“untitled at the moment”

Art Review
A Memorial Portrait

By Jason Landry, Art Institute of Boston MFA in Visual Arts candidate | May 29, 2008

War Stories: Images by Nina Berman – Massachusetts College of Art + Design / Sandra and David Bakalar Gallery - February 11 – March 12, 2008

BOSTON - A look towards the horizon shows lighting hitting the ground at night…but it’s not lighting. There is a rumbling in the air, thunder…unlikely. I’ve seen and heard these images on my television and watched in amazement. Through daily newspapers and magazines I’ve seen the images, a split second of war now presented as a tangible object, a truthful but often skewed document. Robert Capa, Eddie Adams, James Nachtwey and Steve McCurry are just a few of the photographers who have risked their lives to capture this proof of the trouble that exists outside.

Through photography, I am reminded of the confusion, the loss and the disturbing realities that our military and the victims of war go through. Nina Berman has presented a series of images in “War Stories”, photographs of military personal who were injured while serving our country. Not only are these civilians scarred for life psychologically, many are physically changed by the loss of a limb, becoming paralyzed or even burned. They return from the battlefields to their loved ones and families often times unrecognizable. Coping with these changes can take its toll.

The objects placed within the frame of a painting or photograph play a roll in telling the story that the artist wants you to see. A truthful depiction, perhaps…one only knows. The gaze that exists in Berman’s portrait (image 1) Marine Wedding, Sergeant Ty Ziegel and Renee Kline, 2006 is haunting. Is Berman making a statement about the realities of war through this portrait? How could she not?

The history of art is brimming with portraits that have been painted or photographed to reveal or conceal something. The Arnolfini Portrait, a painting by Jan van Eyck (image2) is said to be a marriage portrait but also has been noted as being a memorial portrait, a painting of one dead and one living person. Coupled together, these wedding portraits are eerily similar.

The Marine, severely burned and disfigured, dressed in his pressed uniform stands at attention looking down at his lovely bride. I am hesitant to say, stares down at his bride because usually the word stare means, with eyes wide open, and I’m not sure if he is able to stare any longer. His awards and metals are pinned over his heart and shine almost as bright as the jewels in her tiara. The bride, in her beautiful white gown clutches a large bouquet of red roses; one single white rose garishly stands out, a sign for hope perhaps. She remains tight-lipped, her eyes fixed off into the distance, a gaze illuminated by the photographer’s strobes, contemplating her unknown future. If you look closely, the photographic backdrop behind the couple takes on the appearance of ominous clouds, signaling an awaiting storm on the horizon.

This personal and revealing portrayal of what the devastations of war can do to a person are now locked up deep inside the mind of this decorated soldier.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 30th, 2008 at 11:35 am and is filed under art reviews, exhibitions, photographers, blogs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.