Rabbit's Moon studio: ART HELPS HEAL THE VIOLENCE WE INFLICT

Rabbit's Moon studio: ART HELPS HEAL THE VIOLENCE WE INFLICT: Post 1 of a three part series on Art, War, and Healing I started this thinking it would be one post, but as I delved into my thoughts and...

Rabbit's Moon studio: ART HELPS HEAL THE VIOLENCE WE INFLICT

Rabbit's Moon studio: ART HELPS HEAL THE VIOLENCE WE INFLICT: Post 1 of a three part series on Art, War, and Healing I started this thinking it would be one post, but as I delved into my thoughts and...

ART HELPS HEAL THE VIOLENCE WE INFLICT

Post 1 of a three part series on Art, War, and Healing

I started this thinking it would be one post, but as I delved into my thoughts and did more research I realized it would be more than one post.  Our world seems in turmoil at the moment, perhaps no more than in the past, but with instant news from all corners of the world it seems worse than ever before.  We are overwhelmed by constant news of violence, trauma, and conflict globally.  I think it is worth us looking at how we as artist portray violence, grief, turmoil, death, and our propensity as a species to have wars and kill each other. It is also worth our while to look at how art not only reflects what is happening, but also how it we need art to help to heal and make sense of our world.  Join me in this look and be feel to contribute at any time in our discussion. 


Picasso's Guernica will alway be a poignant work of art that lives in my mind. When I first studied art history in college and we would see two to three hundred slides a week, I don't think I grasp more than knowing Picasso's piece was a masterwork to be memorized.  With experience in life, the piece has become a defining seminal art work for the violence man inflicts on man…the inhumanity man brings to other men. I think it portrays not only the horror of war, but senselessness of war in which women and horses and children are killed as well.

Guernica by Pablo Picasso     from google image, only for education

By photo journalist Eddie Adams from google image for education only

The Vietnamese war changed my view of war and those I saw affected by it.  I was a young teacher assigned to Subic Bay Naval Base teaching art to 4-6th grades.  We were a main support base for the arms for the Navy for the Viet Nam war.  The first year I arrived we were still an active war base.  I met men going to war, and men who came back for R&R.  There were naval officers and enlisted, marines, and civilians all on the base.  The base sat at the edge of the jungle.  All kinds of ships, carriers, and boats were constantly going in and out of port.  There was also a Naval Air Field called Cubi Point which flew missions to Viet Nam.

Cubi Point Naval Air Field   Subic Bay, Philippines

 The base was not large like Clark AFB, but a smaller community of people, so everywhere you went you were surrounded by people involved in war one way or another: the dinning halls and restaurants, the movie theater, the base beaches, the BX and

Subic  Bay Naval Base with Carrier at Port

Commissary, the library.  One way or another you met the men going in and out of conflict.  Some needed to tell their stories and some couldn't talk about what they experienced, but just needed to spend time with someone from home.  Many men I met and befriended did not come back from war.  I ate dinner with a fraternity brother of my brother at Cubi point, a wonderful meal and visit.  He was a pilot who was on his way to Vietnam, his plane was shot down not long after and he was killed.

The worse thing about the Vietnamese war was that it was so unpopular in our own country. The men that served did not all volunteer, it was a time of the draft and when  your number came up you went whether you wanted to or not. 

The war was not backed by congress and the nation was in uproar over its purpose and need.  As a result these soldiers, who were like any soldiers in any war exposed to violence and horror, were not respected nor loved by their country.  Today it is hard to imagine. The military is so well thought of, and highly respected today. People are thankful for the their service and sacrifice. 

Letters from home tell about how the country disrespects the soldiers and the war,

this soldier feel utterly rejected and alone.

 from google image for education only

 Not so, during the Vietnamese war.  These men were looked down upon, and shamed upon returning home.  Not only were they shamed, but because of the confusion and turmoil at home and in congress about the war, the men were often left in the field without adequate back up. We were being out fought by a lesser army, and out thought.  Our young men from the fields of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and small towns from West Virginia to Texas died in those jungles and the ones who survived came home to a nation who were ashamed of them and detested them.  The war they were told was necessary, but the country became to believe the war was unjust and rejected it and the men who served there, fairly or not.
  

Australian  troops pinned down in battle    artist unknown    from google for education only
if you know this artist I would like to give him credit.

These men have had a life time of healing to do, not only for dealing with the horrors of war, but managing the shame and disrespect a nation inflicted on them when they came home.  In another war they would have come home heroes, but not this one….and they would suffer and they did. But they were not the only ones who suffered.  Both sides suffered, the North Vietnamese and the land, the animals and all of Vietnam.  People get caught in wars, they just happen to live where the conflict is, whether it is Egypt, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Cambodia, or Korea. No one wins in a war, people die, people are maimed, animals are injured or killed, the land is scared and everyone is marked psychologically forever.  

Viet Nam War           The horrors of war                                    from google for education only

Art helps us see the inhumanity, as in Guernica and the work of the photojournalist below.  Art also helps us to cope with the event, the drama, the pain, and in the years that follow the memories that will haunt those involved for a life time.  Some of the pain was inflicted upon us, and some of the pain is what we inflicted on other human beings.  When we look up close and personal at war and what we did to other humans, whether enemies or friends, it is just too difficult for us to accept that we may be responsible for such horror and violence. 

Art work by Blum

This image below of a little naked girl running down the road being bombed shocked the world of the senseless violence of war that befalls the children caught in the conflict.  These children's village was hit by a napalm bomb which scorches the Earth and every thing on it where if lands.  These children are running from their village that has just been bombed and the young girl in the center has had her clothes burned off of her.  The napalm is like a hot jell that sticks to the body and continues to burn. 

Vietnamese Children running from their village after being  napalmed by US Forces

The story for this young girl does not end here.  I met her years later at a conference in Montreal for Death and Dying Issues( ADAC).  I was with a friend who was attending the conference and was able to attend Kim's incredibly moving speech.  The next day we were eating breakfast in the hotel cafe and Kim walks in by herself.  We invited her to eat with us, which she did.  She then told us her most incredible life story which I will share with you in the next post.  It is a dramatic story, that takes a lifetime to unfold, and it is worthy of us spending more time telling Kim's story.

Kim with her child and showing the scars of the napalm bomb

 In the following post we will continue Kim's story, photo journalists of the Vietnam War, Art related to the war from both sides and at home, and art aimed at healing those who endure the violence of war.

CONGRATULATIONS RABBIT'S MOON STUDIO!!!!

from google image, for education only

YAHOOOO 

WOOP WOOP 

YIPEEE

 FANTASTICO 

MUY BUENO 

YANKEE DOODLE DANDY

150,006!!! HITS!  RABBITS MOON STUIO BLOG HAS REACHED THE BIG TIME!
WE DID IT!!!

from google for education only

Thank you so very much, we are humbled by your readership and loyalty!  Not quite 3 years ago I sat down to type the first blog about doing art, loving art, and art advocacy to share with the world.  After 37 years of teaching art, lobbying for art and being an artist it is such a great pleasure to share all of this knowledge and love of the arts world wide and for you in turn to make us into such a successful blog.  

A toast to you all, loyal readers, artists, and art lovers world wide!

Rabbit's Moon studio: WOW A BENCHMARK IN SITE!!!!

Rabbit's Moon studio: WOW A BENCHMARK IN SIGHT!!!!: 149,669 Rabbit's Moon Studio is about to hit another milestone!!!!  In the next day or so we will reach 150,000 visits from you our loy...

WOW A BENCHMARK IN SITE!!!!

149,669 Rabbit's Moon Studio is about to hit another milestone!!!!  In the next day or so we will reach 150,000 visits from you our loyal readers and art lovers.  Now a bit over two years since this blog was born it is amazing!!!!  I will announce when we reach the mark and we will celebrate!!!

from google image and fine art printing only for the purpose of education

THE ART LAB AND THE SCIENCE STUDIO!

science laboratory 

art studio

from google for education only

Of course we know it is the Art Studio and Science lab, but I would put to you they are much the same in many ways:


1. Place of discovery

2. Place of exploration

3. A place of testing and experimenting

4. A place where the imagination must be used

5. A place where learned skills are called upon to solve a    problem.

6. They are both places where one must be visionary

7. In both places the persons involved must be highly observant and sensitive to his environment

Einstein, Math Genius,            The Speed of Light is Broken 

We might go on and on about the commonalities, if we wanted we could list the difference as well.  However, that is not our focus here.  What we are looking at in this series of post is how they are aligned. 

If we look closely at artists we know, and famous art work then perhaps we can see the parallels clearly.  

Leonardo da Vinci  from google image for education only

Leonardo da Vinci is an obvious choice, as the Renaissance man and inventor.  I have a real affinity for Da Vinci for many reasons.  I even named my dog, Vinci or Da Vinci after him. (and my brother always told me I was adopted…just teasing-like any brother he picks on his little sister) Leonardo was also born in April, on the 15th, and my birthday is April 12th. I have always  been fascinated by his love of science and inventions and his daring in using new art materials. In some cases he invented his own materials and colors. Click for link to more about Leonardo's inventions. And his art.  

Leonardo da Vinci's Inventions   from google image for education only

and later we will look at other  artist who use science in their work.

SCIENCE AND ART

A CLOSE ALLIANCE 
Art and Science

Earth's Atmosphere has little friction which allows stars and planets to move freely along their path….from google image, for education only

I have always thought music and math had an affinity for one another and visual art was more closely aligned with science.  Dali thought so as well.  He met often with the brightest scientific minds of his day.  He was mesmerized with the concept of DNA.  The new Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida has stairs that are designed after a helix.

Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, Florida

Originally there were to be a double helix, but the building design did not allow for it.  The building it self is a hexagon. The same architectural firm that designed the triangle addition to the Louvre. 
For more information on Dali and the Dali Museum contact Peter Tush, Education Director.

Dali Museum with Hexagon Shapes on outside of building

A celestial storm                        from google image for education only

My Mother was a science teacher and I think it was her love of nature and science that influenced me to become an artist.

She taught us about the constellations, fossils, and the call of birds.  We opened geodes to find the crystalline beauty within, and we pieced together bones of ancient peoples who once lived on the coastal regions of Florida.  

Geodes like the ones we found on Ballest Point, Tampa

We looked through microscopes 
a
and telescopes to learn about the world around us. We had chemistry kits, and made light come alive without plugs, and volcanoes erupt with baking soda, and learned how apples

and onions can taste alike if ones nose is pinched. Life was a constant wonder and the exploration of our world fascinating.  I think growing up with my Mother was like one big science class in continual flux. 

The beauty of the world under the microscope…

Even the most deadly of diseases can look beautiful under the microscope  from google of education only

I ran across this article on the contribution of artists to science and found it very interesting…here is a section for you to read below for the full article just hit link.  It is a wonderful piece about the value of art to science.
The Contribution of the Artist to the Scientific Visualization

a paper given by Vibeke Sorensen

in a talk at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 1987

"An artist is many things, but generally it could be said that artists are individuals who are working towards a deeper understanding go the world in and around them.  Artists are acutely sensitive to the environment, organizers of large amounts of data into an aesthetic expression of his or her world.  Artists are the explainers and representers, pattern matchers, people who find unusual relationships between events and images.  Artists are creative interdisciplinarians.  They rework and integrate information subject to functions and tests, render or give data shape, express essence and make clear.  They help us to see in new ways and understand that which is difficult to see, making the invisible visible.

Artists are idea people, creators, and conceptualizers, predictors, people with ideas connected to the future.  They are people who create something completely original and new, something beyond the known boundaries of the information base.  By using or inventing tools, they show new uses and applications that synergize and synthesize fields.  Artist push the limits of technologies, bringing them to previously unattained goals.  They see the next steps, make leaps, put together elements in new and powerful ways.

Artists are bridges to the rest of the world. They understand perception and know how to communicate information.  They know the technologies and language of media.  Their work is linked to the general population as their inventions and ideas translate directly, often seen as improvements in understanding and the quality of life, improvements upon less efficient and more laborious methods of working, becoming mainstream as society discovers their work and catches up."

I can also remember when I was first introduced to the Scientific Method and thought someone had handed me a key to the universe! I thought oh what a practical way to make sense of solving any problems or questions one has.  It occurred to me how similar it is to the artistic process. 

The exploration of our world our space, the sensitivity to all of its nuances and connection make science and art natural partners. Check out the first link I provided for you on artists who use science in their work and then for fun track the space station live as it moves around the Earth!

Below are two sites for you to enjoy..one links you to artist using science in art work and the other to the Space Station live as it rotates around the world.

Artists who Use Science in Their Work 

The Space Station Live.  

A WALK DOWN MY ALLEY

WE SEE THE WORLD FROM ONE VIEW
WE MOVE THROUGH SPACE NOT CHANGING OUR PERCEPTIONS 

My Alley, the road of treasures and adventures, where the imagination of children lie

OUR DAYS ARE BUSY AND WE SHIFT OUR GAZE AT RAPID SPEEDS NOT REALLY LOOKING, NOT REALLY SEEING

I HAVE GROWN UP WITH ALLEYS, I HAVE RIDDEN MY BIKE DOWN WITH A BUDDY HUNTING FOR TREASURES AND AT TIMES FOUND SOME AND OTHER TIMES NOT IT WAS MORE IN MY IMAGINATION

ONE SEES THE BACK OF HOUSES, THE THINGS PEOPLE DECIDE THEY DO NOT WANT ANYMORE OR HAVE USED ENOUGH AND THEY TOSS THEM TO A CYCLE OF THROWN AWAY AND RECYCLE AND REUSE. 

THERE ARE RUSTY THINGS, WORN THINGS, ODD BITS OF CLOTH AND PAPER, ROTTING WOOD AND FOOD, BUT AMIST ALL OF THAT NATURE GROWS INTERTWINING ITSELF WITH THE MANMADE.  

THE VIEWS OF THE BACK OF HOUSES AND LIVES.



AS AN ARTIST IT IS GOOD TO TAKE WALKS, LOOK CLOSELY, SEE DIFFERENTLY, AND FEEL HOW LIFE MOVES SLOWER AND SIMPLER JUST BEHIND US.