{"id":2561,"date":"2017-12-01T00:00:12","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T05:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/?p=2561"},"modified":"2018-09-13T14:35:12","modified_gmt":"2018-09-13T18:35:12","slug":"rosenthal-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/2017\/12\/01\/rosenthal-war\/","title":{"rendered":"The Face of Battle: Americans at War, 9\/11 to Now"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Figure
Figure 1. Title Wall, The Face of Battle: Americans at War, 9\/11 to Now. Courtesy of Smithsonian\u2019s National Portrait Gallery. Photo by Elise Mollica.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.<\/b>
\n<\/b>April 7, 2017 \u2013 January 28, 2018<\/b><\/p>\n

In the National Portrait Gallery\u2019s ongoing exhibition, <\/span>The Face of Battle: Americans at War, 9\/11 to Now<\/span><\/i>, the first face that you see is your own. Your likeness, dark and indistinct, is reflected through a red and black American flag, hung vertically. The image is displayed on the glass surface of twin pillars th<\/span>at mark both ends of the exhibition\u2019s hallway (Figure 1). The symmetrical layout of the space echoes this mirroring effect: three doorways parallel one another, each threshold marked with the name of the contributing artist whose work the room contains.<\/p>\n

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The works illustrate sacrifice in different ways in order to accomplish the dual objectives laid out in the exhibition\u2019s press release: to show the psychological impact of the conflict in the Middle East on servicemen and women and to explore formal developments in the field of portraiture. For example, Emily Prince\u2019s miniature pencil sketches, drawn on skin-toned paper, contrast in scale and media with Vincent Valdez\u2019s massive hyper-realistic oil painting of his childhood friend, John Holt (Figure 2), who committed suicide after his years-long struggle with PTSD. Similarly, Louie Palu\u2019s intensely present photographs featuring soldiers\u2019 direct unwavering gazes seem to form an iconographic counterpoint to Ashley Gilbertson\u2019s hauntingly absent black-and-white images of the empty bedrooms of the deceased (Figure 3).<\/p>\n

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Figure 2. Vincent Valdez, John, 2010-2012, oil on canvas. Courtesy of the artist and David Shelton Gallery, copyright Vincent Valdez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In themselves, such works, although deeply moving, do not demonstrate the full impact of the exhibition. The format, not discussed in any didactics, adds layers of meaning that help the exhibition surpass its goals and make up for its possible shortcomings. The exhibition\u2019s curators acknowledge that the works do not examine wider geopolitical concerns, such as the impact on foreign allies and civilians of conflict-ridden countries. However, by creating spaces to connect with the experiences of American servicemen and women, which can seem impossibly distant, <\/span>The Face of Battle<\/span><\/i> can also help bridge these divides.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>
Figure 3. Ashley Gilbertson, Brandon Craig, 2010 (printed 2017), pigment print.
Copyright Ashley Gilbertson\/VII Photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Each room provides such a space, allowing visitors to take on the respective artist\u2019s perspective. This becomes most obvious where the line between subject and artist blurs. In Stacy L. Pearsall\u2019s room, for example, roles reverse as the Air Force photographer rests, and a comrade captures her candid pose (Figure 4). Directly across the hallway is Tim Hetherington\u2019s room (Figure 5). The photojournalist\u2019s 2011 death while covering the Libyan Civil War lends a different type of presence. In his absence his sacrifice becomes inscribed upon those of the men in his images, and their sacrifices on his.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>
Figure 4. Stacy L. Pearsall, One of the Boys, 2007, aluminum print. Courtesy of the artist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On their own, the rooms present powerful experiences, but they are not isolated. You can see into the room directly across the corridor, and unmarked doors link adjacent rooms. I understand the exhibition as a conversation, one directed by the viewer. In each room, we question how the conflict in the Middle East has affected us individually. But when we cross into another room or peek across the corridor, we ask how it has affected us collectively, as humans. <\/span>The Face of Battle<\/span><\/i> is a success because it is not satisfied with merely showing us how the sacrifices made by so many have become intertwined in the fabric of our everyday lives. Instead, it reenacts the experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>
Figure 5. Tim Hetherington, Afghanistan, Korengal Valley, Kunar Province, July 2008.\u00a0Specialist Steve Kim. Sleeping Soldier, July 2008 (printed 2016), pigment inkjet print.\u00a0Courtesy Tim Hetherington Trust, copyright Tim Hetherington.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jessica Rosenthal<\/span><\/h3>\n

Download Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C. April 7, 2017 \u2013 January 28, 2018 In the National Portrait Gallery\u2019s ongoing exhibition, The Face of Battle: Americans at War, 9\/11 to Now, the first face that you see is your own. Your likeness, dark and indistinct, is reflected through a red and black American flag, hung vertically. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11070,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2561"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11070"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2561"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3107,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2561\/revisions\/3107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}