''Havmannen'', or ''Havmann'' (in English: "The Man from the Sea"), is a granite stone

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

by the English artist

Antony Gormley Sir Antony Mark David Gormley (born 30 August 1950) is a British sculptor. His works include the ''Angel of the North'', a public sculpture in Gateshead in the north of England, commissioned in 1994 and erected in February 1998; ''Another Pla ...

located in the city of

Mo i Rana Mo i Rana () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city, and the administrative centre of the Municipalities of Norway, municipality of Rana, Norway, Rana, in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the Helgeland region of Nordland, just sou ...

in northern Norway. The sculpture stands proud in the "

Ranfjord The Ranfjorden (or just ''Ranfjord'') is a fjord in the Helgeland district of Nordland county, Norway. The largest part of the fjord is in the municipality of Rana, but the fjord also passes through the municipalities of Hemnes, Vefsn, Leirfjord, ...

" in the city of

, which is often referred to in Norway as "Polarsirkelbyen" (in English: the "

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

City"). The sculpture is tall, weighs , and according to

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History Early years Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarked ...

is "forever up to his knees in water, turns his back on the town and gazes resolutely out over the

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

". The artist originally envisaged the sculpture being created in steel, based on the traditional steel industry which was one of the pillars of industrial

, and placed in the

to illustrate the sharp contrasts between nature and industry. However, the local industry was undergoing major changes at the time, with what was effectively state subsidized and unprofitable factories being closed down, including the local steel works. Realizing the project using local steel therefore became impossible. As a result, Havmann was to become

's first large stone sculpture.) The

was created and erected in the

in 1995 as part of

Artscape Nordland Artscape Nordland (''Skulpturlandskap Nordland'') is an international art project that aims to bring art to people where they live, art museums being few and far apart in the sparsely populated county of Nordland. The project currently includes 33 ...

, causing controversy and much debate in the local media, notably in the local paper

Rana Blad ''Rana Blad'' is a daily, regional newspaper published in Mo i Rana, Norway. With a circulation of 10,595, it covers Northern Helgeland. The newspaper is owned by A-Pressen Amedia AS is the second largest media company in Norway (the largest is ...

, which received hundreds of letters and over 300 poems dedicated to the sculpture. The local debate was ongoing for months, and mainly focused on two issues: whether the commissioning of the sculpture was good use of public money, and maybe less serious, a concern about the newly erected sculpture's lack of an erectable device. Despite the initial debate and controversy, citizens of

today take pride in the sculpture by the internationally renowned artist

and have adopted it as an ambassador for the town. The sculpture has inspired and given name to an annual festival, Havmanndagene (the " Havmann days") which is held in the city every year in May.

References

{{Antony Gormley Outdoor sculptures in Norway Sculptures by Antony Gormley 1995 sculptures Culture in Nordland Tourist attractions in Nordland Granite sculptures Colossal statues