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The
International Poster Center, ACA Galleries, the Temple
of Understanding and Jan Sawka were proud to present the
unveiling of the design and scale model for the Peace
Monument for Jerusalem. This monument honors peaceful
coexistence between Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Crowned with the symbols of the three religions, a
forest of slender white rods soars toward the sky out of
an irregular opening in the ground, reminiscent of a
gash or wound. The monument's designer, Jan Sawka,
explains that "the forest of rods represents hope and
the highest human aspirations rising into the future,
out of the wound-like opening, which symbolizes the
painful and conflicted past." An underground area
beneath the monument will house the Peace Center, a
location where activities, symposia and meetings
promoting peace and coexistence can continue.
The proposal
of this monument comes from the art and interfaith
dialogue communities. The International Poster Center,
directed by Jack Rennert, is a preeminent poster gallery
and leading auction house of rare posters. ACA
Galleries was established in 1932 and has a history of
supporting socially beneficial causes. Located in
Chelsea, ACA specializes in 19th & 20th century American
Art, Modern & Contemporary paintings, drawings &
sculpture. For 50 years, The Temple of Understanding has
been a leader in the field of Interfaith Education. Its
mission is to achieve peaceful coexistence among
individuals and societies by fostering an appreciation
of religious and cultural diversity. Its Founding
Friends include Eleanor Roosevelt, Thomas Merton, Dr.
Albert Schweitzer, H.H. Pope John XXIII and H.H. Tenzin
Gyatso, The XIVth Dalai Lama, among others. The TOU is a
Non-Governmental Organization with Consultative Status
at the United Nations (ECOSOC)
Internationally recognized artist
Jan Sawka's life and work have been informed by humanism
and activism toward causes of justice and human rights.
As a young man, his artworks opposed the communist
regime in Poland and its violation of human expression
and civil rights. In 1968 Poland, he was a leader in
protests against Soviet anti-Semitic policies, which led
to his punishment at the hands of the military. Exiled
in 1976 from their homeland, Mr. Sawka and his family
have lived in the United States ever since. Mr. Sawka
has devised symbolic artworks for the Solidarity
Movement, Human Rights Watch, non-nuclear future
fundraisers, Holocaust memorials, and the anniversary of
the 1956 Hungarian uprising. Pope John Paul II blessed
his activities and work in 1992. In 1996, when Mr.
Sawka began work with the authorities of the United Arab
Emirates on a design for an art and culture complex, he
met intellectuals of the Arabic world, who included Dr.
Jamal al Majaida, and the concept was born to create a
far-reaching symbol of peace to be built in Jerusalem.
The unveiling at the International Poster Center in New
York begins an international promotional and fundraising
campaign for the project.
Jan Sawka:
With a
career of over 40 years, Jan Sawka (pronounced Yan SAF-ka)
is internationally known for painting, printmaking,
architecture, and multi-media. His works are in the
collections of over 60 international museums, including
the Museum of Modern Art, N.Y., Victoria and Albert in
London, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Polish National
Museums, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, and Museum of Modern
Art in Toyama, Japan. Hi prints comprise the largest
collection of works on paper of a single artist in the
Library of Congress. He has created multi-media set
designs for productions ranging from the Harold Clurman
and Samuel Beckett Theaters in New York to the Grateful
Dead’s 25th Anniversary Tour. His
multi-media work has included projections of images on
downtown Houston’s skyscrapers for “Sky Power,” the 40th
anniversary celebration of NASA and “The Eyes”
multi-media spectacle realized at Art Tower Mito, Japan
in 1993. In 2003, he was awarded the Premio Lorenzo Il
Magnifico Gold Medal in Multi-Media at the International
Biennale of Contemporary Art in Florence, Italy for his
pilot for a large-scale multi-media spectacle called
“The Voyage.”
Jan Sawka’s
architectural and symbolic designs include the “Essen
Spires,” a set of four interactive large-scale
sculptures using plasma glass and light and laser
technology, to grace the Essen, Germany cityscape; the
“Virtual Reality Pavilion,” a stand-alone structure
featuring high-tech screens that surround the viewer
with images; and “Water in Colours,” an installation
combining architecture, light and sculpture for the
Kaltehofe Island in Hamburg, Germany, which is a work
currently in progress. Currently under consideration by
the Royal Family of the United Arab Emirates, Jan
Sawka’s 1996 proposal for the “Tower of Light Cultural
Center” is a design for a complex of museums and
performance and educational structures to be built on an
island facing the Abu Dhabi downtown.
Jan Sawka
has created significant visual symbols throughout his
career for many important and now-historic causes. As a
young man, his artworks opposed the communist regime in
Poland and its violation of human expression and civil
rights. In 1968 Poland, he was a leader in protests
against Soviet anti-Semitic policies, which led to his
punishment at the hands of the military. Exiled in 1976
from their homeland, Mr. Sawka and his family have lived
in the United States ever since. Mr. Sawka has devised
symbolic artworks for the Solidarity Movement,
Human Rights Watch, non-nuclear future fundraisers,
Holocaust memorials,
and the anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian uprising.
Pope John Paul II blessed his activities and work in
1992. In 1996, when Mr. Sawka began work
with the authorities of the United Arab Emirates
on the “Tower of Light Cultural Center,” he met
intellectuals of the Arabic world, who included Dr.
Jamal al Majaida, and the concept was born to create a
far-reaching symbol of peace to be built in Jerusalem.
www.jansawka.com
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