This story has taken on a life of its own for me. There is one more painting that followed the first two, but it was never finished. While the concept of opposing realities was still driving my progress, I got bogged down. The words are what eventually stopped me. My notion was to use newspaper and magazine clippings of a particular, dramatic engagement that was widely touted in the US as a victory. Tom had shared in a letter that even General Westmoreland had traveled to Vietnam to bolster the morale with a spin that it had been a game-changer. While I had seen coverage on the cover of Newsweek, he had written a completely different account.
Back home we watched the 6 o’clock news and read newspapers and opened letters. On the screen I chose to show the famous photo that I personally remember most, children fleeing a burning village, because it had so much impact. I tried to contrast civilian and military places tied together with a letter. Although I haven’t yet created a successful painting, I decided to share some of the elements and ideas that were churning around.
