My dad painted this when he returned from five years in a Soviet POW camp. He'd been a Luftwaffe pilot during WWll, later ending up on the Eastern Front with the Military Police.
Remembrance Day's become more complicated for me over the years. Robert Fisk's article in the Belfast Telegraph, most closely mirrors my changing attitude. Bottom line: war is wrong.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/robert-fisk/wearing-a-poppy-why-remembrance-rituals-make-me-see-red-29737005.html
And in case you don't read the whole article, here's a clip from his conclusion: "The poppies were there to remind us of our duty to kill more human beings."
3 comments:
Hi Gabe, Haven't seen or talked to you in a long while -- and came wandering back to your blog to see what you're up to. What an incredible painting! -- Speaking of war, I recently finished Vera Brittain's "Testament of Youth" about her and her generation's experience of World War I. Felt such a fury through parts at the unbelievable waste of young life.
Hi Gabe, Haven't seen or talked to you in a long while -- and came wandering back to your blog to see what you're up to. What an incredible painting! -- Speaking of war, I recently finished Vera Brittain's "Testament of Youth" about her and her generation's experience of World War I. Felt such a fury through parts at the unbelievable waste of young life.
Thanks for stopping by. I'll have to check into Vera Brittain's book.
I'm working on a few projects, but have become a recluse...at least until I have something interesting to say. For now, my day job is consuming most of my energy. That'll change in March, when I finally hang up my boots.
Happy 2014! Hope to see you in the new year.
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