[Blockprint 'Sun" by John Paul Thornton]I have been invited to design a series of murals for the United Nations Environmental Programme.
The completed series will be displayed at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo Norway, beginning on World Environment Day, June 5th, 2007
A contributing team of young artists from the Full Circle Learning Program in Los Angeles California will be collaborating on the project with me, which will include the creation of over one hundred block prints describing aspects of climate change caused by our Earth's shrinking polar ice caps.
An exciting aspect of the mural's visual imagery will be created using a contemporary version of traditional block printing. Using this technique, symbols and drawings are carved into the surface of a block, which is then coated with ink. The image on the ink-covered surface is then transfered directly (in reverse) onto the surface of the mural.
The initial meeting between myself and the team took place last week at the home of coordinator, Teresa Langness. Each of the selected young teen-aged participating artists was chosen for their dynamic capacity to play active rolls in social change. They are outspoken, confident, talented and inspiring. I introduced the concept for the mural pieces, which will consist of twelve panels, each conveying graphic visual components of how temperature changes can affect wildlife, forests, oceans and human habitats.
The final gorgeous results will be seen by thousands of viewers from around the world including those expected to attend the United Nations Environmental Summit.
