Picasso’s first monumental concrete murals may no longer remain a striking image on Oslo’s government buildings. The murals, which were made between the late 1950s and the early 1970s, barely survived the terrorist attack in July 2011 with only one mural emerging completely unscathed.
Now, the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage is considering demolishing the buildings which host the damaged murals, and relocating the murals to a different location. Although there has been no official confirmation as to the future of the buildings, concerns have been raised about how relocation will affect Picasso’s vision.
‘If the buildings were demolished and the murals integrated into new ones or brought to another site, they would no longer be the works Picasso intended,’ the head of the Directorate for Cultural Heritage Jørn Holme told The Art Newspaper.
The ministry has asked several architects to propose suggestions for the government quarter, known as the Regjeringskvartal, and to explore options of both keeping and demolishing the buildings which will be presented in the summer.
Although the buildings were severely damaged by the 2011 bombing, a report by the Directorate for Cultural Heritage found that they are not unsafe to use.
‘We still think that listing is appropriate,’ Holme said. ‘The buildings [are not only important] because of the works of art [that were] made especially for them, they are also a cornerstone in Norwegian architectural history and stand for the country’s development as a welfare state after the Second World War.’
Picasso sketched five murals to be placed on the buildings interior and exterior, the largest of which was The Fisherman, and the only mural which was not affected by the attack. Other artists also contributed to the building’s design including Norwegian artists Inger Sitter, Kai Fjell and Carl Nesjar. Nesjar has spoken out about the possibility of the murals being repositioned, saying it is important that the art is kept in its intended home.
‘The works of art in concrete were made and designed for very particular spaces [such as] the stairwell walls and lobby,’ he said. ‘[The art, the architecture and the materials used] make the whole complex a unique and original work of art. It is important to keep the whole assembly of buildings as a unit.’
The structures were built using breccia, a building technique using natural concrete which was very popular in Norway after the war, and marks the very first time Picasso worked with breccia. The artist later went on to create similar works in Barcelona and Stockholm.
