Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoUnifeed
UN / CMP ART
STORY: UN/ ART CMP
TRT: 5.11
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ NATS
DATELINE: RECENT / FILE
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior UN building
26 MAY 2009, NEW YORK CITY
2. Tracking shot, UN staffer packing papers into crate
3. Zoom out, UN staffer pushing crate
4. Med shot, workers removing Peace Bell
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Adlerstein, Executive Director, Capital Master Plan (CMP):
“The art is moving with us. So, the art will move to the temporary North Lawn Building. We will, that’s the safest and the best place to store it without moving it out of the compound which involves insurance and handling and risk to the art. When you handle art a lot there is always a risk every time you change location.”
FILE - 3 OCTOBER 1996, NEW YORK CITY
6. Wide shot, ribbon cutting ceremony for Arab Women sculpture
7. Zoom out, ribbon cutting ceremony for Arab Women sculpture
FILE - 21 NOVEMBER 1996, NEW YORK CITY
8. Zoom in, unveiling ceremony for “Sphere within a Sphere” sculpture
9. Wide shot, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Italian representatives spinning “Sphere within a Sphere” sculpture
FILE - 1995, NEW YORK CITY
10. Zoom out, unveiling of “Cripticandina” mural donated by Bolivia
20 MAY 2009, NEW YORK CITY
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Florin M. Ionescu, Chief of Architecture and Engineering of Facilities Management Service (FMS):
“There is a tradition at the UN that each Member State donates a gift to the Organization which normally representative of their culture and their history.”
FILE – 1997 - NEW YORK CITY
12. Pan right, Peter Colfs tapestry behind scaffolding
FILE – JANUARY 1993, NEW YORK CITY
13. Tilt down, "Good Defeats Evil" Sculpture
20 MAY 2009, NEW YORK CITY
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Florin M. Ionescu, Chief of Architecture and Engineering of Facilities Management Service (FMS):
“The piece of artwork, if it is a sculpture for example, could be too heavy or if it is a tapestry or a painting, could be too big for the specific wall. Anyway, we review the location that’s requested, we actually review a few possible locations, and then we sit down and we come to an agreement.”
FILE – 1996, NEW YORK CITY
15. Zoom in, "Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares" sculpture
16. Zoom in, "Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares" sculpture
20 MAY 2009, NEW YORK CITY
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Florin M. Ionescu, Chief of Architecture and Engineering of Facilities Management Service (FMS):
“Out of the almost three hundred pieces we have, probably ninety percent are displayed. They are all displayed throughout the complex. There are a few pieces that are in storage for various reasons, but I would say that they are the exception rather than the rule.”
FILE – 5 MAY 2008, NEW YORK CITY
18. Zoom out, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and others break ground for North Lawn Building
19. Close up, ‘Danger/ Hard Hat Area” sign with "Good Defeats Evil" sculpture in background
20. Wide shot, "Good Defeats Evil" sculpture seen through fence
21. Wide shot, North Lawn Building under construction
22. Zoom out, earth movers
23. Zoom out, earth mover operator
20 MAY 2009, NEW YORK CITY
24. SOUNDBITE (English) Florin M. Ionescu, Chief of Architecture and Engineering of Facilities Management Service (FMS):
“Starting late fall this year, upon completion of the North Lawn Building, we will relocate all the artwork into that building, coming from the Conference Building only. After two years, that means 2011, towards the end of 2011, the artwork will be brought back into the Conference Building, pretty much to the same original location and all the artwork from the General Assembly Building will move into the temporary building, and then after two years will come back.”
RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
25. Wide shot, workers removing equestrian statue
26. Close up, workers removing equestrian statue
20 MAY 2009, NEW YORK CITY
27. SOUNDBITE (English) Florin M. Ionescu, Chief of Architecture and Engineering of Facilities Management Service (FMS):
“Since that’s just a temporary location – only for two years – what we tried to do and be neutral to all the donors and to treat them all equally, is, we basically elected to install them in alphabetical order. They will be there for two years and then they’ll come back to their original location, that’s the intent.”
RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
28. Close up, workers removing equestrian statue
29. Wide shot, equestrian statue being lifted by crane
30. Wide shot, equestrian statue being lowered by crane
As United Nations staff members in New York get ready to move out to temporary accommodations beginning this weekend ahead of the historic renovation of the United Nations Headquarters Complex, so do hundreds of artworks distributed throughout compound’s buildings and gardens.
Major art works including the iconic Peace Bell, donated by Japan and cast from coins donated by delegates of 60 nations, have already been moved.
SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Adlerstein, Executive Director, Capital Master Plan (CMP):
“The art is moving with us. So, the art will move to the temporary North Lawn Building. We will, that’s the safest and the best place to store it without moving it out of the compound which involves insurance and handling and risk to the art. When you handle art a lot there is always a risk every time you change location.”
The accrued collection, donated throughout the years by member states, includes among other notable pieces, a stained-glass window by Marc Chagall, the Golden Rule mosaic based on a painting by Norman Rockwell and works by artists such as Henry Moore and Candido Portinari.
SOUNDBITE (English) Florin M. Ionescu, Chief of Architecture and Engineering of Facilities Management Service (FMS):
“There is a tradition at the UN that each Member State donates a gift to the Organization which normally representative of their culture and their history.”
The decision on the placement of each piece within the complex was reached after an exhaustive process of debate and compromise with the donor nation, including aesthetic and logistical considerations.
SOUNDBITE (English) Florin M. Ionescu, Chief of Architecture and Engineering of Facilities Management Service (FMS):
“The piece of artwork, if it is a sculpture for example, could be too heavy or if it is a tapestry or a painting, could be too big for the specific wall. Anyway, we review the location that’s requested, we actually review a few possible locations, and then we sit down and we come to an agreement.”
These artworks, many of them installed decades ago, have become a permanent feature and an unavoidable visual reference for visitors, diplomats and staffers at UN Headquarters.
SOUNDBITE (English) Florin M. Ionescu, Chief of Architecture and Engineering of Facilities Management Service (FMS):
“Out of the almost three hundred pieces we have, probably ninety percent are displayed. They are all displayed throughout the complex. There are a few pieces that are in storage for various reasons, but I would say that they are the exception rather than the rule.”
After the official ground breaking ceremony last year, cranes and earthmovers have begun changing the landscape of the venerable complex, designed by Le Corbusier and a host of other prominent architects, and which had undergone only minor changes since its completion in 1950. A temporary building is now being erected in the North Lawn of the compound and will serve as a swing space during the renovation of the Headquarters buildings.
SOUNDBITE (English) Florin M. Ionescu, Chief of Architecture and Engineering of Facilities Management Service (FMS):
“Starting late fall this year, upon completion of the North Lawn Building, we will relocate all the artwork into that building, coming from the Conference Building only. After two years, that means 2011, towards the end of 2011, the artwork will be brought back into the Conference Building, pretty much to the same original location and all the artwork from the General Assembly Building will move into the temporary building, and then after two years will come back.”
Removing and transporting these works of art presents a variety of logistical difficulties. A team of experts, including art consultants, HLW Architects – the firm that designed the new building - and the donor countries, analyzed and determined the best way to handle the relocation of each piece.
The artworks will continue to be in display during renovations, and will eventually upon completion of the renovations, in most cases return to their previous settings.
SOUNDBITE (English) Florin M. Ionescu, Chief of Architecture and Engineering of Facilities Management Service (FMS):
“Since that’s just a temporary location – only for two years – what we tried to do and be neutral to all the donors and to treat them all equally, is, we basically elected to install them in alphabetical order. They will be there for two years and then they’ll come back to their original location, that’s the intent.”
From mid-2009 until the completion of the renovation the temporary North Lawn Building will house conference facilities while the existing Conference and General Assembly Buildings are undergoing renovation. It will also provide swing space for the Secretary-General and his executive office.
Download
There is no media available to download.
