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"Themes such as war, oppression, and elderly patients
in long-term care, are often disturbing to the viewer. However, the
thought-provoking process is essential to raising awareness. My
personal connection with these topics lends a genuine quality to the
work. Although I also find certain pieces unsettling, it's rewarding
to develop something powerful and watch it emerge."
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"This set is
titled 'My Space'. With the current war raging on, memories of my Vietnam
experience continue to surface. One night I went into the studio with a
troubled mind. These pieces were the result of that time spent, defining
those feelings."
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"Absolute Reality"
Oil (30"x20") 2007 |
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"Incoming"
Oil (12"x12") 2007 |
"Honor"
Acrylic (12"x24") 2005"Equally significant
to my self-portrait in the painting is the eagle feather, with its stem
beaded in the colors of the Vietnam Campaign medal.
"I was a Marine Corps rifleman in Vietnam. Some friendships developed into
something even deeper than brotherhood. One such bond was with Ernie LaMone,
a full-blooded Navajo affectionately known as "Little Chief". When I left
Vietnam, I never thought about seeing or not seeing those people again – it
was all about making it home safe.
"Over 25 years later, Ernie and I came together again for our company's
first reunion. He presented me with the eagle feather, represented in the
painting, as a gift of honor from one warrior to another. The apocalyptic
sky in the painting represents war and unites the spirits of our past." |
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"O. P. Frisco"
Oil (29" x 46") 1998
Commissioned by one of the two survivors of the 29 Marines overrun by over 300
Chinese Troops in Korea on October 6th, 1952. In the collection of the Marine Corps Historical Museum
in Washington, D.C.
"Deceit" ca. 1982 (Graphite & Charcoal) 30"
x 36"
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This is one of the many artist's works on the POW/MIA issue,
done both to raise public awareness and out of sheer frustration.
"As a Vietnam Veteran, I feel very strongly about the Americans
still unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. [This work] is about the
cover-ups and lies that prevented their release."
In the collection of the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum,
Chicago, Ill.
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"POW" 1994 (oil) 48" x 60"
The emaciated figure in this painting holds out a bowl.
Although he is dependant on his captors for food, the look in his eyes is that
of defiance.
In the Naval & Serviceman's Park Museum, Buffalo, NY.
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"Suicide" ca. 1982 (graphite & charcoal)
36" x 24"
The broken image reflects the anguish in one's heart
before taking his own life.
According to the artist, "It was done in about
the time it takes to squeeze the trigger. It's one of the fastest
pieces I've ever put together. Two fellow employees of the Buffalo
Veteran's Administration Hospital, both Vietnam vets, killed themselves
within a short time of each other. Their deaths inspired this
piece."
In the Collection of the National Vietnam Veterans Art
Museum
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This picture was used for the cover of the book Soldier's
Heart: Survivors' View of Combat Trauma (Hansel, Steidle,
Zaczek,
& Zaczek, Sidran Press).
Some of the above images can be found within the book in black and white.
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"Crucifixion / Nam" 1981 (Charcoal & Lithographic Crayon on
Paper)
This piece portrays an actual experience of the artist:
"Once, in Vietnam during the early morning hours, while our unit was not
far from our rear base, LZ Ross, we could see the compound coming under
attack. The area was lit up with tracer rounds, pop-up flares, and
incoming fire. We were told to move in on foot and intercept the
enemy. It was dawn when we reached Ross. The enemy was gone, except
for the dead stacked along the road. In the compound, our dead were in
bags waiting to be lifted out on choppers.
"Years later, as I recalled this incident, I chose to portray it as a spiritual
reckoning. Bodies are lifted into the sky in the hazy background, but the
focus of attention is on a tattered camouflage shirt, perhaps that of a dead GI,
that's stretched across and nailed into a piece of wood. The face of
Christ is inside the shirt, so that it has become a shroud. Concertina and
barbed wire crisscross the site."
"Spirit of the Death Valley Marathon" Oil, 1995
This piece was done in homage to the team of
veterans who have participated in the Death Valley Marathon, a combination
parachute jump and 100-mile run through the desert.
The lone runner in the painting is Don Kieffer.
He died when his parachute failed to open during the event.
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