Lurie Does U.N. Painting as He Exits Print Cartooning

By: Dave Astor A Ranan Lurie-designed painting that snakes in and out of the United Nations building will be unveiled this Tuesday, a week after the huge work of art was finished. Also finished is Lurie's decades-long career doing editorial cartoons for print newspapers; Lurie told E&P he'll create only multimedia cartoons if he decides to end his sabbatical from syndication.

"Political cartooning is going to change its character completely. It will become animation, sound, and color," said Lurie, 73, who has already delved into political animation (E&P Online, Feb. 6, 2003). He said "still cartoons" are approaching the "horse and buggy" stage.

Lurie's first print cartoon was published in 1948, and he built a client list of 1,105 newspapers -- most of them abroad -- by the time he began his sabbatical more than a year ago (E&P Online, June 7, 2004). If he does come back, Lurie's client list would include online newspapers.

The creator went on hiatus to concentrate on writing the second novel in his "The Cartoonist's Mask" series -- a partly autobiographical saga starring a cartoonist/spy (E&P Online, April 16, 2004). He also worked on the "Uniting Painting," which he hopes will eventually extend far beyond the UN.

An artist's rendition of Lurie's installation before the work was created.

The concept for the painting dates back to 1968. Lurie created artwork -- incorporating painting, mosaics, pebbles, and more -- that snaked in and out of his Connecticut houses. (He first lived in Stamford and later moved to Greenwich.)

Lurie brought the idea to the UN about 18 months ago, and offered to do the project at his own expense. Nearly $500,000 later -- and with the help of a crew of about three-dozen people -- the "Uniting Painting" was completed this past Tuesday.

"I funded everything from A to Z," said the artist. "In principle, I refused to take even one quarter from the UN for this. If the UN has a spare quarter, it should go to people suffering from AIDS in Africa, not to Mr. Lurie."

The artwork begins on canvases hanging 75 feet from the UN ceiling, turns into a carpet as it moves down the stairs of the building's main lobby, turns into canvases again, and then moves outside the UN to the East River. The near destination: New York City's Roosevelt Island. The farther destinations: Other countries and continents.

Lurie said he has an agreement in place for a version of the "Uniting Painting" to be done in Greece. Other possible locales include Cyprus, Great Britain, India, South Korea, South Africa, Egypt, and Jerusalem. The designs would be Lurie's, with the execution done by local artists.

The idea of the painting is to serve as a symbol of "unity and goodwill" among different cultures and religions. Lurie added that the painting, by "refusing to be confined to one area" and by adjusting to various indoor and outdoor environments, also symbolizes the curiosity and adaptability of humankind.

Ambassadors and other dignitaries from at least 50 countries are expected to attended Tuesday's unveiling at the UN, according to Lurie. Also expected is Kofi Annan, who Lurie described as the "most creative" UN secretary-general of the past few decades.

The "Uniting Painting" will remain at the UN until at least early 2007, said Lurie, and he's hoping it ends up staying there permanently.

In a way, Lurie has come full circle with the "Uniting Painting." He studied fine art and focused on painting as a young man before becoming a cartoonist to "pay the rent." He was a staff political cartoonist for Israel's Yedioth Aharonoth newspaper from 1956 to 1967, and then went on to work for various other papers and magazines -- including Life, Newsweek International, the Honolulu Advertiser, Germany's Die Welt, The Times of London, Japan's Asahi Shimbun, U.S News & World Report, Time International, Switzerland's Neue Zurcher Zeitung, and Foreign Affairs. He's also the founder and editor in chief of Cartoon News Magazine, which began in 1996 and became the Web-only Cartoonews.com in 2000. One of his children -- Rod Lurie -- created the new TV series "Commander in Chief," starring Geena Davis as the first female president of the United States.

Now that he's 73, will Lurie be around long enough to see the "Uniting Painting" appear in various countries -- and to possibly return to the young but growing field of political animation? "I'm doing many pushups," he replied.