Mid Modern Vietnam

 

Mid Modern- The Vietnam War

     I picked all artists that were part of the Vietnam Combat Artists Program with the Army during Vietnam.  Soldiers/artists that were part of this program were given orders to use their orders to join troop units and create works of art that they saw. These artists were also given time at a base in Hawaii to finish their work or start creating their work.  All of these pieces are directly related to my theme of the Vietnam war.  They all depict military and civilian life in Vietnam during the war. I would put these paintings in a war museum, college and even copies of them in military members' homes and work offices. I feel grief when I see these pieces.  To us, it is just an American war.  To the people that lived it, it was fear, pain, anger and grief that many never got over.  I hope we learned something from it. 

Title: Last Stand

Artist: Phillip W. Jones

Year painted: 1967-1968

Oil on canvas 

Place painted: Hawaii

Vietnam Combat Artists Program VCAP

     I homeschool my daughter and she did a unit on the Vietnam War, and I didn’t even think to show her artwork for that time period.  I like this piece because I really like the colors of it.  I think the green and orange colors contrast well.  The yellow and orange in the background make everything look so hot. I can feel the stress of war in this piece.  I can imagine the soldiers throwing all of their stuff in a pile.  The title is Last Stand, and the men painted in this piece definitely look like they are preparing for a fight.  The men’s uniforms are several shades of brown and green.  This gives the uniforms a texture of clean parts and dirt.  I like how the artist created texture from just using many different shades.  The main soldier who has his arm out has negative space to him.  His core was painted almost black and that created distance away from his arms so the painting didn’t look so flat.  I also liked the way that the artist didn’t put too much detail into the pile of stuff with the men.  It would have been a tense moment.  The men themselves are highlighted because of the lack of distractions in the details in the stuff around them.  

Title: Killed In Action

Artist: Burdell Moody

Year painted: 1967

Oil on canvas 

Place painted: Hawaii

Vietnam Combat Artists Program VCAP

     I think this painting is amazing.  Like I said above I don’t really want this type of art in my home, but it does have its place in the halls of a command post on a military installation.  The painting makes me feel sad.  I know the outcome of the Vietnam War and it just doesn’t seem like we accomplished anything with that war except a whole lot of loss.  It also makes me feel proud.  Families needed closure after a loss and it was great that men spent their own energy hauling bodies to send them home.  They must have been exhausted and who would like to haul bodies back to camp exhausted after fighting.  The colors in this painting are muted.  Only outlines of the people stand out.  It is like seeing them coming back into camp carrying someone.  It’s the second you see them but you just can’t make out who it is yet.  The painting has a misty, foggy texture look to it that was created by lack of detail and a see through orange, brown and white paint that creates the fog.  The men in the painting have a strong linear perspective.  The men closest to the viewer are bigger.  The man in the background is painted smaller and in less detail.  I think that there is beauty to this painting in the muted colors and the realities of the Vietnam War. 

Title: Looking Down the Trail

Artist: James Pollock

Year painted: 1967

Water Color

Place painted: Hawaii

Vietnam Combat Artists Program VCAP

    When I first picked this painting I thought it was the back of a soldier with wings. It’s actually the front of the soldier with palm leaf type foliage in his way.  I liked this painting because I saw more the longer I looked.  I would be totally spooked to be waist deep in water. The name of the painting says “Looking Down the Trail” but I think it looks like wading through water.  I’d say “Nope, not going to do it!” But these men didn’t really have a choice.  I’m amazed by this piece because I can’t really work with water color when I paint and this painting is so detailed.  The shape of his helmet is very 3D.  This was done with shading in specific areas.  How the artist painted the palm leaves is interesting.  The way they hang actually created the illusion of weight.  They are pulling toward the jungle floor/water.  The black and brown of the palms give them a wet texture.  The black outline of the soldier's face makes his facial details very clear.  The dark lines and shadows that give this man's face depth are really intriguing to me. I don’t work in watercolor but I bet using black is how artists tame the watercolor into more detail. 

Title: Dong Tam Scene

Artist: Donh R, Schol

Year Made: 1967-1968

Sketch

Place painted: Vietnam

Vietnam Combat Artists Program VCAP

     I love this sketch.  All the lines that end up making this structure and palm trees.  If someone handed this to me I would be like “OMG you are so talented.  You need to throw yourself into being an artist.”  I also felt like this being a sketch was a great medium to create this piece.  The buildings in Vietnam during that time blended with the surroundings and were made from very basic materials.  The sketch allows me to see the details without the distraction of all of the green color and natural elements that would distract the viewer.  The artist used negative space by painting dark areas.  This created open areas to the structure.  It’s also interesting to see how others live outside of the United States and not just see images of the war that was going on but to also see civilian life.

Title: After the Battle Tan Hep, Vietnam

Artist: Michael R. Crook

Year painted: 

Oil on canvas 

Place painted: Vietnam

Vietnam Combat Artists Program VCAP

     Top things I like about this painting:  when I think of Vietnam I think of Agent Orange and those helicopters dropping sprays of bombs and lighting the forest on fire.  So I love the background as that reminds me of the Vietnam War instantly.  The cigarette also dates this painting for me because we just don’t see many people smoking in public that much anymore.  I was in the Air Force for about 2 years as a nurse.  Those boots just stand out to me.  After running and doing PT (physical training). How exhausted I was and just sitting on the asphalt looking at my boots.  That’s where this painting took me.  Back to basic training and being exhausted.  The man looks dirty and tired.  I don’t know if the boots look rubber because of the highlighting or because I know they are rubber.  The fabric of his fatigues looks baggie but comfortable.  I love it all.  

Title: Sketch of a Soldier II

Artist: Theodore E Drendel

Year: 1966-1967

Sketch

Place painted: Vietnam

Vietnam Combat Artists Program VCAP

         I’ve always felt that sketches are unfinished art but through this course and thinking about what I like I've decided I really like sketches.  I think it takes amazing talent to create with just shades of the same color.  It’s just amazing to me that all of these lines can make a person.  The lines in this piece are interesting.  There are random lines outside of the soldier that almost create an object that he is next to.  The artist used negative space on the left to make the soldier pop out of the picture.  Thicker lines make the folds in his clothes.  This piece is so detailed from far away but is just lines and blobs up close.  This soldier is very well proportioned.  When I paint I try to avoid painting faces or hands.  My painted hands always look too small for the body and I haven’t perfected faces yet.  My faces always look like they are a Junior High art project. I have a lot of respect for the things I can’t do.  This sketch makes me feel envious.  I wish I could draw like this.  

Barrett, Claire. “The Vietnam Combat Artist Program: The Soldiers Who Captured the War.” HistoryNet, HistoryNet, 17 July 2020, https://www.historynet.com/the-vietnam-combat-artist-program-the-soldiers-who-captured-the-war/.

Cotter, Holland. “Vietnam, through the Eyes of Artists.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 4 Apr. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/arts/design/vietnam-war-american-art-review-smithsonian.html.

“James Pollock (Artist).” Wikiwand, https://www.wikiwand.com/en/James_Pollock_(artist). 

Laststandonzombieisland. “‘Last Stand’ – Phillip W. Jones, 1967-68 VCAP.” Laststandonzombieisland, 29 Feb. 2016, https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2016/02/28/combat-gallery-sunday-the-vietnam-combat-artists-program/last-stand-phillip-w-jones-1967-68-vcap/.

Lifson, Amy, et al. “Combat Artist.” The National Endowment for the Humanities, https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2011/septemberoctober/statement/combat-artist. 

pdoggbiker, Author: et al. “Artwork of the Vietnam War.” CherriesWriter, 11 July 2021, https://cherrieswriter.com/2021/07/11/artwork-of-the-vietnam-war/.

“Vietnam Combat Artists Program.” Wikiwand, https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Vietnam_Combat_Artists_Program.