What is enough evidence to remove reasonable doubt ort

I just got of the phone after a long conversation with an interesting film maker who may join our team with his brother a journalist. I am going to visit with them both in the coming week. The whole story of Hundertwasser the artist a architect,painter and ecological philosopher and of this largest painting of his career, that has been saved twice from demolition is amazing.

I have difficulty believing it myself and I know many knowledgeable and learned people do also. I remember my first telephone conversation with the Harvard educated art historian Harry Rand who I called at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC. I called to inform him that he had mad a mistake in his 1983 book on Hundertwasser, and I would like to correct him. The painting called Paradise is shown on page 20 with a photo of the young artist in front of the painting as he was creating it. The painting in the footnotes is listed as lost when the building was destroyed in 1964. He did not believe me, and called his Archive in Vienna for confirmation.

I told him HW's Paradise mural was lost to the art world in a practical sense but not destroyed, and we intend to restore Paradise and return the painting to the art world and a fitting public display. I and my family are not rich or connected in the art world and are slow moving to accomplish this task, but intend to do in a way that honors its makers , and extends Hundertwassers legacy.

Over year ago I contacted DPI , the UPI or Ruters of the Germanic Press , and they refused to tell a story they could not confirm. We had hoped they might simply contact his Archive in Vienna, archiv@harel.at and its director Andrea Furst or its president Joram Harel and that would might be considered proof enough. There is a five page report from a conservator Ralf Wittig detailing its condition and an estimate for its repair. He worked for a decade with the artist and works with his Archive and museum. His contact info is ateiler@ralfwittig.at

I understand that this may sound like a made up Madoff, NY story to many , but it is not. I was told to go to the Germanic bloggosphere directly and bypass the media gatekeepers, by starting this blog.

I have not been successful yet , will someone please help us get this story out and finally get this project the help and publicity it deserves.The Director of his museum suggested writing a book about the project and telling the story at his museum as a fund raiser. I am working on the book to be self published by Amazon in an Ipad format with color plates and video footage.

Anyone who helps us with this project will be compensated and if you help us make contacts to foundations and individuals who can help pay the cost of the restoration and the film we will be happy to pay a reasonable and professional commit ion. If you are a grant writer or can help in any way please contact us at restoringparadise@gmail.com , care of my mother Patrica Muth.

Harry Rand told me that we have been going about the in the wrong way , seeking capital in this difficult economic situation from private sources. He said that we could get the money to restore the painting and make the Documentary for free and never pay it back even when we realize the monetary value of this painting one day. I told him I had difficulty believing that. He said the art world does not care about my family personally but only about insuring the future of a valuable cultural and artistic artifact. I have yet to see the evidence of that but would like to believe it is true.

update on progress

We are making slow progress on putting together a digital Ipad book that tells the story of this painting and its extraordinary history. We would like to sell it as a fund raiser to pay for the paintings restoration by Ralf Wittig , the conservator who works with his museum. We will keep you posted on our progress. I am looking forward to spending time in Austria, and experiencing Hundertwassers art and architecture personally.

A LOST PARADISE IN RESTORATION

I did not have a chance to go to Austria, and to Vienna to celebrate the tenth anniversary of his Death on Feb 19th. I plan to go this summer when the weather is good and take a month at least to explore all things Hundertwasserish, in the land of his birth. This weekend I am going too the Art Armory Show in NYC, who knows what or whom I shall see.Perhaps I will meet people who can help me move this restoration project forward, someone with the knowledge, financial connections and appreciation to actualize what remains a dream in storage. We have not yet found the way to reach a base of support, but we are confident it exists and we will someday drill into that wellspring of understanding and desire. I know that millions know and love Hundertwasser and his work and millions yet who would love to know of him and his vision of a paradise restored that we could all live in and share in Justice. Today I wrote an email to Danelle Ganek the author of the book LULU MEETS GOD AND DOUBTS HIM. It was a great read and I recommend it highly' especially to anyone who wants to understand the NYC art scene. I am learning more all the time in the course of my adventure to restore Hundertwassers great mural Paradise. I will keep you posted, I trust I will one day have some readers, until then best wishes from NYC and the X, Why Z Arts collective.

I am including a 2Minuit 30 second video attachment of our salvage effort at the beginnings, as well as a 1983 photo of Hundertwasser and Mr Harel visiting the painting . Hundertwasser was in NY city to receive an award for his stamp designs from the United Nations. The vidio was made for us by Fred Espisito a DP, he has taken other footage, which will be forthcoming in short installments. The photo was sent to us by Andrea Furst the Director of his Archive. Their email address is archiv@harel.at

second thoughts on my blog beginings

No one has yet seen it and yet I can not edit or revise my start, spelling mistakes and all. Looking back I would like to have been more direct and clear in the first paragraph. To say that destiny has given us a job, in gifting as this amazing and beautiful painting to restore to its former glory and return it to the public for the appreciation it deserves. My family has done the job to the best of our ability patiently but need help to finish the job. The purpose of this blog is to get the story out and find help to complete this task. We would appreciate help in all and any form, words of encouragement, advice, ideas or money in small and large amounts. Interns and professionals in public relations ,media-communications and fundraising who could stat working with us for defered payment.

There are 100 million Germanic speakers in the world, I have spoken to 109 in the new York city subways with one question. Do you know who is Hundertwasser? All excepting four replied, naturally. I therefor believe that I should appeal to this Germanic family that may not universally love and understand the works of his life time but among this number he must be loved and understood by at least a few million. Will a few of these hear our cry for help and come to aid our cause. I believe so and am seeking to be heard by them and to reach them and pull on their heart and their purse strings. We intend to open a pay pal account and seek donations to the restoration of this painting and the making of a documentary film about it and the legacy of the artist that is so important at this time in the life of the world. He and his cause, the restoration of this natural world and the home of many life forms was the preoccupation of his works. This legacy is deserving of a more universal celebration. Here in the USA he is for 98% of the people Hundert-Who? We can change this with our documentary film and the restoration of this painting.

We have made out a budget for both projects and must fund raise to meet these cost or nothing will happen and the opportunity lost. My family , my mother, sisters and brothers are all willing to see this project to completion over a two year period. The restoration will take 6 months and the film six months to a year. Both are important and will cost about the same $100,000 although if we had the money you could always spend more on a film.

We are seeking loans and offering 7% APR , with legal promissory notes through our lawyers office. The painting its self is the guarantor of payment. We were told it would be worth millions fully restored and that a well done film could have a profound impact on its perceived value. We intent to stick it out and take this project to its natural conclusion. We intend to give away a large portion of its sale proceeds to charities that show the world how easy it could be to restore the balance of life and paradise on earth that could be shared by all its citizens ,plant and animal.

This is our intent and we appreciate the creative and financial participation of all though who are friends of Hundertwasser and his growing legacy. Small gifts will add up to real and meaningful sums that will allow us to move forward without delay. We will establish meaningful and beautiful premiums to show our gratitude. We will detail these soon, a book ,posters, film footage on DVDs. We are also seeking to establish fiscal sponsorship with compatible non-profit organizations to help us seek grants from foundations and corporations to further our cause.

Please forward this information and this blog site to anyone you think might be interested in hearing about, and helping our cause. Thank you very much. I will keep you posted.

Best wishes from New York, Chris Muth

Saving Hundertwassers Paradise

In all beginnings dwells a magic force Herman Hesse has said. and in boldness lies power and so we begin this blog in faith and hope that if we ask for help in a noble task we will find a hearing in the Germanic bloggisphere. We are sending out an S.O.S , bottled in a blog on the waters of an uncharted sea in search of help from unknown companions in distant and foreign lands who may be engaged in the same task the restoration of what has been broken , a Paradise lost by the disobedience of Humankind in the beautiful garden given to them by nature and the endless creativity of that force that dwells within all beings. This was the aim of the art and architecture of Hundertwasser the iconic and eccentric artist, environmentalist and philosopher who fought the good fight against the straight line and all that was unnatural.

How do I know this , a citizen of the USA who goggled his name two and a half years ago only to discover I had caught a big Fish from another pond. You see in a mysterious fashion I was given the largest Hundertwasser Painting made in the power of his youth in France . The painting was his first painting in the modern style and done collaboratively in conjunction with his friend and mentor Rene Bro in 1950 , it is called Paradise. My family is now the deed holder of the valuable painting that is under restoration. Ralf Wittig conservator from his Museum in Vienna is designated to finish the restoration. It is expected to cost $100,000. We would like to return this painting to his homeland and his museum for its first showing in the art world to whom this painting has been constructively a lost paradise.

The purpose of this site is to tell that story of our journey thus far and the end for it that we seek. We have done as much work on this project as we can afford and are seeking help in our cause. We are offering 7%APR to investors in this project and offering premiums and gifts to those who would like to make small donations to our cause. We are going to detail the offerings in the future. These will include an ebook on the project, complete with the letters of provenance and photo's of the project in all its phases. as well as posters , calenders mugs and other premiums.

My family is not interested in a quick sale but in taking our time and doing this project respectfully with respect for its makers and the audience of Hundertwassers friends and admirers. Finally we want to insure that it finds a public home where it can be enjoyed by all his friends and those to whom he remains sadly as yet unknown. We have begun a documentary about the project, the painting and the person. We are looking for private individuals with good Hundertwasser stories who would be willing to share them on film. We would appreciate any advice or help that you could offer on this project.

Finally , we want to thank his Archive in Vienna who has been so helpful with this project to date, especially Andrea Furst , the director who has given us so much of her time over the last two and a half years. She is very busy working on the activities surrounding the upcoming tenth anniversary of his untimely death, His life and legacy will be celebrated on February 15th, and I hope to be in attendance, perhaps even to give a presentation about our adventures restoring Hundertwassers Paradise Mural.

I apologise that this is in English only at this point but I have yet to learn German, helpfully that will be different one day.

Best wishes from a new friend and fan of Hundertwasser in Brooklyn New York
I look forward to a two way communication with his friends and admirers dedicated to the same cause for which he lived his art and life , restoring a paradise that humankind has so badly damaged.

Happy New Year Chris Muth