Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
>> KING: Ray, as a proud New Yorker,
I am delighted to know
that another New Yorker
recognizes that Geneva
is the nerve center
of the world's response
to a range of issues including:
human rights, health,
humanitarian, trade,
environment, migration, etc.
and I think the work reflects that fact.
>> BARTKUS: I used the nails,
which if you look at them
from the front,
they are flat and shiny
so it kind of represents
the problem solved.
You know when you see
when a problem is solved,
you see basically just the surface
which is shiny and attractive.
If you go around
and look from a different perspective,
you see kind of sharp nails
which can hurt.
This represents a problem
unsolved so that is also
for me very interesting
because this kind of dualism
in these pieces.
Metaphorically speaking
this is like the problem solved
here in front of you.
And on the other side
you see the problems
which are sharp
and it can hurt
and these problems are not yet solved.
I work a lot for the newspapers
and magazines in the U.S.
and I developed a kind of style
which is almost childish and simple.
And if you look at
these whole pieces
you can only see basically
two main objects
which is a round circle, and lines.
And through these
very simple forms I am talking about
very complex issues.
>> BIRUTIS: We believe
that culture is a powerful part
of a country's image
as it is perceived by the world.
And an inseparable part
of a state's smart power
but more than an art project
we witness here,
also a tribute to long lasting
Lithuanian American
trans-Atlantic relations
and to a strong partnership
of the European Union
and the United States of America.
>> BARTKUS: All together there were
at least 20 to 25 people involved
in this process
and so like in the U.S.
I basically did sketches
and I did computer generated sketches
for these big pieces.
In Lithuania they built the frames,
put the screen on,
and then they pushed the nails
according to my sketches and specifications.
And then here,
a lot of people from the Lithuanian mission
actually who never did anything like
hanging artworks
or doing art exhibits.
They actually helped me
a lot to do like in a week time
to assemble everything
and to hang it in this beautiful space.
>> WARAKAULLE: I hope that
for the next week
as we walk through the 'Salle des Pas Perdus' here,
to participate in these meetings,
we will reflect on the global challenges
highlighted in the artworks hanging here
as well on the dynamism
and the action of the
international community in Geneva
to confront these challenges
with the balanced solutions
that we need.
Thank you very much.
>> PAULAUSKAS: Culture
allows us to be seen
also through the U.S. perspective
and to contribute Lithuania's contribution
to the global culture which
the U.S. of course has
a huge share in that.
I think the most important thing
is actually the balancing of the world.
You know, to keep the world in balance
because each country they have sometimes
different perspectives
and different problems
and the UN is here to create
a kind of mutual understanding,
a better understanding
between the countries and to balance
these different approaches
and to produce something
which can lead the world
into a better future.