The Ibsen quotes is a permanent work of art in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, officially known as Ibsen Sitat. Famous quotes from

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

are incorporated into the sidewalks of prominent city streets.

History

The initiative was taken by Sune Nordgren, inspired by a similar project involving

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...

quotes in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. In 2001, Gavin Jantjes was appointed curator of the work. Sixty quotes in

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

lettering were to be set into the sidewalks. The work was to be completed by 2006, the 100th anniversary of Henrik Ibsen's death. As a result of delays, by 2006 only three quotes had been laid, at a cost of . The Swedish artist duo ''FA+'' ( Ingrid Falk and

Gustavo Aguerre Gustavo Aguerre (born 1953 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an artist, photographer, curator, writer, and theatre designer. Career Aguerre studied at the Munich Art Academy between 1974 and 1976. He subsequently moved to Sweden. In collaboration ...

) had been selected to handle the quotes, but they resigned from the project in May 2006. NOK 400,000 came from the Arts Council Norway and the foundation that oversaw the 100th anniversary, but some of the funds were used for other causes. The group behind the project, the Ibsen Foundation, explained that in their view the money had not been specifically earmarked. In 2006, the Ibsen Foundation was relieved of involvement in the project. Between 2006 and 2008, the project advanced, resulting in a work of art consisting of 69 quotes and 4,011 letters. The quotes are strewn along a trail between the Ibsen Museum and Ibsen's favorite haunt, the Grand Café. Sparebankstiftelsen DnB NOR contributed a total of to the project.

Criticism

The artwork has been criticized for displaying quotes by the famous author in a random and not always understandable way. Per Jæger, project leader since 2006, replied that it was among the most accessible works of art in Norway, and that ordinary people had been asked to pick some of the quotes. He said that it would become a "tourist attraction on a par with Fram and the Holmenkollen ski jump". The work has also been criticized as being unsuitable for city streets, creating additional requirements for cleaning and repair.

Peculiarities

The text consistently displays typographical errors, such as using hyphens for rules, and underlinings for italics or emphatic spacing; and there are regular spelling mistakes, such as “Vilejløst” for “viljeløst”. The work’s title “Ibsen Sitat”, a separated composite, is ungrammatical.

References

{{Henrik Ibsen Culture in Oslo 2008 establishments in Norway Public art Quotes, Oslo 2008 works