10:40 AM

Date2013

MediumLithograph

Dimensions19 × 12 1/2 in. (48.3 × 31.8 cm)

ClassificationsPrintmaking

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Escalette Endowment

Object number2020.1.16

Label TextVeteran: George B., US Army

A Particular aspect of George’s story that influenced the piece I created was a very specific moment during his service while in Vietnam on April 23rd, 1970. This was a very poignant moment for George, as this experience forever changed him. At 10:20 in the morning, enemy soldiers ambushed George and his group. After warding off their assailants and killing them, George came across photos of one of his attackers. The photos were of the man’s family, his wife and children. Upon further investigation, George discovered that the faith and belief of the deceased individual was quite strikingly similar to his own and George was struggling to make sense of the entire situation, even his own personal set of beliefs and values.

I decided to portray a snuffed out candle with dying ember as symbolism of a belief slowly fading away. The image in the center is George struggling to come to terms with the situation as he is surrounded with palms indicative of Palms Sunday creating a cruciform around him. The smoke is representative of the internal wrestle George had within himself and with his personal beliefs. My depiction of the entire scene is meant to be contemplative of how that brief moment and experience George had was forever life changing for him.

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