Titans, UNNY122G, 1973, United Nations World Youth Assembly
Title

Titans

Gift ID: 
UNNY122G

The mural Titans is based on the colours of the light spectrum representing the basic colours and creeds of all nations. The painting depicts five giants representing the five great continents moving the world out of darkness and into light. The technique is the artist's own pointillist style - more like the dots and dashes of a television screen or the light rays of a computer than those of Seurat’s pointillism. Winter chose light and colour as a basic element of visual form to express an inner, more prismatic concept of nature, the hope of world youth, rather than a surface view.

For this mural composition, the central figures of a boy and girl express the eagerness of youth to grasp the light. A triangle made of father, mother, and child define the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of life. The child is lifted towards the triangle’s apex as a fixture of present and future generations. 

Lumen Martin Winter (1907 – 1982) was a celebrated muralist and has artworks in many notable museums and places, including the White House and the Vatican. 

The UN General Assembly passed a Resolution (A/RES/2896 XXVI, 75 yes of 132 votes) commissioning the mural from the artist. It commemorates the first World Youth Assembly held in conjunction with the UN’s 25th founding anniversary in 1970. The General Assembly noted that the World Youth Assembly had “paved the way for a better understanding among youth designed to contribute to efforts for bringing about peace, justice and progress in the world.” 
 
At the unveiling were Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim, the artist Mr. Winter and Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the UN, Jamil M. Baroody, who recommended the commission. 

Donor Region: 
Others (Institutions, Foundations, Individuals)
Donor: 
United Nations World Youth Assembly
Classification: 
Paintings & Works on Paper
Materials: 
Oil on canvas
Medium: 
Oil on canvas, mounted on wood
Location (Building): 
General Assembly (GA)
Location floor: 
3rd Floor
Donation Date: 
January 10, 1973
Artist or Maker: 
Lumen Martin Winter
Dimensions: 
H: 96 ½ x W: 219 x D: 3 in.