Sculpture Henrik Ibsen

In honor of the Norwegian author Henrik Ibsen a sculpture was created during a workshop with adolescents from Acahualinca, one of the poorest parts of Managua. The students of the “Escuela Taller de Acahualinca” participated in the different processes involved, from the planning to the realization of the statue. The project was coordinated by Johannes Kranz, Austrian artist and member of the Casa de los Tres Mundos Foundation, and supported by the Norwegian embassy and the Nicaraguan Institute of Culture (INC).

The project provided the participants with the opportunity to explore the processes of engraving and etching, flame-cutting of the profile and the development of a stereotypical drawing and caricature. 

The following themes were being treated during this project:

• Introduction: Examples of public sculptures and general questions about the function of monuments

• The context as a starting point: Function and use of a public space, the artist’s intentions and effects of the work of art

• The personality: Biography, character, graphical and photographical material

• The abstraction: Perception and construction of a “scheme”

• The art of metal-engraving: The technical and chemical process and safety regulations

The finished sculpture „Henrik Ibsen“ is part of the inner courtyard of the anterior Gran Hotel – now a culture center with a youth theater. The sculpture consists of a curved silhouette of steel, the form of expression is half abstract, gesture and face expression are in a cartoon-like style, designed to attract a younger public.