Presidential Teleprompting at the United Nations
This past week I had the distinct pleasure of teleprompting at the United Nations. The occasion was the reinstallation event commemorating the double mural Guerra e Paz, ‘War and Peace’, by one of Brazil’s most beloved artists, Cândido Portinari. They were commissioned by the Brazilian government as a gift to the United Nations decades earlier.
A unique partnership between the Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil was forged to present this amazing artistic show.
Portinari began work on these imposing panels in 1952. Individually they measure 46×32 ft. Sadly, because of his unapologetic connection with the Communist Party, he was not allowed at their unveiling in 1957. He was not given a visa. Politics!
If I may, I give you, verbatim, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at an event commemorating the reinstallation of Cândido Portinari’s War and Peace, at Headquarters, On September 8, 2015:
Thank you so much for joining us at this momentous celebration! Today we say “welcome home” to two of the most meaningful works that the United Nations is honored to host. I thank Ambassador Antonio de Aguiar Patriota and the staff of the Permanent Mission of Brazil for this wonderful event.
War and Peace are more than magnificent works of art. They are Portinari’s call to action. Thanks to him, all leaders who enter the United Nations see the terrible toll of war and the universal dream for peace.
I am deeply grateful to Projeto Portinari and the Brazilian Government for the restoration. I am delighted that in Rio this process was open to the public and that these works were also exhibited in São Paulo, Bello Horizonte and Paris.
I visited Brazil when the murals were there in 2011. At the time, I said that Brazil had a much more important guest than me. I meant War and Peace.
As you know, Portinari himself was warned by his doctors to stop working on the murals because he was becoming sick from the lead paint. But he refused. He literally gave his life to finish these masterpieces. He never lived to see them installed.
Please join me in a moment of silence to honor the memory of this visionary artist. Thank you.
Portinari is no longer alive, but his legacy will live forever at the United Nations. Let us realize his vision and move from war to peace.
Thank you very much.
I worked very closely with him prior to his sharing his father’s story with the assembled guests at the UN.
He told us about his father’s humble beginnings, born in 1903 of Italian immigrants in Brodowski, a small town in the state of Sâo Paulo. He had no formal education. Apparently, he became interested in art, while at age 8, helping a house painter. He became tenacious and single minded. He moved to Rio de Janeiro at 15 and became an artist himself.
Portinari passed away much too young at 56 years old. He left a legacy of over 5,000 murals, paintings, drawings and prints. He is one of Brazil’s most famous and acclaimed artists. His ouevre comprises a synthesis of all the aspects of Brazilian life and culture during that era and what he construed as a statement against war.
The murals donated to the United Nations were the greatest work of his life and were called the War and Peace Panels, hence the name of the show.
The client who hired us is the Vice President of ADV Productions, an audiovisual company contracted by the UN.
He ordered our Presidential Teleprompters, which I set up at the left and right hand sections of the main podium in the General Assembly room at the UN.
My Pelican cases were methodically and meticulously prepped with backup glass panels, additional cabling and backup converters.
At The American Movie Company and TeleprompterRental.com we pride ourselves on being over-prepared for a job.
I also supplied a very important backup converter called CAT5, which enabled me to run 100 feet of cabling from the main stage area to another CAT5 converter which led to another 100 feet of VGA cabling that got me to the fourth floor balcony of the General Assembly room. This is where the entire crew was assembled, so as to leave the main floor area for the special guests that evening.
I am glad I also supplied 2 entire rolls of professional non-slip black gaffer’s tape. I used it all. By the way, the tape ran through a very specific pathway, which had to be approved by the UN guards. They take security seriously!
After two days of intense rehearsals, I prepped and practiced all the particulars required of me. I was more than ready for it! I was also excited about being part of this very important event.
The show went live on the UN Channel for the globe to see.
I was the Teleprompter Operator for several notables: First, for the Secretary-General of the UN, Mr. Ban Ki-moon.
Then the Ambassador of Brazil, Mr. Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Ms. Bia Lessa the creative director of the event, and finally for Professor João Cândido Portinari, the son of the honored artist, Cândido Portinari.
I teleprompted in Portuguese, as most speeches were given in this beautiful, mellifluous language. I learned quite a bit about the cadence of Portuguese versus Spanish. When spoken they differ a lot.
The event was a lot of hard work and involved tons of preparation at the United Nations. It more than paid off on all levels.
The opening night at which the mural exhibition was unveiled and the actual presentation were a success and the show remains a powerful and memorable experience for everyone.