What Fires You Up?

2/05/2003

 

Furor over Guernica at the UN

The following is taken from a posting forum called able2know

"Excerpt "NEW YORK.- The "Guernica" work by Pablo Picasso at the entrance of the Security Council of the United Nations has been covered with a curtain. A diplomat stated that it would not be an appropriate background if the ambassador of the United States at the U.N. John Negroponte, or Powell, talk about war surrounded with women, children and animals shouting with horror and showing the suffering of the bombings." And they say irony is dead."

Direct link: http://www.artdaily.com/noticiaframe.asp?not=11&fnot=2/2/2003 ArtDaily article

The Art Daily is "The First Art Newspaper on the Net", since 1996. From another poster in the able2know forum:

" The drapes were installed last Monday and Wednesday — the days the council discussed Iraq — and came down Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, when the subjects included Afghanistan and peacekeeping missions in Lebanon and Western Sahara." (from the Washington Times)

To this blog author, this story is utterly ridiculous, ironic, and very very sad at the same time. The whole purpose of the work (which is recognized as one of the most important political statements by an artist in the last hundred years or so) is specifically to bring to mind what horrors result from war. This art is a reminder which is highly appropriate for a global organization directly charged with mediating to avoid such conflict. Since the UN building resides in USA mainland, it cannot be missed that some visitors and staff of the UN see censorship so very blatant in the land of the 'free'. You remember, the land where there is a Bill of Rights? Oh, maybe someone from the Department of Homeland Security will want to look into whether the actual Bill of Rights and the amendments supporting are subject to change if not deemed "politically-correct" to the present federal government administration! * * * * * * * cobalt * * * * * * *

BJ 2/05/2003 01:02:00 AM