An 'element of inspiration and calm' at UN Headquarters.

An 'element of inspiration and calm' at UN Headquarters

"Harmony is not always, unfortunately, the prevalent characteristic of our life and work here. But the presence of great works of art, such as the one we have received today, certainly provides us with an element of inspiration and calm. I hope that the pleasure we gain from such works may also help to give us the perspective and perception which are so necessary in our difficult task here."

Before his death in 1961, then UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold, who took particular pleasure in beautifying the UN Headquarters in its early years, had discussed the possibility of installing a Moore sculpture on UN grounds. More than 20 years after his original request, it finally became a reality.

Works of art from around the world abound at Headquarters. More than 130 gifts of art have been presented to the UN by its Member States. They range from small paintings to huge tapestries, from delicate wood and ivory carvings to heavy bronze doors and from ancient Indian and Egyptian art dating back more than 30 centuries to contemporary art from many exotic cultures, embellishing the halls and meeting places of the international compound.

Rated high among these art treasures are the nine great murals that adorn the walls of the Headquarters building--the work of artists fro France, Brazil, Norway, Sweden, the Dominican Republic and the United States. The best known are undoubtedly the twin murals of Fernand 'Leger on each side of the General Assembly Hall, which were presented to the UN by the American Association for the United Nations. Among the last of his works, these murals were designed in small sketches by Leger and executed in 1952 by one of his students, American artist Bruce Gregory.

In the south lobby near the delegates entrance of the General Assembly building are two murals--"War" and "Peace"--each measuring 34x46 feet by Brazilian artist Candido Portinary. Completed in 1955 and 1956, respectively, "War" is executed in dark, morbid colours, while opposite, "Peace" is painted in warm, colourful pigments.

The Security Council chamber is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful rooms at Headquarters. Designed by Norway's Arnstein Arneberg (his Government contributed the decor and furnishings), the dominant attraction of the room is the 16x26-foot mural by Norwegian artist Per Krohg. It, too, depcits many symbols of war and peace.

Man's struggle for peace and freedom from superstition is the theme of Jose Vela Zanetti's mural on the third floor of the Conference building. The Dominican artist painted it directly on the canvascovered curved wal in 1952.

In addition to the conventional murals at the UN, two mosaics are on display. A third-century Tunisian work, discovered at Haidra a quarter of a century ago, was presented in 1961 by President Habib Bourguiba.

The second mosaic panel, a gift of Morocco, was created by a Fez artist and formally presented by King Hassan II on 3 April 1963. It is done in traditional, twelfth century Andalusian style.

Among the many outstanding works created from wood are the two Balinese sculptures from the Government of Indonesia. These three-foot-tall figures represent "Peace" and "Prosperity". They stand in a small lounge outside the General Assembly Hall, commonly known as the "Indonesian Lounge" and favoured by diplmats for private chats. The satinwood "Peace" work is by an anonymous Balinese artist; "Prosperity", created by I Made Runda, depicts a woman, wearing the large earstuds of wealthy Balinese, carrying on her head a rice basket surmounted by an image of Devi Sri, the goddess of rice, who is also goddess of prosperity.

Upon entering the public lobby, visitors' attention is immediately drawn to the Foucault Pendulum, a gift from the Netherlands. Suspended from the four-story-high ceiling and moving perpetually without mechanical aid, it offers visual proof ot eh earth's rotation. Nearby is a model of "Sputnik 1", the first satellite ever launched into space by the Soviet Union in 1959. A chunk of the moon rock, brought back to Earth by the United States Apollo II crew after their 1969 moon landing, is also displayed here.

Most commanding in this area is a 15x12-foot stained-glass panel by renounced French artist Marc Chagall, symbolizing man's struggle for peace. Dedicated to the memory of Secretary-General Hammarskjold and 1k others who died in a 1961 plane crash in Africa, it was financed by UN staff members. The window, with its predominantly blue tones, express the simplicity of the ideal of peace and brotherhood for which the UN was founded, it has been said.

According to the UN guides who conduct up to 80 tours daily through Headquarters, it is the ivory carving of the "Chengtu-Kunming Railway", one of two gifts from the People's Republic of China, which attracts the greatest attention and admiration of visitors. Weighing more than 150 kilograms, the work depicts in great detail the railroad winding its way through forest and mountains. It was carved from eight ivory tusks and stands on a massive oak base.

China's other gift, presented to the world Organization in 1974, is a 5X10-metre rug tapestry, depicting the "Great Wall". It is prominently displayed on one wall of the Delegates North Lounge.

In 1983, the UN Buildings Management Service had a great deal of trouble hanging the Curtain of Holy Kaaba, a symbol of civilization and brotherhood. A gift from Saudi Arabia, it is a heavy black silk cloth, embroidered in gold and silver threads, which originally hung at the door of the Holy Kaaba in Mecca. It measures 3.20x6.20 metres and is mounted on a frame of 4.75x7.5 metres. The embroidery includes verses from the Koran.

"Triumph of Peace", a Belgian tapestry mural, hangs in the Delegates' lobby of the General Assembly building. The work of 14 artist craftsmen, it is said to be one of the largest tapestries in the world (43x28 feet). Woven, using 94,000 miles of yarn--enough to encircle the world two and a half times--its predominant colour is green, the universal symbol of life and peace.

Generally considered to be among the best pieces of the UN art collection is a Picasso tapestry based on a painting, "Femme sur l'echelle"--"Woman on a Ladder"--a 1985 a gift from Mrs. Albert D. Lasker of the United States. Executed by Pablo Picasso in the 1930s, it hangs in the Delegates South Lounge. Nearby is another tapestry fashioned after a Picasso work, the famous mural "Guernica", whose theme deals with the destruction of that town during the Spanish Civil War. It was lent by Mrs. Nelson A. Rockefeller of the United States. The original painting hangs in the Prado in Madrid.

The most recent gift to the United Nations is a 39-foot-high statute depciting St. George slaying the dragon--presented on 16 October by the Soviet Union to mark the forty-fifth anniversary of the United Nations. Created from fragments of Soviet SS-20 and United States Pershing nuclear missiles destroyed under the terms of a 1987 bilateral treaty, it stands in the gardens north of the General Assembly building.

As the UN celebrated its fortieth birthday in October 1985, the United States presented a colourful mosaic inspired by a Norman Rockwell painting. Entitled "The Golden Rule" ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"), it depicts faces of persons from many ethnic and religious groups around the world.

Outside the second-floor entrance to the Economic and Social Council is one of two gifts from Iran (the other a Persian carpet)--a replica of an ancient clay tablet inscribed with Cunei form letters. The original "Edict of Cyrus" dates back to 539 B.C. and is in the British Museum.

Iraq presented the Organization with a replica of an original stele of "The Codes of Hammurabi", formulated by the King of Babylon some 1700 centuries before the birth of Christ. These oldest written legal codes known to man advocate, for example, "the cause of justice to prevail in the country ... to destroy the wicked and the evil ... that the strong may not oppress the weak."

There are many other art treasures in the UN, some accessible to the public, some not. But it is clear, even to a visitor, that the Member States that have donated these precious works to the Organization wish to have UN Headquarters reflect the beauty, artistry and historic glory of their different cultures.