The Arnold Flaten Art Barn
and Flaten Hall
The Art Barn is one of St. Olaf's most distinctive buildings. When asked his impressions of the campus during a visit, Frank Lloyd Wright is alleged to have said something like, "Most of the campus is scrambled eggs, there is really only one building, Arnold Flaten's Art Barn." It is shame that Wright was so shy with his opinions!
Many others also love Flaten's barn, even though, or perhaps because, it was born of necessity. Charged with starting an art department, partially funded by a Carnegie Foundation grant, Flaten had no space. In the way of the builders of St. Olaf, he designed, and helped to construct the barn himself in 1932. It combines elements of Nordic vernacular architecture with imagery from the academic and political environment Flaten found in America and specifically, Minnesota and St. Olaf.
The carved entry recalls the "dragon portal" found on many stav churches in Norway. In Norway, these carvings often represented the beasts from pagan lore, being held at bay by the door to the church. Joseph Shaw, in his book, Dear Old Hill, tells us that at St. Olaf, Flaten carved the faces of a Native American, a Viking, and Hans Nielsen Hauge, a Norwegian layman who led a religious renewal in Norway that affected many immigrants to the midwest.
Flaten Hall was designed to house the art department, but was first used for a time as a residence, and was called East Hall. The Framework Plan shows three options for the campus. One shows that the building would be renovated for a new use. The other options show that it would come down to make way for better structures.
Whatever choice is finally made, the Flaten name will continue, just as the Mohn and Ytterboe names have. The building was named for professor of Romance languages, Nils Flaten, and his son Arnold, and their names remain part of our history and important to all Oles.
