Indiana Art Center Opens Veterans' Exhibition Nov. 1

"Baghdad Guardhouse" by Skip Rohde

Oil on Canvas

 An upcoming Michigan City, Ind., exhibit demonstrates how some artist-veterans are breaching obstacles between military and civilian life, work, and culture. "Citizen * Soldier * Citizen" opens with a reception at the Lubeznik Center for the Arts' Hyndman Gallery, Fri., Nov. 1, from 5 to 8 p.m. 

Michigan City is about 60 miles east of Chicago. The exhibit runs thorough Feb. 9, 2014.

Independent scholar, archivist, and art consultant Tara Leigh Tappert curated the works presented, which will include 27 artists from the Combat Paper Project and the Joe Bonham Project.

"The exhibit is arranged by themes—RECORD, REACT, REHABILITATE, and REMEMBER—chosen because the artwork selected reflected experiences by people who had served in the military," Tappert notes. She offers two examples to illustrate:

In REACT, we have a ceramic sculptural piece by Jesse Albrecht called "Ninevah" that gives geography, archeology, and cultural history lessons. Albrecht describes Iraq as "a muse that stalks me." His piece offer a glimpse of the country across time. The ruins of the ancient city of Nineveh—the largest and most powerful city in antiquity—is situated across the Tigris River from present day Mosul, where Albrecht served as a medic. 

In REMEMBER, "Dust Memories," an installation of 39 pieces—19 diptychs and one additional piece, in a mix of media (drawings, paintings, and collages). Aaron Huges attempts to communicate the ambiguous and anxious moments of deployment. Conceived as a repeating cycle, the series is a metaphor for the artist’s own continually repeating thoughts of his experiences in Iraq.

Participating artists also include mil-blogger and artist Skip Rohde. Rohde's work downrange has previously been mentioned on the Red Bull Rising blog here. The artist also recently presented an online slide show of his "Faces of Afghanistan" portraits here. Included in the Michigan City exhibit will be Rohde's oil-painting "Baghdad Guardhouse," pictured above.

Other featured artists include: Robin Brooks, Thomas Dang, Tif Holmes, Ash Kyrie, Malachi Muncy, Jaeson "Doc" Parsons, Giuseppe Pellicano, Donna Perdue, Patrick Sargent, Phillip Schladweller, Zach Skiles, Ehren Tool, and Andrew Wade Nunn.

Running concurrently at the center through Feb. 24, 2014 is "Theater of Conflict." Presented in the Brincka/Cross and Robert Saxton Galleries, the exhibit features artwork from the center's permanent collection, which are focused on themes of political protest, revolution, and war. According to press materials:

• William Weege's highly graphic prints are a chronicle of the unrest of the 1960s with a focus on political protest and the Vietnam War.

• Oskar Graf, a German artist and highly regarded master of the etching process, presents snap shots of World War II.

• Raphael Canogar, a Spanish print maker, features bold, heavy and graphic work that deals with political struggle and revolution in Spain in the 1960s.

The Lubeznik Center for the Arts is located at 101 W. 2nd Street, Michigan City, Ind. The center is open weekdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m; weekends 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.