Some of the exhibits angered countries

Diplomacy has its arts at the United Nations Headquarters in New York

Werner Schmidt inspects Marc Chagall's "Broken Glass".

AFP

Over the course of nearly eight decades, the United Nations Headquarters in New York has collected valuable artworks from countries and individuals, including those produced by Marc Chagall, Henry Moore and Fernand Leger, making it an important and attractive cultural station in the city called “The Big Apple” (The Big Apple). Apple), although many do not know that it contains this artistic treasure.

The headquarters, which hosts meetings that consider world crises and issues, and where the arts of diplomacy are used, also includes about 400 works of art, presented by 150 of the 193 member states, as a tour of history and geopolitics.

Although access to these works was partially available to tourists before the “Covid-19” pandemic, and has not yet allowed re-visits, the person in charge of supervising the collection, Werner Schmidt, is keen to clarify that the headquarters of the international organization “is not a museum.”

These pieces of art, which are distributed in the New York headquarters, constitute, just as the organization itself was established in 1945 to work for peace, an expression of historical moments, artistic trends and the peculiarities of donor countries.

Among these countries still exist, such as East Germany, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, while others were born.

war and peace

Among the most distinguished works are the two frescoes “War and Peace” facing each other, by the Brazilian artist Candido Portinari at the entrance to the Assembly Hall, which is the heart of the organization.

Schmidt explains that “at the entrance, the delegates see a scene of war and despair, and when they leave the hall, they see the scene of a world of peace and harmony.” This is a symbolism that best expresses the goal of the United Nations: settling disputes through dialogue.

Marc Chagall personally visited the United Nations in 1964 to hand over the "window", a plate painted on glass, now damaged, that had been funded by a donation campaign provided by United Nations staff, after the death of one of its most prominent general secretaries, Dag Hammarskjöld, and 15 of his aides, in 1961. , in a plane crash bound for what was then known as Zaire.

The sculptor Henry Moore's admiration for Hammarskjöld was behind his donation of his piece "Statue in Reclining: Hand", displayed in the gardens of the United Nations, and also features a large bronze work by the American artist, Barbara Hepworth, commissioned by Hammarskjöld himself, one of the few works by women in Organization headquarters.

golden oasis

Also in the building is a gilded plaque presented by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in addition to a gold palm tree inlaid with pearls in the shape of dates, a gift from the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The collection also includes African artwork, a giant Chinese vase, furniture by famous designers, and a mural depicting the horrors of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion.

Other works represent moments in the countries that presented them, including “The Man Who Rising” by the former East German sculptor, Fritz Kremer, and this work was supposed to reflect the success of the communist regime, but it antagonized the intellectuals in the country, and near it a huge sculpture representing Saint George and the Dragon , expressing the idea of ​​"good defeats evil", donated by the Soviet Union, and made from nuclear missile casings.

Among the exhibits at the UN headquarters is a model of the metal disc called "Girigi" in the Mongolian language, which was like a passport in the time of Genghis Khan, guaranteeing some privileges to its holders from officials and envoys.

On the wall of the Assembly Hall are two abstract murals by the painter, Fernand Leger, which former US President Harry Truman likened to “bacon and eggs” and to “a rabbit out of a hat,” and Schmidt remembers that no one dared contradict him.

Because the United States did not grant Leger an entry visa to paint the two paintings at the organization's headquarters, the French painter resorted to others to implement his paintings, with funding from Nelson Rockefeller, one of the most prominent sponsors of the United Nations.

And the Rockefeller's heirs finally recovered a mural that had been loaned to the organization representing "Guernica" to Pablo Picasso, and this woven topped the entrance to the Security Council hall for decades, reminding its delegates of the consequences of armed conflicts.

Any country can donate a work of art, and Schmidt explains that “a piece of art should not disturb other countries, and speak to everyone in the same positive language.”

The sculptor, Henry Moore, admired Hammarskjöld for his donation of his piece "Statue in Reclining Position: Hand" displayed in the gardens of the organization.

The building also includes a golden plaque presented by Saudi Arabia, as well as a gold palm tree inlaid with pearls in the shape of dates, a gift from Bahrain.

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