Arne Jones was one of the most important Swedish sculptors during the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Vertical Composition was carried out in close collaboration with Klas Anshelm, the architect who designed the Department of Physiology – the building the sculpture interacted with. The sculpture was a respons to a program statement that called for “confidence and an unyielding sense of freedom” and was created when memories of the Second World War were fresh and alive. A driving force behind the artwork was Georg Kahlson, professor of physiology and one of the few openly anti-Nazi professors in Lund. The sculpture has been popular in Lund and since it was damaged in 2011 there has been an opinion to repair the work. Thanks to a collaboration between Akademiska Hus, Lund University and the Public Art Agency Sweden this became possible.
Inspiration for work with late cultural heritage
Working on the restoration has not been easy. The remains that survived the storm have been difficult to read information from. Instead, historical sources and archives have been important, not least material that is currently at the Skissernas Museum. Arne Jones’ daughter Ditte Jones has been central to the project and has assisted with information about how the artist worked. Many different professional categories have since been involved in developing the new Vertical Composition.
Björn Norberg is curator in charge of the project at the Public Art Agency. He describes the work with the sculpture as putting together an advanced puzzle.
The original sculpture was made of copper – a material that has become attractive to thieves in recent years. Therefore, there was a desire to create the new work in a material that is less likely to be stolen. After comparing Arne Jones’ sketch, discussing with Ditte Jones and comparing historical sources, a decision was made to use one of the materials that Jones presented in his sketch. In addition to copper, these were iron, stainless steel and aluminum. Ditte Jones did not like the idea of aluminum, which with time has a less appealing patina. She said one of the most important craft insights of the artwork was how Arne Jones did the sculpting – he did this himself, mostly using folded copper sheet on top of a steel structure. This gave the sculpture a living surface that she wanted to keep, says Björn Norberg.
Many professional categories involved in the re-creation
“The images that exist and the actual parts we were able to examine have formed the basis of a method for how we were able to recreate the sculpture. We also scanned a model of the sculpture that is in the Skissernas Museum (well aware that it does not correspond 100% to the final version of the sculpture). This was then the basis for a 1:1 model in plaster. Marc Rizell and Viggo Wichmann who have done the sheet metal work in the sculpture, have been able to work by this and have tried to transfer all the original sheet metal working methods. Before that, we have also had building designers calculate and draw a load-bearing structure that can make the work of art sustainable for the future. Some of the difficulties that have arisen during the project have been finding craftsmen who have mastered the craft itself. The project as such is unique and can serve as a role model.
