Modern rock carving
John Audun Hauge made a decoration for the Science Building at the University of Bergen in the early 1980’s. More than ten years later, he again put his stamp on the University environment. He produced a thrice-magnified replica of an authentic rock carving, in aluminum. The rock carving is placed on the stone wall at the top of Magnus Barfot Street, pointing the way up towards the University of Bergen.
![John Audun Hauge: Helleristning, 1997. John Audun Hauge: Helleristning, 1997.](https://www.uib.no/sites/w3.uib.no/files/styles/content_main/public/w2/_m/_mg_1100_.jpg?itok=9eN69xrC×tamp=1579190925)
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The rock carving which provided the motif is 4000 years old, from Ausevik in Sogn og Fjordane, and the aluminum Hauge used is from the same county. The aluminum was cut with a plasma cutter, and the modern technique and material contrasts with the faithful rendering of the motif.
The rock carving consists of several deer figures, a dancing man and a magical spiral, which was commonly used to ensure good hunting. The piece can remind us that the Bergen Museum, which the University grew out from, specialized in, among other things, history and relics of antiquity.
John Audun Hauge (1955-) works as a sculptor in Bergen. Hauge is very interested in things marine, and boats are often the inspiration for his sculptures. In the long series of public sculptures he has made, special mention should be given to the memorial of the tsunami victims in 2004, situated in Paradisbukta at Bygdøy. He has participated at the Autumn Exhibition six times and the Western Exhibition five times. His pieces have been shown at a range of solo and group exhibitions, and can be found in most of the major public art galleries in Norway.
NORA SØRENSEN VAAGE