Permanent Strindberg’s quotations at the Drottning street, Stockholm, 1998
History
FA+ artists Ingrid Falk and Gustavo Aguerre painted citations from the turn-of- the century Swedish novelist August Strindberg along Drottninggatan in Central Stockholm during the first Strindberg Festival which was held in 1994. The artists wanted to represent Strindberg through his own work. Drottninggatan was a street that he often walked and where his residence was also situated. In addition, it is also one of the busiest shopping districts in Stockholm.
Schools, libraries, literary groups and academics suggested Strindberg quotations from which the artists made a selection. With the assistance of members from the Strindberg Foundation and the Friends of Open Air Theatre, 11000 letters from computer stencils were cut out by hand. Eighty-three citations were painted along a 1200 meter long stretch of pavement. Exposed to the elements, the painted text slowly eroded, but a public desire to see the text again on the streets of Stockholm in a permanent form remained.
Permanent Citations in Stainless Steel
When the decision to make a portion of Drottninggatan a pedestrianized area was finalized, the citations were made permanent.
During the 1998 Culture Capital Year an 800 metre-long stretch of Strindberg citations was installed in the pavement along Drottninggatan. The actual citations are cast in stainless steel and have been installed in the asphalt.
The project was commissioned by the Stockholm Art Board, The city of Stockholm’s Street and Building Authority and was completed with support from the Danielii Donation Fund and Stockholm European Culture Capital 1998 Fund.
