Michelle Schraudner
Life Editor
Artwork by veterans and current service members is on display in the John B. Davis Gallery in the Fine Arts Building in an exhibit called “Vigilance.” It is part of a semester-long series called “Experiencing Conflict.”
The series is sponsored by the Department of Art and the Committee for the Study of Violence, Conflict and War in Society.
Family members of deceased service members were also invited to submit art created by the deceased.
Curator Ryan Babcock said approximately 35 pieces were submitted for the exhibit. The work includes fine art like painting and sculpture as well as applied art like ceramics and jewelry.
Monday, Nov. 11 was the opening reception for the exhibit, held in front of the gallery.
The pieces will be on display through Nov. 22 during the John B. Davis Gallery’s regular hours.
Linda Leeuwrik is a member of the Department of Art faculty and is also a member of the committee sponsoring the event.
She said the art is not necessarily war-themed but is giving members and former members of the armed forces a way to express their lives.
Leeuwrick said the exhibit is the culminating event of the series.
“The personal experience of conflict” is demonstrated in both the series and the art exhibit, she said.
Other events in the “Experiencing Conflict” series were a presentation on extremist material collected by Professor Emeritus James Aho and a Humanities Cafe discussion by Leeuwrik and Lauren Thompson, a doctoral candidate studying in England.
“You don’t have to be in war to have it impact your life,” said Leeuwrik.
Leeuwrik also teaches a class called “Art and War.”
Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars and continuing to the present day, Leeuwrik’s “Art and War” class covers personal expression in times of conflict. Artists both in the wars and affected by them are discussed.
