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2012

Black Americans have served in every war in U.S. history – even before being fully recognized as citizens. This online exhibit includes some of the work by and thoughts from black artists that has been shown at the NVAM, and will hopefully provide insights into the experience of black veterans from Vietnam to modern conflicts in the Middle East.

William Myles

Served in Vietnam: 1964-65

“I grew up on the South Side of Chicago with three brothers and two sisters. My mother instilled in us that you must be a responsible person and at the same time be independent and that the only thing that you have that is of some value that can never be taken from you is your education and your word.”

Frankie Howery

Served in Vietnam: 1966-67

“I started drawing on the envelopes of letters home on the way over to Vietnam, or just before I left Stateside. I drew the pictures to amuse myself and pass the time, to illustrate the topics of my letters, and to convince my family not to worry about me by injecting some humor into the overall situation. I wanted also to make up a scrapbook of my experiences in country.”

Cleveland Wright

Served in Vietnam: 1968-69

“This [art] work was not done by the congressman riding to work in his chauffeur-driven limousine, reading the Washington Post, nor was it done by the anchorman on the six o’clock news, but by the man who pulled the trigger on the M-16, dropped the bombs, and threw the hand grenades. This is the war by those who fought it.”

Kimo Williams

Served in Vietnam: 1970-71

“In Vietnam, we seldom talked about our feelings or about the war; conversations were limited. Music and photography were my forms of expression, then as now… I use both music and photography to try to capture events and relate them to emotions and feelings. With photography in Vietnam, I wanted theta viewer to question the relationship between the actual subject of the photograph and the environment the subject was photographed in.”

Ulysses Marshall

Served in Vietnam: 1965-66

“After I got home and began to paint, I wrote about the war as I had experienced it through the eyes of a nineteen-year-old black man: Vietnam is a painter’s illusion, a nightmare; a dream without an ending, forcing upon young men and women death and destruction. Vietnam is a black man screaming in a strange world, fighting for a freedom he is yet to have. Vietnam is a loss of dignity, identity, and pride. It becomes a struggle from within – from the hunting of human lives. Vietnam is America, for in America black men continue to lose their lives. Bang!”

Farris J Parker

Served in Vietnam: 1970-71

“I began working on paintings relating to my time in Vietnam out of a desire to project flashbacks into images. I wanted also to share my experiences with others. The influences on my work are both political and personal: as an artist, a black American, and a Vietnam veteran I naturally have been concerned with these issues. When the question is asked, What did you do in Vietnam? my response is: There it is; look at it; check it out; the art speaks for itself, and for us.”

Charles Smith

Served in Vietnam: 1966-68

“Only God and art combined can change lives of people, and those are the only two things I believe in.”

Ray Burns

Served in Vietnam: 1965-66

From a letter, 1966: “My little Kodak has caught the only permanent thing this place has besides the smell: the stare in the eyes of the living and the dead. Those stares and the smell: they will stay with me when the Nam is only a TV documentary.”

Iris Feliciano

Served in OEF: 2002

“I am not African American. I am a Hispanic immigrant. This distinction is very important to me and my family. Black History Month in this country celebrates the achievements of black Americans–I am now an American citizen and a black Latina.”

“So much of my identity was based on rank and status in the military. After living out of uniform for a few years, I began to feel unknowable even to myself. But this vulnerability allowed me to begin to see who I was outside the context of symbols without assuming defeat.”

Melvin Lyons

Served in Iraq: 2003

“When you come out of high school uncertain about what it is you want to do, recruiters will see that as a weakness and will pounce on that. You join the military with these great hopes and expectations of life outside the military–there’s a great possibility that you could wind up losing your life because of it. So Evolution of War basically became snapshots of the life of someone going into the military.”

If you enjoyed the online exhibit, please consider:

• Donating to the NVAM on their website
• Contributing to the Above & Beyond Campaign
• Becoming NVAM member
• Subscribing to the Friends of the NVAM Newsletter

This amazing Online Exhibit framework was created by Dan FitzGerald

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“Combat art is about people in war; the values and virtues that people believe are worth living and dying for. It is a testament to the living, and to those who have died. Combat art is a channel for memories of those who have served in harm’s way. It passes values down from one generation to another, and another…”

“Combat art tells of our deepest feelings such as: “We held fast to a set of standards and values that was worth anything we had to endure. This is how we spent a part of our lives… It was worth it.”

“Combat art reduces things to bare essentials… like the virtue most highly valued by men in combat… Just keeping the faith with each other!”

To view Leahy works just visit: http://www.thehootch.com/

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Norm is a native of the Pacific Northwest and currently resides in Burlington, Washington where he maintains a studio and his business headquarters.

Norm was drafted into the U.S. Army in the summer of 1968 and was stationed at Fort Lewis for basic training. In March of 1969 he went to Vietnam and was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division, headquartered in Cu Chi. His tour of duty took him to War Zone C with the 3/22nd regulars operating out of Tay Ninh.

Norm is painting an ongoing series about his experiences in Vietnam that visually express one man’s journey through Post Traumatic Stress and the struggle to come to terms with war and its aftermath of combat. Norm credits Jesus Christ with the inspiration to paint and the healing it has brought him. It is his sincere desire to share some of his divine healing with others through his paintings.

Norm and Kathy work with the “American Veterans Traveling Tribute” (AVTT) exhibiting Norm’s paintings with the Traveling Wall. You can check their schedule to see when they’ll be in your area by visiting the AVTT website here:  http://www.avtt.org

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Internationally renowned Military Artist, Todd Krasovetz is the industry leader of military art and is one of the featured artist with Official Military Art. His outstanding portfolio reflects over 10 years experience providing commissioned pieces to all branches of the armed forces with original artwork installations. Our company has a unique design process; providing innovative ideas to the military. If you are remodeling your office or in the process of building a new space, we are experts and can to turn that space into a meaningful, visual statement of Brotherhood and Patriotism while increasing moral all at the same time.

More painting can be seen and purchase by Todd Krasovetz at http://www.official-military-art.com/

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Artists in Kern County are coming together to remind the community about the importance of honoring our veterans, as we prepare to observe Veterans Day.

The artists are raising money for the Wounded Heroes Fund, which helps local vets who have been injured in the war on terror.

“I’ve been in a depression for about seven years, coming out of it now, you know, working my way out of it. I still have nightmares. I have a lot of anger problems,” said J.R. Browning, an Army combat veteran.

Browning, of Bakersfield, was in one of the first units to roll into Baghdad in 2003. During his two tours of duty, he suffered more than a couple dozen concussions from bomb blasts and the road to recovery has not been easy.

“You know, you physically leave a combat zone, but mentally, emotionally, you’re always still kind of there. It’s a struggle,” said Browning.

Browning and his wife Nicole own an art gallery downtown called The Foundry. Now, the two are combining their love for art and vets into one, with a new art exhibit titled “Heroes.”

“We have to have our veterans. We have to have our heroes out there, so that we can come back and enjoy an art show, or enjoy what we do everyday,” said Nicole Browning.

Alan Willis is the artist behind a painting, entitled “Lifeline.” It features a Vietnam soldier radioing out for help. “I spent about 60 hours creating it and I wanted to do something that would benefit our veterans,” said Willis.

A percentage of the art sales from this exhibit will go towards the Wounded Heroes Fund, to help our wounded warriors make the transition back into civilian life.

“Right now our troops need support more than they’ve needed it in quite some time so it’s important for us to kick in a little moral support and say hey we understand, we are here for you,” explained Browning.

Bakersfield, CA – Published: 11/04/2010 – kget.com

http://www.bakersfieldfoundry.com/

Photos and art displayed at the event can be found here and here.

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There’s plenty of money for bombs, bullets and other insanities of war but for lack of funding there lies hidden in Washington DC a treasure trove of the art of war.

The paintings and sketches could be said to be either pro or anti-war but in any case should be on display for all to see.

“Hidden Treasures,” a major art collection, these works are done mostly by United States Army soldiers about Army troops from America’s earliest wars to present day. The collection includes paintings, drawing and sculptures by famous American artists including Norman Rockwell, as well as by infamous Nazis including Adolph Hitler, all hidden from public view behind closed doors in the basement of an office building in Washington, D.C. Rita Braver reports on what she saw – and others can not.

From CBS News Sunday Morning – 11/15/09 – ART: The Army Collection

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If you like this post and want to see more of this daily Veteran Art blog, please subscribe now. I would love for you to share or leave a comment.

From a snowy small town in Northern Michigan to the mountains of Afghanistan and back, WHERE SOLDIERS COME FROM follows the four-year journey of childhood friends, forever changed by a faraway war.

A documentary about growing up, WHERE SOLDIERS COME FROM is an intimate look at the young men who fight our wars and the families and town they come from. Returning to her hometown, Director Heather Courtney gains extraordinary access following these young men as they grow and change from teenagers stuck in their town, to 23-year-old veterans facing the struggles of returning home.

Enticed by a $20,000 signing bonus and the college tuition support, best friends Dominic and Cole join the National Guard after graduating from their rural high school. After persuading several of their friends to join them, the young men are sent to Afghanistan, where they spend their days sweeping for roadside bombs. By the time their deployment ends, they are no longer the carefree group of friends they were before enlisting; repeated bombs blowing up around their convoys have led to the new silent signature wound of the Afghan war, Traumatic Brain Injury, and they have all become increasingly disillusioned about their mission.

“I spent nearly two years filming them as regular 19- and 20-year-olds before they became active duty soldiers serving in Afghanistan. I also spent a lot of time with their families, friends and girlfriends.” said Heather Courtney, the films director, “My goal was to get to know them as people rather than soldiers, and by knowing them and their families and town before they leave, we see how they all change over these four years.”

The challenges really begin to surface when they return to Michigan to their families and communities and try to fit back into their daily routines. WHERE SOLDIERS COME FROM looks beyond the guns and policy of an ongoing war to examine the effect on parents, loved ones and the whole community when young people go off to fight.

If you like this post and want to see more of this daily Veteran Art blog, please subscribe now. I would love for you to share or leave a comment.

If you like this post and want to see more of this daily Veteran Art blog, please subscribe now. I would love for you to share or leave a comment.

Jim is giving demonstration on his painting techniques tomorrow at the VA Creative Arts Festival.  See Jim’s work and other Veteran art across Arizona.

Thursday, February 9, 2012
9:00am until 1:00pm

Memorial Hall at Steele Indian School Park
300 East Indian School Road, Phoenix, AZ
facebook event

Thursday, February 9, 2012
9:00am until 1:00pm

Memorial Hall at Steele Indian School Park
300 East Indian School Road, Phoenix, AZ
facebook event

“A Soldiers Burden is an unique experience to acknowledge the sacrifice members of the US military are currently making being away from the family and friends. Some of our members of the military are on there 3rd, 4th and even 5th deployment to Iraq and/or Afghanistan, missing anniversaries, birthdays, childhood milestones and even their children’s birth. This piece has been created by Lyle Dillie, an Army veteran, with photos and sounds to create multiple videos on the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, an original musical score (by Steve Gamo) and hand painted visages of modern American Soldiers and Marines.”

for more in visit http://desertseadesign.com/projects/a-soldier-burden-video-art-installation/

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