disasters of war, abu ghraib 1
Sunday, May 31st, 2009
18″x24″ Oil on canvas panel.
This painting is the first in a series of my reaction to the suppressed Abu Ghraib photographs. More about that here and here. Human rights abuses should transcend opinion and politics.
I don’t know if the actual photos should be released or not. They are evidence of criminal wrongdoing. The photographed prisoners had no choice in the matter, and maybe the individual victim’s rights outweigh the benefit to public display of the photos here. But the content must be announced and the world must see and understand the scope of interpersonal atrocities committed here.
Phillip Zimbardo’s enlightening talk tells how normal people’s behavior can be drastically changed in situations of inequity. Abu Ghraib is horrific, but yet predictable. Explainable. The chain of command failed in this case, and regardless of politics, those responsible should be held accountable.
Finally, a word on the painting. Although I have studied many styles of art, I am a figurative painter. I paint people in a visually realistic manner. I spend hundreds of hours studying anatomy and drapery and qualities of light, as well as materials and their chemistry and proper use.
Artists who focus on the human form develop a deep sense of empathy for their subjects, and the images of twisted and abused bodies of the Iraqi prisoners creates a visceral sense of pain and an anger that I cannot express in rational form. My feelings on this topic cannot be expressed in a figurative manner.
I traditionally paint things like butterflies, birds, and pretty girls, but as more pieces of the truth are alternately revealed and hidden, it is difficult to relax into the curve of a flower, or the shape of an eye. I am getting more frustrated and more angry.
With the government’s continued suppression of information regarding additional torture and possible sexual abuse photos, I have only my own imagination of the horrors of war.
Thank you for reading.
