Special Project Brings Artists, Ambassadors To the U.N.

[27 March 2006 - Skidmore College] What if Picasso had painted Guernica, — possibly modern art's most powerful antiwar statement — before the bombs fell on the town of Guernica? Might the outcome have been different? Can art and the creative imagination have the force to effect change? These are some of the questions that inform the most recent work of artist Richard Kamler. A longtime artist, activist, and curator Kamler will discuss “Seeing Peace: Artists Collaborate with the United Nations,” at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 28, at the Tang Museum. “Seeing Peace” seeks to bring artists to the table of the General Assembly, seated along side their respective ambassadors, from each of the 191 member nations of the United Nations. They will enter the General Assembly, pair by pair, the artist and the ambassador, declaring the presence of the imagination as a crucial element in international dialogue. Kamler's work, including public installations, sound pieces, events, drawings, sculptures, and public presentations, have dealt with many important social issues and environmental considerations. They have been exhibited nationally and internationally in venues ranging from Art Space in New York to the Experimental Video Festival in the Netherlands to Alcatraz Island. Kamler currently chairs the Visual Arts Department of the University of San Francisco, where he also directs the art outreach program, Artist as Citizen in Contemporary Society. He has been in residence at Blue Mountain Center for the Arts in New York, Ucross Foundation in Wyoming, and Millay Colony for the Arts in New York.