Contact Program Contact Gregory Steel www.iuk.edu/artgallery Media Contact Anne-Marie Damler OCM (765) 455-9468 adamler@iuk.edu Mary Ellen Stephenson OCM (765) 455-9414 mestephe@iuk.edu

Student art captures Iraq war experiences

Sandi Giver of Peru wraps plaster-soaked strips of cloth around the hands of Adam McDorman. The resulting cast “hands” will be part of Giver’s artwork in the Objects of Truth exhibition at IU Kokomo on November 30.

Article mentions students from ELWOOD, KOKOMO, LOGANSPORT, PERU, RUSSIAVILLE, and TIPTON

KOKOMO, Ind.—Artwork that conveys the experiences of military personnel in the Middle East will be displayed and auctioned Wednesday, November 30, at the IU Kokomo Art Gallery. The Objects of Truth exhibition will run from 4–7 p.m.; admission is free and open to the public. Pieces will be auctioned to benefit Operation Homefront, an organization dedicated to helping families of active U.S. military personnel.

Students in an IU Kokomo sculpture class drew their inspiration for the pieces from talks with active duty and former soldiers, as well as families of military personnel. They corresponded by phone and e-mail, and in person.

Creating art from a third-party’s point of view forced Matt Christen of Kokomo and Macy Hawkins of Tipton to consider the war differently. They jointly created a tile mosaic, reflecting U.S. Army solider Brian McCartney’s resolve to stand in the gap between the fears and hopes of Iraqis. “[McCartney] said people in Iraq thank him everyday for being there, and helping fight for freedom,” Christen said.

Criminal justice major Amanda Thompson of Peru compiled a video showing a cousin’s firsthand view of the war. “My cousin Paul has been [in Iraq] for quite some time, . . . so I have corresponded with him and his wife,” Thompson said.

The assignment hit close to home for Thompson, who has two brothers serving in the Middle East—one in Oman and one in special intelligence—plus several friends from her job at Grissom Air Reserve Base. “I realize that these soldiers have very mixed feelings” about U.S. involvement in Iraq, she said. “Some are proud to be there and feel as they are doing a good thing. Others feel that we are over there fighting for something that will not last.

“I was, and am still, personally somewhat against the war. But, I am for our cause, if that makes any sense,” she added.

Assigned to present global perspectives on the Iraq war, Erika Young of Logansport built a mixed media piece of black foam on a stark white background. The contrasting colors represent “truths and un-truths” covered in news accounts of Iraq, she said. The uneven stacks of black rectangles could be read as “the piling up of events” and stories, she added. Young is earning undergraduate credits at IU Kokomo, with the goal of entering IU’s Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis.

Class instructor and director of the IU Kokomo Art Gallery Gregory Steel said he hopes that the project will show students how their art can “serve” their community. “Art can touch people, . . . bring people together in dialogue to better understand the world we live in,” Steel said.

Listed by hometown and major, additional student artists contributing to the Objects of Truth exhibit include
Elwood—Lisa Harting, chemistry.
Kokomo—Jan-Ember Bartolome, criminal justice; Shanna Fowler, elementary education; Janel Rawls, continuing studies; Matthew Shoemaker, computer engineering technology (with Purdue University College of Technology Kokomo); and Deborah Sizemore, continuing studies.
Logansport—Anna Anderson, general studies.
Peru—Julie Fenton, elementary education, and Sandi Giver, psychology.
Russiaville—Sara Willis, University Division.

To learn more about the IU Kokomo Art Gallery, visit www.iuk.edu/artgallery.

Macy Hawkins of Tipton works with Matt Christen of Kokomo on a tile mosaic.

Erika Young of Logansport adds rectangles of black foam to her mixed media piece.

Oversized wooden dice created by Lisa Harting of Elwood and Janel Rawls of Kokomo.