He exists among his sculptures : On Bror Marklunds studio at the museum of Örnsköldsvik

This Bachelor´s thesis examines Bror Marklunds (1907-1977) workshop, as a museum created around one person and how a museum creates authenticity in a studio museum like this one. Marklund was one of the most merited sculptor artists in Sweden around the 40´s, until the 70´s. In the workshop, that arose through a donation from the artist himself before he passed in 1977, and a reception from the municipality, the curatorial approach has been my main focus. The thesis also contains a discussion about the commitment that the municipality of Örnsköldsvik takes in conjunction with the donation. Who has the right of deciding about who will be shown to the public as our cultural heritage? In this situation it´s a decision made of both the artist himself and the municipality. The material consists of the workshop and all the interior as it´s organised today and of archive photographs and texts. The material has been examined with the method observation to analyse how the gallery space is staged today. Photographs from the workshop´s early days, placed on the original location, and from the gallery space as it was staged at the opening in 1980 has been compered with the staging of today. The workshop has gone through a transformation from being a working space of an artist to a gallery room with the aim to show the artists development phases and working methods. So, what happens with the authenticity of a museum of a one-person over time? From what curatorial decisions does the visitor get the feeling of authenticity in a one-person museum? The thesis examines why and how we keep the artist alive through his works. The question remains – Does he exist among his sculptures