1-1                                     1
 1-2                          SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 643
 1-3           WHEREAS, The Texas Senate takes great pride in recognizing
 1-4     12-year-old Beso Kazaishvili, renowned art prodigy from the
 1-5     Republic of Georgia, who will be showing his work at the Milan
 1-6     Gallery in Fort Worth, Texas, from April 15, 1999, through
 1-7     April 30, 1999; and
 1-8           WHEREAS, Exposed to civil war in his country while it was a
 1-9     Soviet republic, Beso began to draw when he was four years old; his
1-10     paintings show the violence and pain he saw reflected around him;
1-11     and
1-12           WHEREAS, Beso has committed himself to completing 265 "peace
1-13     paintings," one for each nation on earth; during the next two years,
1-14     the paintings will be assembled into a giant mural which the young
1-15     artist calls his Wall of Peace; and
1-16           WHEREAS, Beso opened his first art show in the United States
1-17     in January, 1998, and his California debut caused a genuine flurry
1-18     among the media; when his first exhibit was shown in London, all 40
1-19     of his works sold out before the prestigious gallery officially
1-20     opened his show; and
1-21           WHEREAS, With powerful images, Beso's drawings and paintings
1-22     have the sophistication and grace of a master; he uses themes of
1-23     good and evil, and his chiaroscuro shows his unusual maturity as a
1-24     painter; and
 2-1           WHEREAS, This enterprising young artist has established the
 2-2     New Millennium Festival of Peace; this is an international art
 2-3     festival designed to bring representative groups of children from
 2-4     every nation together in a joint commitment by today's children for
 2-5     peace in the next century; the peace festival will take place in
 2-6     the summer of 2000; and
 2-7           WHEREAS, At each exhibition or personal appearance, Beso
 2-8     recruits soldiers, who are children, into his Peace Army by having
 2-9     the young people sign an oath stating their commitment to peace in
2-10     the 21st century; and
2-11           WHEREAS, During his visit to Salt Lake City, he and his art
2-12     were covered extensively by network news and local newspapers, and
2-13     ABC broadcast his story throughout the nation; now, therefore, be it
2-14           RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,
2-15     76th Legislature, hereby pay tribute to Georgian artist
2-16     Beso Kazaishvili for his extraordinary contributions to both
2-17     the world of art and geopolitics; and, be it further
2-18           RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for
2-19     him as an expression of the highest esteem and regard of the
2-20     Texas Senate.
2-21                                                                Moncrief
2-22                                  ______________________________________
2-23                                          President of the Senate
2-24                                       I hereby certify that the above
2-25                                  Resolution was adopted by the Senate
2-26                                  on April 14, 1999.
2-27                                  ______________________________________
2-28                                          Secretary of the Senate
2-29                                  ______________________________________
2-30                                           Member, Texas Senate