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Art Show at UN Features Chrysalis and Whaling, No Need for Christie Brinkely, Artists Say

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: Art Review

UNITED NATIONS, May 7 -- The UN is abuzz these days with talk of climate change, some of sincere and well-reasoned, some of it not. In the former category, notwithstanding an aborted link-up with Christie Brinkley, is an art show and seminar called "Art Changing Attitudes toward the Environment." Seven artists from six continents have hung work in the UN General Assembly lobby. In one case, a photographer's six works have been hung on the back of a temporary wall, making them difficult to view or even become aware of. The photos depict Native people in the Arctic whaling and hunting caribou.

  The artist, Subhankar Banerjee, told Inner City Press that he has spent seven years with these tribes in the Arctic, and that their use of whales is both sustainable and a matter of human rights. Because it is controversial, the UN chooses to display the work in an almost unviewable location. But it should be noted, the work is up, and Inner City Press recommends it highly. Banerjee speaks movingly about how climate change is impacting these tribes, thinning the herd of caribou from 180,000 to below 100,000 and driving away the fish they rely on. Shell Oil has purchased rights to the sea they fish from, putting their entire way of life at risk. This is a story that should be told, heard and acted on at the UN, not hidden in the corner. For more on the issue, see GwichinSteeringCommittee.org.

Banerjee's photo -- in the UN, but just barely. Show runs through May 31

The show is curated by the Natural World Museum, which  explains that it purchases carbon offsets for all travel related to its shows. "Should the UN do more carbon offsetting?" Inner City Press asked. Yes, was the answer.

            Cecilia Paredes is an artist who moves between Peru, Costa Rica and Philadelphia. While in Philly, she painted leaves on her face and chest -- "no PhotoShop!" she told Inner City Press -- and stood in front of a similarly-painted linen. She sewed together chrysalis purchased from the Philippines, a work that hangs in the sun facing the UN's traffic circle. In Peru, she buys bones left over from goat head's stew, bones from which other artisans make marijuana pipes. She uses the bones for art, just as she used a group of dead stuffed birds to make a jacket, and is currently working on a shawl made of laser-cut sea shells. Even while staying in a hotel in New York for the show, the sea shell piece progresses. These are articles, true believers, and the UN is lucky to have them here.

            The sidebar, then, which Inner City Press asked at Wednesday's press conference for the show, is why model Christie Brinkley was listed in the program as participating on an expert panel. Artistic sources, requesting anonymity in order to avoid retaliation by the UN even though they don't technically work for the UN, have indicated that Ms. Brinkley sought to force the UN to include a friend of hers in the art show, but was told no. Now Ms. Brinkley is no loner participating, despite being listed in the program. Artists says that celebrity involvement, while ostensibly intended to increase press coverage, can often have the opposite effect, and devalue the work. In this case, the work is world-class and "didn't need the hype," one of them said. In this case it all worked for the best. Inner City Press highly recommends the show, and the May 8 seminar by the artists.

Footnote: The point of including the Christie Brinkley sidebar, gleaned from multiple non-UN sources, is that the UN may need to more closely consider the value of trying to use or being linked to pop culture celebrities. Only on May 2, model Naomi Campbell was given an environmental award at the UN, by a model agency maven with the UN logo on his business card. 

  The UN Development Program's goodwill ambassador Ronaldo has become embroiled in a prostitution scandal. While UNDP says it is closely following the matter, it is still not clear what due diligence is done before these link-ups are announced. This example showed, frankly, an underlying lack of commitment and makes one wonder who in the UN system is proposing these type of link-ups and sponsorships. We will return to these topics. But for now, despite them, the art show is a home run -- or goooool, as Ronaldo might say.

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These reports are usually also available through Google News and on Lexis-Nexis.

Click here for a Reuters AlertNet piece by this correspondent about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click here for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali National Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an undefined trust fund.  Video Analysis here

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