Vigeland made the sculptures out of bronze and granite. He chose granite and bronze because it keeps the water out so that the statues were weather proof. Like his father, Vigeland designed and inspected every final product to make sure it was perfect. Vigeland tested all the statues after they were finished, by taking a heavy hammer and hitting the statues to see if any cracks would appear or if there were any cracks already present. He would reject them for the almost invisible flaws. This was done because of the Norwegian winters. They are very cold (it gets down to -20 C) and it snows and rains in excessive amounts. If there was a crack then the rain would go into the crack, then when it would freeze, the water would expand and cause the stone to split. "Vigeland's work methods followed his personality."(10)
10. Nathan Cabot Hale, Embrace of Life: th Sculpture of Gustav Vigeland (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1968), p. 102