New Catalogue

The Incredible Wonderful Complicated Dag Hammarskjöld is a graphic account of the former UN Secretary General and his journal Markings. Dag Hammarskjöld died in 1961 in a plane crash while he was traveling in Rhodesia to broker a cease-fire between UN Troops and Katangese troops of Moise Tshombe. He was awarded the Noble Peace Prize after his death and to this date is the only person to receive the award posthumously. The idea came to us when were watching the Ali G show featuring an interview with former U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali. We were deeply struck by Mr. Ghali’s incredible humility and humor in the face of Ali G’s farce. Our research into Boutros Boutros Ghali lead us backwards several decades and Secretaries-General to Dag Hammarskjöld who served the UN from 1953–1961. Subsequently his posthumously published journal, Markings, edited by W. H. Auden, became an obsession. We contracted a young graphic designer, Samuel Copeland, to work with New Catalogue. For two weeks, day and night, Mr. Copland and New Catalogue created nearly 500 graphic impressions of Dag Hammarskjöld and Markings. Since then we have been working on a portable Dag Hammarskjöld Reading Room that could be set up in museums, classrooms or a home.