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Ugly churches have tremendum

When approached by sea, the cityscape of Helsinki is dominated by red church towers in the east and white ones in the west. The former belong to Uspenski Cathedral, the largest Orthodox church in Western Europe, and the latter to Helsinki Cathedral.

Both are familiar sights – perhaps a little too familiar. Some of us are getting bored of the Eastern ornamental style and neoclassicism, which is “sooooo 19th century.”

Postdoctoral Researcher Arto Kuorikoski has a few alternative sights to suggest. Kuorikoski is a great fan of dull and ugly churches, although that is not exactly how he puts it. “Art that immediately pleases the eye is only able to offer pleasant aesthetic experiences,” he explains. “Religion and the sacred, however, also have tremendum, the ability to shake us to the core. This essential element is not manifested by buildings that are just nice and pretty.”

Kuorikoski has compiled more than 20,000 photographs of Finnish and international church architecture and art on Kuvio[http://www.kuvio.helsinki.fi/], the image archive of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Helsinki (www.kuvio.helsinki.fi). In fact, he took many of the photographs.

To some degree, his rebellion against traditional styles is also rebellion against the Kuorikoski family. In the 19th century, members of the family built wooden churches in the coastal regions of the northernmost bay of the Baltic Sea in Ostrobothnia. “I feel that I am continuing the family tradition in some way, although my constructions are on paper,” says Arto Kuorikoski.

As a little boy, he sang with his brother on the back balcony of Kallio Church, a church representing art nouveau architecture. His father, the cantor of the church, played the organ. “Kallio Church was ingrained in my mind as an archetypal church. I have later wondered why churches should be symmetrical.”

Kuorikoski is fascinated by conflicts in church art: interests sometimes clash when artists want to stay true to their vision and parishioners want traditional paintings with angels. Pihlajamäki Church in Helsinki is a good example of this. Its altarpiece, a wooden relief called The Passion of the Christ, was made by Tapio Junno in 1976. The work portrays Christ wearing a crown of thorns. In the eyes of the parishioners, however, the thorns protruding from his forehead looked too much like two horns.

“After the dispute, the Parish Union of Helsinki issued procurement guidelines stating that church art must be completely abstract – that is, harmlessly abstract – or clearly realistic, portraying biblical events and such,” says Kuorikoski. “Modern art, however, seeks to elude absolute statements and definite interpretations. Experiences of the sacred are dialectical much in the same manner.”

Kuorikoski’s suggestions for churches to see in the Helsinki metropolitan area

Itäinen Papinkatu 2, Helsinki. Designed by Lars Sonck, 1912.
“My home church, where my father worked as cantor. Beautiful French organ – perhaps a little too beautiful. Excellent reverberation – perhaps a little too perfect.”

Kirkkopolku 4–8, Espoo. Designed by Aarne Ruusuvuori, 1965.
“Unfairly dubbed ‘concrete brutalism.’ The rough materials and the use of light enable experiences of tremendum, the awe-inspiring and even scary side of the sacred

Jämeräntaival 2–10, Espoo. Designed by Heikki and Kaija Sirén, 1957.
“The front wall is made entirely of glass. The cross is outside, in a grass field bordering on a small forest. Natural mysticism of sorts. The chapel won the Benetton Foundation’s landscape architecture prize in 2009.”

Lutherinkatu 1, Helsinki. Designed by Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen, 1969.
“A very impressive space with naturally formed rock walls. This world-famous design is more popular among the public than among architects.”

Moreenitie 4, Helsinki. Designed by Esko Korhonen, 1976.
“The interior has a clean and simple design. The altarpiece, Tapio Junno’s wooden relief The Passion of the Christ, is a prime example of the often conflicting tastes of artists and parishioners. The latter thought the thorns in Christ’s forehead looked too much like two horns.”

Uomatie 1, Vantaa. Designed by Juha Leiviskä, 1984.
“The architect had to use his imagination because of the awkwardly shaped plot by the railway.
The light reflected from the complex ceiling structures looks mystical. This play of light is reminiscent of medieval philosophers’ theories of the metaphysics of light.”

Text: Antti Kivimäki
Photo: Veikko Somerpuro

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