One summer evening, while guiding students through the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, DC, I was struck by thhis quote chiseled into the wall of the monument, "I have seen way. . . . I hate war." In the light of the current Vietnamesque conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, I knew I had to say these words again, with President Roosevelt.
This is what else he said on August 14, 1936 in Chautauqua, New York. "I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men coughing out their gassed lungs. I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed. I have seen two hundred limping exhausted men come out of the line--the survivors of a regiment of one thousand that went forward forty-eight hours before. I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war."
Not a very pleasant thought but if we (that is the collective you and me "we") don't continually hold up the horrors of war and recognize that it is not really the opposite of peace; we will never not know war. I would like to erase it from our vocabulary.
Let's start changing the way we think.
Franklin Hates War.
Oil on canvas with cut paper collage.
16 x 20
March 2005
Price: $150
1 comment:
Val-
I love the direction your paintings are taking! The layers add depth. And your references are chilling as always. In reference to the flag piece (which is Really beautiful) are you familiar with Jasper Johns and his paintings of the American Flag? It makes me so happy to see your art fulfilling it's purpose!
Love-
Meg
Post a Comment