Ranan Lurie is out to transform the world

Speaking of cartoonists and their motivations, the Advocate is running a lengthy story on Ranan Lurie, his political cartoons and what he hopes to accomplish with a soon to be unveiled painting at the U.N.

“The Uniting Painting,” initiated nearly 40 years ago at Lurie’s former home in Stamford, will be unveiled Nov. 1 in a ceremony at the U. N. headquarters in New York City in the presence of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The ribbon of artwork begins as a blue wave on a canvas hanging 75 feet from the ceiling in the lobby of the U.N. Secretariat building. It descends on the carpet down the staircase, mutates into canvas around the entrance to the United Nations and flows outside via the plaza pavement. The path vanishes into the East River before resurfacing on the southern tip of Roosevelt Island, a symbolic melting pot of nationalities. Lurie’s vision is for the art to continue its path around the globe.

Also of note, the United Nations gives out an annual award for editorial cartooning. The award is named after Ranan. You can read more information about the award (deadline for 2005 was Oct. 1) on luriecartoon.com.

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