UN Mural

[anart]

I was reading the input on Obama's speech to the UN (where this blogger describes it as, "I imagine it will be one of Obama's defining moments, convening only the fifth Summit-level session of the Security Council in its 63 years, and the first one ever chaired by the President of the the United States.") - when I noticed the mural behind Obama. (that site is very left-leaning and pro-Obama as you'll notice from the comments.)

Here is the entire mural:

Anyway, according to the UN, the mural was donated in 1952 by Norwegian artist Per Krohg and "symbolizes the changes which the world will undergo because of the efforts of the UN, and of mankind in general, to achieve peace, equality and freedom." What I find so fascinating about it is the serpent/lizard like creature with the broadsword impaling it, buried, under the crane. From that defeat of the serpent/lizard (seems to imply by a knight, since it was a broadsword) humanity moves from suffering, war, slavery to what appears to be celebration. Now, there is a lot of UN flag imagery in there, since it's at the UN, but I just found it interesting and the suffering depicted as being rather reminiscent of the murals at Denver International Airport - though those don't have any serpents/lizards having been impaled by a broadsword, and then being buried under an Avian entity ... (since it might make the current inhabitants of the sub-airport uncomfortable ;D (kidding... sort of...)). Anyway - thought it was interesting, and I was previously unaware of this mural, so I thought I'd share it.

 

[dant]

Thank you Anart! It is interesting!

BTW: on my (broken Fedora-11 Firefox v3.5.2) [system], the
colors I see are primarily cyan, red, pink, and orange. Very odd
colors. But I went to another system (windows), and
indeed, the picture is rich in quality, and in the proper colors.
I guess there is a always a lesson in it for me: If in doubt,
check it twice with different systems!

Now I know that it is my FF that is messed up!

I also notice that the Crane is standing on a "dead" Crane,
and under that is the broadsword through the "Lizard".
Wonder what the symbolism is of the "dead" crane...

FWIW,
Dan

edit: added missing word: "system" in brackets

 

[Gimpy]

I also notice that the Crane is standing on a "dead" Crane,
and under that is the broadsword through the "Lizard".
Wonder what the symbolism is of the "dead" crane...

It could be a phoenix symbol, a crane is one of the older bird images associated with the phoenix. :) Its an interesting symbol about a cycle of life/death/rebirth, and makes me wonder if the artist knew about cycles like this in a larger macrocosmic sense.

 

[dant]

Hi Gimpy!

Yes, that makes sense, life/death/rebirth cycle - suffering.

 

[NormaRegula]

Wow! Nice find! This UN mural doesn't creep me out like the ones from the Denver airport. At first glance, the top part looks like an STO world, with STO persons giving a helping hand to those suffering below. Will have to study it more closely (like find a depiction that shows more detail) before reaching any firm conclusions as to its symbolism. The slain reptile sure is interesting.

Could this mural be STO-inspired...a sort of counter to some of the darker STS-inspired works that the PTB are so fond of commissioning?

 

[Marcus-Aurelius]

Yes, really interesting! Should examinate it more carefully tomorrow as am leaving.

 

[Vulcan59]

That horse on the right reminds me of the mustang sculpture that is placed outside Denver Airport.

 

[mada85]

Thanks for posting this, Anart. It is really interesting and worthy of further study.

There's a rearing white horse in the panel at the right, in an almost identical pose to the blue horse outside Denver airport. (Vulcan59 spotted that too, while I was typing.)

Wonder what the symbolism is of the "dead" crane...

Possibly symbolising the death of ponerised use of the ideas of justice, freedom and so on, and the living crane symbolising the resurrection of these ideas and the vigilance needed to maintain them free from pathological influences (see below).

Could this mural be STO-inspired...a sort of counter to some of the darker STS-inspired works that the PTB are so fond of commissioning?

Here’s a couple of explanations of the symbolism surrounding the crane, which suggest that your idea could have some basis in fact:

Crane

This bird with long legs and a long neck and bill represented vigilance because it was thought that, while the rest of the flock slept with their heads under their wings, their leader kept watch with his neck stretched out. He signalled a warning by his cry. The bird’s role in art as the personification of Vigilance may also go back to a description in the works of Aristotle of the crane’s holding a stone in its mouth so that it would wake if it dropped the stone in sleep.

A contrary symbolism appears in India (where the crane represents treachery) and some Celtic regions (as a bird of ill-omen). The ancients were impressed by the crane’s beauty and stamina, its migrations and spring reappearances, its complex mating dance, its voice and its contemplative stance at rest.

The crane was linked in China with immortality, in Africa with the gift of speech, and widely with the ability to communicate with the gods. Its cyclic return also suggested regeneration, a resurrection symbolism sometimes used in Christianity.

In ancient Greece, the cries of migrating cranes announced spring sowing and autumn reapings. In China, where a crane flying toward the sun symbolized social aspirations, the bird’s white body represented purity, its red head the fire of life. In Egypt, the double-headed crane represented prosperity.

Cranes appear in Raphael’s Miraculous Draught of the Fishes, on the alert for any fish that might slip out of the net.

In cultures ranging from the Chinese to those of the Mediterranean, the crane is an allegory of justice, longevity and the good and diligent soul.

 

[Laurentien2]

Posté par: Gimpy

It could be a phoenix symbol, a crane is one of the older bird images associated with the phoenix. Smiley Its an interesting symbol about a cycle of life/death/rebirth, and makes me wonder if the artist knew about cycles like this in a larger macrocosmic sense.

Posté par: dant
Citer ce message
Hi Gimpy!

Yes, that makes sense, life/death/rebirth cycle - suffering.

From Moravieff quote:

For man number 4, when he has crossed the threshold of the inner circle of esotericism, the death of the physical bodywill be equivalent to abandoning an outdated or tattered piece of clothing.

The dead crane look for me like a empty shell, maybe it is just the impression due to my computer resolution but it look grayish and and empty,

 

[NormaRegula]

That horse on the right reminds me of the mustang sculpture that is placed outside Denver Airport.

I noticed the rearing white horse, too. While I also thought of the disturbing mustang sculpture that "greets" passerby at the Denver airport, this horse doesn't have the same dark, dominating look. (No bulging blue muscles and creepy red eyes!) Horses can symbolize strength and freedom...perhaps that's what the ancient European cave painters who drew lots of horse depictions were thinking.

 

[Bluestar]

On the left bottom corner people are helping those stepping out of the pit. And on the right bottom people are helping to unchain those that have been chained. There is celebration at center and people are being welcomed with opened arms. Very heart warming. Feels like the artist had some wonderful inspiration. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Vulcan59]

I tried searching for the painter Per Lasson Krohg who did this mural and surprisingly there is hardly much information on him. There's a lot more information about his parents Christian and Oda Krohg. There is a very short entry in Britannica and another in 1954 Time Magazine (link) but not much else about him. Perhaps there could be more information in Norwegian.

 

[Voyageur]

Interesting mural indeed, further, perhaps one can see Krohg’s influences directly from his parents, especially his mother Oda who was depicted by Edward Munch (The Scream) in a scene. His mother was seemingly in the center of Bohemian culture for a time and connected with an array of painters and other artists throughout Europe. If one wishes to follow the link such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per_Krohg and study his other works, and those of his parents especially and the connections to many others, it becomes clearer, OSIT, that Per Krohg had artistic roots and lineage influences from so many well known personas.

Of the UN Mural; thanks anart for initiating, this mural was said to have been donated by Per to the UN, however I wondered whether or not it had been commissioned instead? Perhaps scenes suggested? It seems without doubt that Per, despite what we see, left something else on the canvas, some other language, either of his own doing or as directed - it is after all hanging behind the UN epicenter. Further, if one looks at one particular painting by his father, you can see scenes depicted that feature ropes, broadsword, shadows etc. - similarities.

Maybe it is as the UN says, a painting about the peace process, multiculturalism and all other facets? Not quite sure at all!

 

[Voyageur]

Apologies, further - wanted on last post to include this painting by Per too, as it seems very odd, and I have never come across it before.

 

[Windmill knight]

That's very interesting. Personally, I do find it a bit spooky, and yeah, reminiscent of the Denver murals. I noticed the horse too and, like others, thought of the blue maverick. Also, upon closer inspection, who or what is that red guy dancing with a drum? (to the left of the crane) Notice the Nefertiti-style over-sized head! He looks like the Calamari guy from Star Wars. Or maybe my sight is failing (it's late here) and I can't figure out his hair-dress.

About the crane: it may be nothing but remember that there was a time last year in which there were lots of news of 'cranes collapsing' around the world? I think that one of the Connecting the Dots articles mentioned that these could have some sort of symbolic significance, as in a message from the Universe. If the crane is the UN ideal, and it's collapsing, well...

One last thing. Notice the center image; the guy in the tree handing out fruits above a couple might be a reference to the snake handing the fruit to Adam and Eve. In some classical paintings the snake was depicted with human features (upper body human, if I remember correctly), which is why this mural reminded me of that.