– It is so incredibly touching to get over this. It’s a little treasure. Kari Saanum looks down at colorful drawings of a sleeping baby. She inherited all the art from her husband, the artist Karl Erik Nilsen, when he passed away. Recently, she found a sketchbook with drawings of their newborn daughter. – I still come across things I did not know we owned. Five of Nilsen’s works of art can be found in the collection of the National Museum. But the entire life work Saanum has inherited consists of about a thousand large and small pieces of art. In the basement, Kari Saanum has a warehouse full of art. It’s been over ten years since her husband passed away, but she’s still discovering new works she did not know they had. Photo: Marianne Rustad Carlsen / news She has sold and stored works with friends and family. She still has art by her husband in every room. But even if the work means a lot, it is impossible to take care of everything. She has had to destroy some of the works. – It has been cruel. Standing and smashing sculptures and cutting up canvases feels very brutal. It feels very wrong. There is no scheme There is no scheme to help art heirs with what to do with art. – But maybe it should be, says Jonas Ekeberg in the Cultural Council. He is responsible for visual arts and sees the absence of such an arrangement as a challenge – especially because the art field has grown enormously in recent years. Therefore, the Cultural Council will now announce a study assignment and encourage the art community to apply to contribute to the survey. Art explosion after the war Today, there are about 20,000 professional visual artists in Norway. The Cultural Council has received several inquiries from people who want help to take care of art they have inherited. – After World War II, there have been more and more art academies. These large post-war litters are now starting to become seniors, and some are dropping out, Ekeberg explains. If everyone leaves as many works as Karl Erik Nilsen, 200,000 works will have new homes in the future. And not only that: some artists leave behind entire houses, studio environments and extensive production equipment. What are we going to do with everything? Fear loss of cultural heritage In the worst case, cultural heritage can be lost, points out leader Ebba Moy of the Norwegian Sculptors’ Association. – It is our common memory as a nation. Professional artists and art organizations must help art heirs, says Ebba Moy in the Sculptors’ Association. – It is our common memory as a nation, she says. Photo: Marianne Rustad Carlsen / news The association has worked to ensure that an arrangement for artistic heirs is in place. – We who are professional artists and institutions need to help them. Historically, it has been the museums that have been responsible for managing art for posterity. Without donations from artists, their families and private collectors, the world’s museums would not have existed. Art with demands – All museums in the world are more or less built on private enthusiasts who donate art or come up with an offer to the state that triggers a demand for a museum building, says Nils Ohlsen who is director of Lillehammer Art Museum. The museums have neither the space nor the opportunity to receive all art, explains director Nils Ohlsen at Lillehammer Art Museum. Photo: Annar Bjørgli / The National Museum But the museums do not have the space or the opportunity to receive everything either. – You always look forward to every time you receive a letter or phone call about an art offer, because it is fantastic with such attention. – But you have to have ice in your stomach and think that the museum has an eternal ambition. You can not just say yes to your own favorite art. And it is not uncommon for art to come with demands. For example, it is not entirely uncommon for a donor to stipulate that the art must be displayed at all times or must be dedicated to a separate room. Ohlsen himself has had to say no to certain art gifts on behalf of the museum. – If you say yes, you also undertake to store, preserve and research it. Will find solutions Ekeberg in the Cultural Council has a great understanding that the museums can not take on the entire task of preserving all art. – Museums can not be collection points for private archives, it is not possible, says Ekeberg. – It is always a double-edged sword to get such a request for a museum. He hopes the assignment that is now announced by the Cultural Council can help find new solutions for art heritage. – The goal is to get an overview of the challenge with art heritage and how it has been solved elsewhere in the world. Art heir Kari Saanum welcomes such an arrangement. – There is a lot of joy associated with owning and seeing all this art, but at the same time there is something about having to take care of it.
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Had to destroy the man’s art – news Culture and entertainment
