Wittgenstein's hut

We have touched briefly before on the remote Norwegian log cabin above Lake Eidsvatnet Lake in Sogn in which philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein did some of his finest thinking overlooking the fjord but realised we are guilty on not keeping readers properly up to date on its existence.

Long story short, for many years it was left to degenerate and in a state of some disrepair, but in 2019 it was finally rebuilt/restored after being carefully taken down, windows, roof tiles, timber, and all (and for a while rebuilt on an entirely different site in the nearby village).

His philosopher friend Bertrand Russell commented on Wittgenstein's extended time in the cabin: “I said it would be dark, and he said he hated daylight. I said it would be lonely, and he said he prostituted his mind talking to intelligent people. I said he was mad, and he said God preserve him from sanity. (God certainly will.)” Wittgenstein wrote back: “I am sitting here in a little place inside a beautiful fjord and thinking about the beastly theory of types"

Wittgenstein also wrote in a letter to the English philosopher G E Moore in October 1936:  “I can’t imagine that I could have worked anywhere as I do here. It’s the quiet and, perhaps, the wonderful landscapes; I mean, its quiet seriousness.”

The hut is open to visitors though it's literally a bit of a trek to get to it.

CC image courtesy Olaf Meister

***********************************************

Monday's posts are sponsored by Smart Modular Buildings, the UK's best garden room company

 

Die Hütte photo documentary

Rebecca Dixon is a fine art photographer and curator based in Manchester who is particularly interested in photography as an examination of nostalgia and memory - her next project is a photo documentary on the notion of the modern shed structure and its builder. And she's looking for shed owners who would like to take part (especially those in the north of England and Wales). Here's what she says:

"Ever since my dad began building a 1950s inspired train station waiting room in his back garden complete with train tracks, I've been interested in working on a comparison between the age old notion of the philosopher/artist in their hut, and the ideas that came from living or working in such circumstances.

"Philosophers and huts seem to go hand in hand. The scene of a thinker residing in a secluded wooden cabin in the forest has been one that has given rise to some of the most seminal ideas of western philosophy. Influential German philosopher Heidegger thrived in his hut, which he called ‘die hütte’, in the Black Forest, while existentialist wanderer Wittgenstein sought shelter in his cabin on top of a Norwegian Fjord [pictured above].  Ideas appear to flourish within such a sheltered and secluded environment, a place where thinking can be safe both physically and emotionally from outside elements.

"It would appear that the desire to build such shelters has been intrinsic not only to human survival, but also to thought, and creative practice. With the aid of shelter we are capable of functioning correctly as human beings, and our shelters provide us with an intense relationship between space, person and thought.

"This body of work will provide a documentary style set of images exploring this relationship, giving a tongue in cheek comparison between the modern eccentric shed builder and the traditional notion of the philosopher’s hut. After witnessing my own father obsessively building a faux-vintage train station hut, I want to explore other such personal structures and the underlying desire to build them. This initial interest has uncovered a community of creative and competitive shed builders who have devoted their spare time to building structures which not only offer them a utopian escape from the stresses of everyday living, but exist as a creative outlet in both their physical form and the contemplation space they provide.

"I am aiming to shoot up to 25 photographs in this series, and they will exist in the form of approximately 5”x5” colour prints in 10”x10” frames, to be displayed in a linear form in a long gallery space - but the series can be edited down to fewer prints in order to suit smaller spaces, without detriment to the work or concept.  For a repetitive and continuous edge, the images will be shot using the same composition and lighting techniques – the only variable in each image being the shed builder standing in the forefront of the photograph, with their structure behind them. The overall concept of the work aims to provide a light-hearted and colourful discourse on the manifestation of an age-old notion within a contemporary counter-culture practice."

 If you'd like to take part, you can email Rebecca here. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Homestead Timber Buildings - Manufacturers of Quality Timber Buildings

Philosphers' sheds in the Idler magazine

The new issue of the Idler magazine is now out, featuring my regular columns on sheds and snooker. This time round it's a look at philosophers' garden offices. Here's a snippet:

It’s easy to see why some of our finest philosophers have a penchant for sheds. Where else can you get some proper thinking done, away from the hurly burly of the modern life and the appalling demands of other people? That was certainly Ludwig Wittgenstein’s approach, spending huge amounts of time in his cabin at the top of the Sognefjord fjord in Norway, pondering and scribbling.

For those of you interested in snooker, there's also my thoughts on the genius that is Mr Ronnie O'Sullivan (even if you don't like snooker I think you will enjoy it). You can get copies of the Idler at various outlets around the country (lots of WH Smiths stock it) or a subscription online (which is better and cheaper in the long run).

Watercolours of writers' huts

Brighton-based illustrator and designer Melanie Smith has put together a lovely series of watercolour duotone illustrations of writers' and philosphers' huts. Here's what she says about them: 

"The idea came after some time spent in lockdown, and thinking about how creatives have self isolated over time, often within nature, to spend time contemplating life and their own lives. Many times writing down their thoughts and observations, so that they might share them with us, so we might all have a sense of what it can be like to be alone with our thoughts, and expansive in our thinking."

Above of course is George Bernard Shaw's writing hut, and the rest of the series include's Thoreau's hut at Walden Pond, Heidegger's in Germany, Dylan Thomas's in Wales, Virginia Woolf's at Monk House, and Wittgenstein's.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.