If we are not careful, when we use the word ‘war’ we unconsciously depersonalize a complex set of events, humanly made and humanly lived. War is composed of acts of bravery and courage, senseless destruction and depravity, physical and mental injury, costly and at times unachievable rehabilitation, loss of life, civilization and history, the reclaiming of justice, small victories, monumental defeats, un-rightable wrongs and ungrateful beneficiaries.
Photographer Suzanne Opton removes the whitewashing from the some of the tidiness of the word ‘war.’ She photographed American soldiers returning to Fort Drum between tours of duty in Afganistan and Iraq. She then traveled to Amman, Jordan, where she photographed Iraqis who fled their homes since the US-led invasion.
Ms. Opton’s ‘Soldier + Citizen’ project was been featured in Witness: Casualties of War at Stephen Cohen Gallery, Los Angeles. Her Soldier Billboard Project was blogged here at Episcopal Cafe.
The Art Blog joins with the staff of Episcopal Cafe in remembering with deep gratitude and abiding thanksgiving those who have given their lives so that “the freedom of the human spirit shall go on.”