
the
1980s,
he
developed
a
specialty
in
wood
carving,
but
also
fell
in
love
with
another
student,
Gry
Shjgll,
who
happened
to
be
an
Adventist.
With
Gry
as
a
spiri-
tual
coach,
biblical
faith
became
an
ever
more
important
part
of
Dag’s
life
until,
during
a
long
mountain
trek,
Dag
was
baptized
by
an
Adventist
pas-
tor.
That
fitted
well
with
his
longing
to
live
close
to
nature
and
the
God
of
nature.
Dag
and
Gry
married
and,
since
1995,
have
worked
together
on
Haaberget
Farm,
where
he
has
his
studio.
The
decision
to
become
a
Seventh-day
Adventist
was
not
an
easy
choice.
However,
for
Hansen
it
was
not
good
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enough
to
go
with
the
flow.
He
has
brought
that
experi-
ence
into
his
artwork
by
depicting
a
fish
swimming
against
the
current.
“The
fish
is
an
ancient
sym-
bol
for
Christ,”
he
says.
“You
must
have
the
courage
to
Daring
to
be
a
stand
for
what
is
right
and
Christian
may
true.
As
a
young
Adventist
you
may
encounter
great
pres-
sure.
Daring
to
be
a
Christian
~~
pot
be
easy,
but
may
not
be
easy,
but
we
must
have
the
courage
to
stand
by
our
convictions.”
we
must
have
Hansen
is
secure
in
his
faith,
but
he
is
not
a
man
who
talks
if
the
courage
to
he
has
nothing
important
to
say.
However,
through
his
art,
he
is
proclaiming
faith.
The
stand
by
our
new
artwork
in
the
Mjgndalen
church
is
definitely
proclaiming
oo
Adventist
faith,
even
if
the
mes-
convictions.
sages
contained
in
it
are
not
always
obvious.
Large
pieces
of
art
are
not
easily
ignored.
“The
art
is
there
in
the
church.
Everyone
who
enters
the
sanc-
tuary
must
see
it,”
Dag
states.
That
is
why
he
uses
clear
symbols
without
wanting
to
be
too
forward.
He
wants
Adventists
who
look
at
the
art
to
recognize
central
tenets
of
their
faith.
At
the
same
time,
he
hopes
that
those
with
no