An imaginary monument to the United Nations’ “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, done in the year of its 50th anniversary.

Sandow Birk

Since working on the drawing based on the Constitution of the United States, I remain interested in the possibilities of combining text and images. The practice of drawing on smaller sheets of paper and combining them into a larger image were also practical since I was spending considerable time traveling.

The year 2008 marked the sixtieth anniversary of the United Nations’ “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”. As with the Constitution drawing, I was interested in placing the vaunted language of the document along with images of the practicalities of daily life. The drawing was done while I was in residence at the Cité des Arts in Paris, and my imaginary monument was based on Napoleon’s Column in the Place Vendôme, which I passed often in the streets.

In my drawing, the tower contains the entire text of the declaration, but it is damaged and in need of repairs. Temporary scaffolding supports the edifice, and it is encircled by a high fence and guarded entrance. Slums surround the monument – an imaginary amalgam of slums from various places in the world – and in the distance rises a skyline made up of iconic world skyscrapers.