ungeneva:

New for 2016 - a series of ‘Art at the Palais’ posts which will spotlight the unique and historic pieces of art at our home the Palais des Nations - and how they reflect the global aims of the United Nations Charter.

First is a sculpture called “The Blue Planet of Human Life”.

This dreamy blue and white globe was gifted to UN Geneva by Japan, and is located in front of the Council Chamber, where the Conference on Disarmament carries out its work to banish nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction from the world forever.

The plaque on the sculpture reads: “A porcelain globe designed and produced in the Tobe style with a prayer to safeguard peace on earth and the irreplaceable Earth of Humankind. 

By Yasuhiko Shirakata, Ceramic Artist, Tobe-cho, Ehime-ken, Japan. October 1995”

npr:

The company that makes Legos has landed at the center of a social-media firestorm after Chinese artist Ai Weiwei complained that it refused to supply a bulk order of the toy bricks for his art.

Ai said he wanted to use the bricks for an exhibition on free speech at Australia’s National Gallery of Victoria. The museum attempted to place an order but was told by the company that it “cannot approve the use of Legos for political works.“A post on Ai’s Instagram account said:

"As a powerful corporation, Lego is an influential cultural and political actor in the globalized economy with questionable values. Lego’s refusal to sell its product to the artist is an act of censorship and discrimination.”

A free-speech advocate who was imprisoned by the Chinese government, Ai suggested that Lego was acting under pressure from authorities. The privately held Danish company recently announced that a Legoland theme park will open in Shanghai. 

In response, fans of the artist flooded Twitter and Instagram with offers of Legos, and Ai said he was setting up drop-off points for donations. He also posted a picture of Legos that had been left inside a car on a street in Berlin, where he is serving as a visiting professor at the University of the Arts.

Fans Flood Artist Ai Weiwei With Offers Of Legos

Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Coco Chanel was an active Nazi collaborator, and was even dating a high-ranking SS officer.

Going to go see The Monuments Men next week? This link will help you learn a bit, or refresh your memory, of WWII. I have a minor in History and even I didn’t know some of this stuff!

–The Virtual Intern