The tradition of commissioning artists to document war dates back to early civilization. Evidence of wartime art can be found in Egyptian tombs and Roman mosaics. Now, in the age of instant imagery, this tradition persists because of art's ability to imitate life more accurately than many other forms of documentation. Visual art captures the charged emotions of a situation in a medium that can be universally understood. During the Vietnam War, the United States sent teams of artists to Vietnam to record their experiences as soldier artists. These artists were part of the U.S. Army Vietnam Combat Artists program and their instructions were to "paint what [they saw] in whatever medium" (with some limitations). Artists' renderings of the war ranged from the literal to the abstract. Many of the works of art can now be found in the National Museum of the U.S. Army.
Gunship - John O. Wehrle
Landing Zone - John O. Wehrle
The Lost of the War - Roger A. Blum
Bog Down - Felix R. Sanchez
The Innocent - Kenneth J. Scowcroft
Chieu Hoi Mission - Craig L. Stewart
Images courtesy of the National Museum of the U.S. Army.
Photographs and pieces of art have been very powerful tools in portraying the cruelty of war. The messages presented within these pictures, as well as other types of media, can give society a view into what the war was like. These pieces of art gives me a sense of what happened on the front lines during the war and all the destruction it can bring to a country.
ReplyDeleteVisual representations of the war such as art and photography provide more concrete evidence of the cruelties of war. Without a visual, it is often hard to understand the magnitude of the situation. These pieces of artwork allow the public to see the war, rather than just hear about it. Hopefully it eliminated some of the ignorance the American people had.
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