Speeches and Transcripts
Ambassador Vershbow remarks from the AIEP reception
October 11, 2006
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Lisa and I would like to welcome you to Habib House to see our new installation of contemporary American Crafts.
Let me begin with a word about this residence. It was named after Philip Habib, one of America’s great statesmen and career diplomats who served as U.S. Ambassador here from 1971 to 1974. Over 30 years ago Ambassador Habib had the task to deal with a residence that had been named a national monument in Korea, but whose walls and foundation were suffering the abuses of age and termites. Habib argued that for historical and cultural reasons, a new residence should be built in Korean style, and – after a long struggle with the State Department – it was.
The building of the house that stands here today represents a true marriage of Korean style and American engineering. It’s large enough to serve the representational needs of the Ambassador, but is truly crafted in the traditional style of a Hanok. The enormous wooden beams are held in place by hand-carved interlocking joints – there are no nails.
We think that our choice of American contemporary crafts to decorate this house evokes the spirit of its Korean-American marriage by bringing some of the cultural traditions of our two countries together – literally under one roof!
Through a State Department program begun in the 1960s called ART in Embassies, every American Ambassador serving abroad is privileged to have the opportunity to bring a collection of American art to decorate the residence for the duration of his or her tenure. The theme of each exhibition is the personal choice of the Ambassadorial couple and the selection of artworks is made with the guidance of a curator in Washington.
People often ask us, “How do you choose the art, is there a catalogue of available works?” It’s not that easy, but much more creative. The ART in Embassies program reaches out to museums, galleries, private collectors, and individual artists. Two of our glass pieces were loaned by a wonderful glass gallery in Washington. But the majority of pieces of art in this exhibition were loaned to us by the artists themselves – which makes them cultural ambassadors in their own right.
Lisa and I have shared a passion for contemporary crafts for many years. As a craft artist herself, a metalsmith, Lisa took an extremely personal interest in the selection of the works in this exhibition.
We are very honored to have the Director of the ART in Embassies program, Anne Johnson, and its program manager, Marcia Mayo, here with us this evening. I want to thank them for coming all the way from Washington to celebrate the official launch with us. Let me invite Anne Johnson to the podium to say a few words, and then I will give the floor to Lisa, who will give you a brief introduction to the artworks in the exhibition.