EXHIBITIONS
UPCOMING:
SEPTEMBER 2024
Ron Mann
In memoriam: Veteran Artist Ron Mann (1943-2023) US Army, Vietnam 1966-67
Ron Mann: Life & Work exhibition opens Tuesday September 10, 2024.
RSVP for opening reception on Thursday September 12, 2024 from 1700-1900 here.
JANUARY 2025
Leopold Segedin
(b. 1927) US Army Engineers, drafting 1952-54
NEW EXHIBITION:
Steven Luu: A Path to Healing & Transformation
Curated by Gloria (Jiaying) Dai
Steven Luu: A Path to Healing and Transformation explores art as a means of addressing and confronting trauma through the works of Steven Luu.
As an artist who was a medic and wounded veteran, Luu creates sculptural installations that deal with the traumatic experiences resulting from his childhood and numerous deployments in the Middle East. The artworks featured in this show, with an emphasis on seriality and repetition, infused with autobiographical meaning, aim to establish newborn and recognizable narrative potential that could transform loss and traumas into survival and rebirth.
Articulated by the motif and process of transformation, reinvention, and repurposing of materials, Luu’s works – employ everyday objects that accompanied him during his military service. Other materials, such as concrete and epoxy resin, are used to explore ways to express his inner voice. In his exploration of art through different mediums, Luu candidly speaks about the past, reveals his personal medical reality, and eventually offers the viewers access to healing with his life testimony.
Save the Date:
Exhibition Open | Tuesday July 2, 2024 | 12:00-4:00 pm
Opening Reception | Saturday July 27, 2024 | 5:00-7:00 pm
CURRENT:
Above & Beyond
ON VIEW DOWNTOWN AT:
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.”
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.
