Water to be turned off in Vigeland Park’s fountain

fountainThe fountain will be cleaned with dry ice.Photo:Kulturetaten i Oslo kommune

Between 22 May and 15 June 2018, the fountain in Vigeland Park will be without water.

 

Five of Gustav Vigeland’s bronze sculptures around the fountain will be conserved during this period. The work is carried out by the department of conservation at the Vigeland Museum in collaboration with conservators from the National Museum in Copenhagen.

In 2017, the Municipality of Oslo awarded NOK 1.8 million for the conservation of Vigeland’s fountain sculptures. The project will last over three years, and by 2020 all 20 bronze groups around the fountain will be conserved. The conservation must take place in warm weather, but the Vigeland Museum will plan the work so that the water in the fountain will be disconnected for as short a period as possible each year.

Gustav Vigeland’s bronze sculptures around the fountain have been exposed to pollution and a lot of moisture for many years. Dark, coarse corrosion patches have formed on the surface, and the sculptures are characterized by strong contrasts between green and black. Corrosion also conceals Vigeland’s original modelling.

A total of four conservators will work on the cleaning of Vigeland sculptures.

 

© Kulturetaten i Oslo kommune / #Norway Today