New York painter Steve Mumford has been has been embedded with military units in hot spots like Baquba, Tikrit and Baghdad on and off since April 2003. As a result, he has produced a number of compelling sketches and paintings that give us a look at war in a different way.
Of course, artists have been involved in wars for generations as photography really didn't come into real usage until our Civil War. Even then, there were far more drawings made in the Civil War than photographs. I recall the story of one artist working for the New York Times who made sketches of the battle of Gettysburg while sitting by the grave of his son.
But, the rise of photography in war is offset by the decline of wartime paintings and sketches. Still, some of the sketches and paintings from 20th century wars are just as moving as the reality caught by the camera. And to show that artists did participate in a big way in the last century's wars, there are more than 15,000 paintings and sketches in the Imperial War Museum in London. One of the most moving is a 20 foot canvas called "Gassed" by one of my most favorite painters, John Singer Sargent.
Still, we tend to want our history to be displayed in photographs as they are real history unfolding before the camera's lens (that is, before the age of digital manipulation). Still, I think that Steve Mumford's work is important because he sees our current war through different eyes: those of the artist. And like all wars in the past, this one is different than any other war that preceded it.
To view a slide show of some of Mumford's work in Iraq, go to the following web site:
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2004/12/12/arts/20041213_KINO_SLIDESHOW_1.html
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