Iraqi Memorial Exhibit

he Iraqi Memorial Exhibition was held on March 4th 2010 in the Sheppard Gallary in the CFA building at UNR. Pieces were made by many artists ranging from concept art to video installations. The exhibition was supposed to honor thos who died in the Iraqi War, especially the civilians and their affected families.

There were three pieces that I thought were successful in the exhibit. "Kiss Me/Kill Me I'm Iraqi" was a project by Linda Hesh created in 2008. It consists of photographs of different people wearing a t-shirt with "Kiss Me I'm Iraqi" on the front and "Kill Me I'm Iraqi" on the back of it. The photographs are of people wearing these shirts and people's reactions to them. Mostly activists and artists participated in this project.

Some of the photographs in the exhibit showed how the Iraqi people who were directly affected. Iraqi Today is a series of photographs that depict the Iraqi people in their most disparing state. One man who lost limps and had to be bedridden was photographed. The photo looked as though he was a lifeless body on a cot.

My favorite piece in the show is the digital collaborations with Nannette Jackowski ad Richard de Ostos. The composition is edgy and the forms are clean and well balanced. It is the hanging cemetary over a city, depicted in futuristic shapes. It was conceptualized between 2004 and 2005. If piece were to be actually constructed in real life, then it would be meaningful as an artform.

I really thought it was a great idea for the exhibition to be a work in progress of memorial pieces for those who died during the Iraqi War. The message in all the works of art conveyed its message tastefully. The digital media works are on hard copy which makes it easier to see. I would have liked it if I could see the pieces that were supposed to be in sculpture or painting in person such as "Lost Tribe" and "War on Terror". If this exhibit were to have these pieces in person, the artists would be honoring the victim of the war tastefully.