Hearty Art

A striking image of Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi greets visitors to a new arts center in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand.

The picture superimposes the portrait of Suu Kyi on the iconic “Rosie the Riveter” poster that rallied working women in the US during World War II. Rosie, based on a true character, represented the 6 million women who worked in American munitions factories and was adopted as an icon of the feminist cause.

“We Can Do It!” the poster proclaims, above a picture of Rosie/Suu Kyi with her sleeves rolled up. In the right hand corner are the letters “NLD,” standing for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy.

It’s a centerpiece of the newly opened ArtSpace on 7 in central Chiang Mai and is the work of the two founders of the center, New York artists Laura Spector and Chadwick Gray.

“We created it for Suu Kyi’s 60th birthday and thought it could be a suitable permanent feature of the center, which aims to promote opportunities for cultural community development,” Chadwick told The Irrawaddy.

Two Burmese artists will be among the participants in the center’s first exhibition, titled “Time, Vision and Invention,” which runs from February 7-29.

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Coming Soon—‘The Lady’

The life of Burmese democracy icon and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi will be the subject of a new movie titled “The Lady.” Giuseppe Tornatore, director of the Oscar-winning Italian film, “Nuovo cinema Paradiso,” plans to make “The Lady” with Japanese producer Naofumi Okamoto, with production to begin later this year.

According to a leading entertainment magazine, Variety, Okamoto is to produce the US $30 million project alongside Avi Arad, Steven Paul and Benedict Carver of Los Angeles-based Crystal Sky Pictures, which will finance the film.

Although Suu Kyi was reported to be reluctant at first, Okamoto—who met her three times—secured her permission to make the movie. He asked Tornatore to direct the film because of the Italian’s empathy with female characters.

“The Lady” will cover the period from Suu Kyi’s return to Burma in 1988, when she was 43, to the present day.

So, who will play Suu Kyi in the movie? As yet to be decided.