The Vietnam War Mid Modern Art
The Vietnam War began on November 1, 1955, and ended on April 30, 1975. This timeframe is right in the middle of the mid-modern period of art. Many people had family who was serving in the war and those that did serve were never the same. Many of the pieces chosen were meant to create a certain type of feeling when looked at. All of the pieces displayed were created by veteran artists, trying to document U.S. history through art.
Attack At Twilight
By Roger Blum (1966)
The Attack At Twilight painting was done in acrylic and depicts himself gazing at a hut on fire while serving. The use of color in this piece causes an emotional response when a perfectly green field is then marred by bright red and black. The tone of the painting is very dark which creates a sense of foreboding and anticipation as to what occurred after this scene is depicted. The texture of the brush strokes is loose in detail which in a way makes the image perceived as a memory.
Waiting
By David N. Fairrington 1968
Waiting is a roughly drawn sketch of a soldier with all of his supplies waiting to be taken somewhere. The drawing's lack of color gives the feeling of emptiness to the piece. The roughly drawn lines also give the feeling of agitation that one might feel waiting to be taken somewhere unknown in the middle of a war. The tone of the drawing is very light though, giving the illusion that things might not be as bad as they might seem.
The Innocent
By Kenneth J. Scowcroft 1967
This piece contains a subject that would elicit a reaction from its audience. The Innocent depicts a Vietnamese woman holding a child that was killed as a result of the war. The tone of this painting is very dark and presents a feeling of sadness to the subject matter. The use of color is also striking when it comes to the small amount of red in the piece. The woman is clothed in black but the child is clothed in white which creates even more emotion showing just how innocent the child was.
Night Operation
By Burdell Moody 1967
This painting, when glanced from afar, would look quite pleasant with its use of calming colors, but upon closer inspection details of the subject matter become clear. The texture of the painting is very smooth and hazy giving the illusion of a tranquil scene, but the scene depicted is anything but that. The contrast between light and dark here hides the violence and shines a light on subjects that wouldn't bring the eye to the fires in the background.
Long BINH
By David N. Fairrington 1968
This piece depicts a fallen soldier being carried away by one of his comrades. The contrast in the light and dark gives a clear outline of the person carrying his friend away. The colors use a cooler tone to make the scene less approachable to the subject. The way line is used to show perspective as someone would look up to a person to save them from a horrible event and take them to a safe place.
Welcome Relief
By Kenneth J. Scowcroft 1967
The scene here is depicting a group of soldiers coming to help. The colors are bright giving the feeling of hope. The contrast between the dark soldiers to the bright background makes the eye drawn to the soldiers in their pursuit to help their fellow men. The texture of the field is messy and uses wide brush strokes while the soldiers have a smooth texture and have more detail to the subject of the painting.
“Vietnam Combat Artists Program.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Aug. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Combat_Artists_Program.
Hello Clara! Great job on your blog! I thoroughly enjoyed your artwork choices & the your emotional awareness in each piece. Your exhibit is provoking. I find a pattern in your listings … devastating > foreboding > devastating > foreboding. “The Innocent” is heart wrenching. The mother almost blends into the dark borders…similar the grief/darkness consuming her.
ReplyDeleteHi Clara! You did a great job on your blog. I liked how you chose a war to talk about, and then found different kids of artwork about the war. I think that "The Innocent" is heart breaking, but it is also able to show how heartbroken and distraught the mother was feeling at that time.
ReplyDeleteHi Clara, I enjoyed your selection of artwork. I see you used the Vietnam Combat Art program for your choices, which I like since they were allowed to paint what they saw, as long as it was accurate, rather than needing to be propaganda. I especially liked the work "Night Operation" with, as pointed out, a tranquil scene and hidden violence. The somewhat hidden helicopters can also be seen as how it is difficult to notice operations occurring at night until after they start without sufficient technology. I can also see an interpretation of how the peaceful scene is the peace of the United States at home if you don't try to look, but when you do look closer you can see the signs of the violence occurring.
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