Picassos in Oslo buildings bombed by Anders Breivik may be junked

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/13/picassos-oslo-buildings-bombed-anders-breivik

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Five Picasso designs etched into concrete may face the wrecking ball at government buildings in Oslo bombed by anti-Islam militant Anders Breivik in 2011.

Spread across two buildings, including the prime minister's 17-storey HihHigh Block High Block offices, the works were etched in 1958. They are the first Picassos in concrete, and four of them were especially designed for the site.

Norway is debating the future of the damaged buildings where eight people were killed. After the bombing Breivik killed 69 more people, mostly teenagers, at the ruling Labour party's summer camp.

The new government, in office since October, is expected to consider the issue next spring. Officials insist no decision has been made.

"This is a highly emotional debate," said Paal Weiby, a spokesman for the government's property manager, Statsbygg, adding that "a lot of people would be terrified to go back" to work at the building. "But others say that this building is a symbol and if you tear it down, the terrorist wins."

The works, discoloured by years of cigarette smoke, were etched into the concrete by Picasso's friend, the Norwegian artist Carl Nesjar, whose own works also decorate the buildings. Picasso's designs include The Beach, The Seagull, Satyr and Faun, and two versions of The Fishermen. Most are about 3 metres wide; the outdoor version of The Fishermen is 13 metres wide.

The bomb left a two-storey crater, bent steel beams, shattered concrete, and damaged the High Block so badly that a government-sponsored study recommended knocking it down, arguing that a new building would save 400m krone (£40m). "Sure, but then you just finish Breivik's work," Oslo student Sofia Hagen, 19, said. "Imagine how happy that would make him."

Some of the artworks could be moved, but critics say they do not belong elsewhere and not all of them could be saved. <strong> Oslo</strong>

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