EXHIBITIONS
IL MAESTRO!
WORKS BY MORTON LEVIN
A CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
FEBRUARY 6 - JUNE 15
NVAM presents a celebratory exhibition “Il Maestro! Works by Morton Levin, A Centennial Celebration” on display February 6 and showing through June 15, 2024.
Organized by the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art (PGSMOA) in Great Falls, Montana, this unique exhibition features the work of Morton Levin (1923-2020), a master artist whose passion and unbending desire for art making and mastery led him on an intriguing life journey touched by the effects of war, love, family, life, and teaching.
The exhibition highlights a special selection of the artist’s body of work beginning in the 1930s through 2005, while focusing on master works within his vast artistic repertoire.
Morton Levin - 8th Infantry Division
“My experience in World War II was the most powerful of my life. I was in combat in the Invasion of Normandy, the Battle of France, and the Battle of Central Europe. Battle tests a soldier. He sees the thin line between life and death; he sees his closest friends killed around him, and he has to kill or be killed. He feels that he might die at any moment.
These experiences have been impressed indelibly on my mind. I remember the experiences in the army as if they were yesterday. They were powerful, excruciating. How it has affected me, I don’t know except that it has enhanced my appreciation of living and of beauty, and life has become very precious.”
-Morton D. Levin
October 7, 1923 - July 22, 2020
War Drawings: The North Sea, Sea-Sheringham, England, June 6, 1944
Pen and pencil drawing on paper, 5 x 7 inches Collection of the Morton Levin Estate
Above & Beyond
Harold Washington Library Center
400 S. State St., Chicago, IL
The Vietnam War Memorial:
58,307 hanging dog tags created by Veterans
Above and Beyond comprises 58,307 dog tags. Each dog tag represents a person in the Vietnam War and is arranged in date order of death. And, each dog tag shows their name, casualty date, and military branch.
The exhibition was commissioned by the National Veterans Art Museum and created by artist Rick Steinbock, and veteran artists Ned Broderick, Joe Fornelli and Mike Helbing. It was originally installed at 1801 S. Indiana Ave. on May 26, 2001 to coincide with Chicago’s Memorial Day parade. Above and Beyond was created over a 2-year period as each dog tag was stamped by hand using a former military Graphotype machine.
It is the only memorial other than The Wall in Washington, D.C. to list all those killed in action during the Vietnam War. Additionally, it includes one black dog tag. This serves to remind us of those who died from conditions related to service during the Vietnam War.
Above and Beyond is part of the National Veterans Art Museum permanent collection, and is on extended exhibition at the Harold Washington Library Center – 400 S. State St. Please check library hours for viewing.
“Above and Beyond gives us an opportunity not only to reflect, but to engage and educate ourselves and future generations about the contributions and sacrifices of our Vietnam War Veterans. Its conservation is an investment to the legacy of soldiers, sailors, airmen, guardians and Marines of the past, present and future.”
- Dr. Walter E. Massey, President emeritus of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
The Things They Carried
Inspired by Tim O’Brien’s book The Things They Carried, this exhibit serves as a visual companion that illustrates the narrative with fine art and photography from veterans that lived the stories in the novel. Much like the book, the exhibit explores the concept of storytelling and questions how one might share the story of the Vietnam experience. The exhibit takes as its central question “how to tell a true war story” and prompts viewers to consider their personal stories and contemplate how they might share their own narratives.
By literally incorporating the essential elements of storytelling: Who, Where, When, and What, The Things They Carried begins by chronicling the Vietnam conflict through first-hand visual accounts and descriptions. The exhibit culminates in the re-creation of an authentic Vietnam-era tented shelter to bring viewers into the intimate physical experience of sleeping, living and working in the field during that time.
With artworks and objects created and collected by over twenty Vietnam veteran artists, The Things They Carried also provides visual interpretations to viewers, illustrating the war by those who were there. This form of pictorial storytelling offers insights into the individual personalities of those who served, where they were in Vietnam both geographically and environmentally, and what the cultural climate of the time looked like. Representations and artifacts come together in The Things They Carried to offer an individuated and holistic presentation of the social and historical context of the Vietnam war.
Tour groups can request a Virtual Tour through Zoom with a Vietnam Veteran guest speaker so that visitors of all ages can gain a better understanding of “how to tell a true war story” as explored in Tim O’Brien’s book, as well as explore possibilities and benefits of personal storytelling.
Featured artists include László Kondor, Dean Sharp, Charles Shobe, William Myles, James McJunkin, John Hosier, Michael Harac, and Arthur Jacobs.
Vonnegut
Born on Armistice Day, November 11th, 1922 Kurt Vonnegut Jr. came of age as World War Two gained momentum and shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor and Adolf Hitler declared war against the United States. After struggling at Cornell University and being placed on academic probation, Vonnegut lost his eligibility for student deferment. Rather than waiting to be drafted, he enlisted into the U.S. Army in 1943. By late summer, 1944, Vonnegut was sent to Europe with the 106th Infantry Division and quickly found himself fighting in the Battle of the Bulge. He was captured by German soldiers, along with about 50 other Americans and taken to a prison camp near Dresden.
During that time, Vonnegut lived in a slaughterhouse and worked in a factory in the city for several months. On February 13th, 1945, U.S. Allied forces bombed Dresden, leveled the city, and killed thousands and thousands of civilians. The young soldier survived by hiding in a meat locker far underground. Along with the other surviving American prisoners, Vonnegut was forced to search for bodies among the destruction until they were evacuated to another location near the edge of Saxony where they were eventually let go. By the end of May, 1945, Vonnegut returned to the U.S. where he continued his military service at Fort Riley, Kansas. Before he was discharged from the U.S. Army, he received a Purple Heart for frostbite.
Throughout the rest of his life he steadily grew into the beloved writer known today for his books, Slaughterhouse Five, The Sirens of Titan, and Breakfast of Champions, as well as dozens of short stories, essays, and articles. Noted for his satirical writing style, Vonnegut also often included witty drawings in his texts used to further emphasize his farcical plots and situations. Later in his life, Kurt Vonnegut continued to sketch and eventually teamed up with a print-maker from Kentucky, Joe Petro III. Together they turned many of Vonnegut’s designs into limited edition screen prints. In November of 2016, 50 of these prints were added to the National Veterans Art Museum’s permanent collection. This exhibit features selections of this special collection illustrating the sometimes abstracted, sometimes sharply literal imaginings of one of America’s best-known authors and veteran artists, Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
