Tag Archives: War Heroes
New War Art for Afghanistan Soldiers
Art right now is different than it has ever been, and in particular war art is of a wholly different genre than in any generations previous. Historical pictures of soldiers tend to portray the soldiers in strong, bold positions, while the rise of photography brought a more humane, but distinctly hard appearance to the idea of war. The new war art portrayals, in contrast, suggest a more human innocence to these Afghanistan soldiers. The following different types of war art are exemplars of the new types of war art coming out of this generation, in particular with regards to Afghanistan soldiers. 1. Murals One particular war art mural is currently being done by Canadian artist Dave Sopha. He is currently in the process of painting a long mural that includes the faces of all 113 Canadian Afghanistan soldiers who have died thus far into Canada’s military action. His mural is not like war art of past times, however; rather than the bold, full body, intense looking portraits that characterized war art in history, he paints just slightly smiling faces, all looking out of the canvas, innocent and brave. 2. Poetry/Art Slams The blog “Talking About Peace” every Saturday holds a … Continue reading
Ways to Honor Iraq Soldiers with Art
Though many people prefer to support troops by sending commodities or writing letters, using artwork is a great way to support troops in Iraq is by using art. Even for people who have little or no artistic background, this can be an extremely touching way to personalize letters to Iraq soldiers, or to raise awareness to support troops. If you have any inclination toward supporting Iraq soldiers, the following suggestions are ways to incorporate your artistic abilities with this support, in a helpful, creative way. 1. Artistic letters Sending letters to Iraq soldiers is a great way to support troops, and a common act. While sending letters is a great practice, sending a little piece of artwork, or a highly decorated letter can be even more touching. Better yet, if a drawing can be included with the letter that will help the Iraq soldiers to remember easier or happier times, this can be a great way to support troops in an artistic way. 2. Portraits A growing trend among artists looking to support troops in Iraq is to paint portraits of deceased soldiers, or photograph current soldiers, usually free of charge to give to the families of these Iraq soldiers. … Continue reading
War Heroes and War Art
Throughout history, war heroes have traditionally liked extremely heroic war art done of themselves. Of course, this tends to have been done before the time of photography, however the photography tended to inhibit the extravagance and exuberance of war art, in favor of a more realistic and less dressed up version of events. For that reason, among others, war art of the past seems to be particularly favored, though fairly out of style, both for its disassociation with reality and for its glorified ideals. 1. To commemorate Often, war art of war heroes is made to commemorate a particularly notable event or proud moment. In particular, before records were as well preserved and as accurately kept, war art was a great way to provide what externally appeared to be an incredibly accurate portrayal of events and of the war heroes. Moreover, in the days when the victors told the only stories, war art seemed both more officious and more believable than stories told by the subjugated and uneducated. 2. To intimidate As people who study the subject know, history has a tendency of giving war heroes accolades that they hadn’t originally received. For instance, one of the most well known … Continue reading
War Art to Support Troops
Right now one of the most common forms of “war art” made specifically to support troops is portraits. These portraits are often drawings or paintings of fallen soldiers that are done pro bono by local artists and then shipped to the families of the fallen soldiers. However, there are a number of different groups that are currently trying to support troops by disseminating paintings both of these fallen soldiers, all in different mediums, and of veterans, and to raise awareness of the troubles of war. All of the following projects look to support troops worldwide, and honor those who have given their lives, though they are just a small taste of the support troops have been receiving from the citizens of America. 1. Soldier Portraits This project looks to photograph portraits of soldiers, but does so on a collodion wet plate in the same process used to document most of the Civil War. Each soldier receives a copy of his or her portrait, while the rest of the exhibit travels to different galleries promoting the project and raising awareness, both for fallen soldiers, and, ultimately, the veterans who come home, all in order to support troops in America and abroad. … Continue reading
War Heroes Gallery Sites
Around the world, in every war fought by people, there are war heroes to which other citizens inevitable owe their lives and to whom they pay their respects. In America alone there are thousands of memorial to war heroes which collectively receive millions of visitors annually. The difficulty of these memorials to our war heroes is that they are scattered around the country, making it difficult for people distances away to pay their respect to the war heroes they so admire. Fortunately, the internet offers a wonderful variety of sites, each with a picture gallery that stand in testament to all sorts of war heroes around the world, both providing a dissemination of the names and deeds of these war heroes, and allowing those who already with to pay their respects to view a gallery without the difficulty of long distance travel. 1. Lettersfront.org This website has a gallery of pictures of Jewish war heroes who served in Word War II. In addition, they have stories, documents, music, and a number of other electronized artifacts set to commemorate these war heroes in their gallery. 2. IraqWarHeroes.org/AfghanistanWarHeroes.org This website (the two addresses link to the same site) maintains an incredible gallery … Continue reading