Photo by Alex Potter
In a recent Oval Office address, President Obama marked the “end” of combat operations in Iraq: “We have met our responsibility. Now, it is time to turn the page.”
Not so fast. Unfortunately, the Iraq War has etched itself onto our two countries’ histories: more than 4,400 Americans dead; at least 100,000 Iraqis dead; more than 32,000 Americans wounded; at least two million Iraqis forced to flee their country. It is difficult to comprehend such calamity, much less process, file, and forget.
In the U.S., blame and guilt over the disaster have contributed to political paralysis and cultural division that will not pass quickly or easily. Frank Rich reviewed Obama’s speech in the New York Times: “‘Our unity at home was tested,’ (Obama) said, as if all those bygones were now bygones and all the toxins unleashed by this fiasco had miraculously evaporated once we drew down to 50,000 theoretically non-combat troops.” Before we can banish the war to the forgotten past, we must first stop to be present with its tragedy. We must first take a long, hard look at the war’s toll and its political and cultural enablers—and then begin to repair and reform.
Photo by Alex Potter
Art offers one way to be present with war and its realities. In the Minneapolis exhibit, Navigating the Aftermath, Iraqi and American artists (including veterans of the Iraq War) explore the effects of the ongoing Iraq War on our two countries. Artists look at the war and its effects through the lens of their personal experiences. In their individual works and in their dialogue, artists interface with the tragedy of the ongoing war and look at how both countries might start to move forward toward a more peaceful future.
The show’s curator, Tricia Khutoretsky, says, “From the American perspective, the artists are veterans, friends and family of soldiers, or those closely tied to the war through activism. As the artists’ battle with ignored and misunderstood experiences, with sharing them to try to make sense of them, their voices speak of lives changed and lives taken in a place called Iraq. Joining the American artists are not only artists living in Iraq, but Iraqi-Americans who have left the place they once called home. The artists represent the voice of a contemporary and modern Iraq, hopeful and invested in the future of their country. They confront their losses and the path ahead searching for meaning and a new understanding of the identity of an Iraqi and the identity of his or her country, whether viewed from afar or from within.”
Because the legacy of war defies quick fixes, we are taking Navigating the Aftermath on tour to six towns in Minnesota in the summer of 2011. We are also planning to build an online English/Arabic gallery and hope to eventually tour the exhibit around the U.S. and Iraq. We currently have a Kickstarter campaign to raise $5000 by this Friday, March 4 to support the touring of the exhibit. Please consider making a pledge here: http://kck.st/h1skL9
Photo by Alex Potter
Another artist from Navigating the Aftermath writes that her work in the exhibit intends “to visually return the war to the forefront – to portray a communal sense of loss, ambiguity, and sorrow.” As Americans, we will be unable to “turn the page” on the Iraq War until we begin to live honestly with that loss and sorrow, partner with Iraqis to repair our relationships, and reform—with a resolve born of war’s human tragedy—the cultural and political systems that enabled the Iraq War.
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