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KRISTIAN BLYSTAD: PROTOTYPES FOR BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA | MS 2255

KRISTIAN BLYSTAD: PROTOTYPES FOR BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA

MS 2255
MS Short Title KRISTIAN BLYSTAD: PROTOTYPES FOR BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA
Text KRISTIAN BLYSTAD: PROTOTYPES FOR BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA: A LATIN "L" AND SUMERIAN PICTOGRAPH SWIMMING SWAN
Description MS in Latin and Old Sumerian on granite, Oslo, 1995, 4 stone slabs, all together 300x200x7-15 cm, 2,4 tons, 1 sign in Latin capital, 1 sign in Sumerian pictographic script, by the sculptor Kristian Blystad, after designs by Jorunn Sannes.
Provenance 1. Snøhetta International, Oslo.
Commentary Prototypes for the great wall of Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, which covers 6,000 m2, with 3750 stone slabs, representing the alphabets and scripts of the world of all periods. The granite was taken from Aswan, ca. 1500 km to the south of Alexandria. It is one of the world's oldest quarries, and where the Pharaohs sourced the rock to clad the pyramids. The Norwegian group of architects, Snøhetta, won the architectural contest for the new library in Alexandria in 1989. It is a circular building with a diameter of 160 m., accommodating 4 million books, financed by UNESCO and the Egyptian state, finished in 2001.
Published "Preservation for access: Originals and copies". On the occasion of the 1st International Memory of the World Conference, organized by the Norwegian Commission for UNESCO and the National Library of Norway, at the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, 3 June - 14 July 1996.
Place of origin Oslo
Dates 1995