SACRED SCARS, SHADOWED GROUND

I’ve been drawn to the stories of the American Civil War since childhood. A visit to Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina when I was nine cemented the drama of the conflict in my imagination. Over time, my perception of the war, it’s causes and consequences has changed and matured. I’ve struggled with the motivations of my ancestor who fought for the Confederacy. What remains with me is a respect for those willing to give the “last full measure of devotion...” for a “...new birth of freedom.”

These images are an attempt create a stage or setting for the viewer to visualize the drama of the Civil War. As with with Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage this is a work of the imagination, not a traditional war narrative. My work is an elegiac reflection of my inner experience walking the ground, using the raw material of the battle stories I’ve studied. Stripped of monuments and interpretative markers, it helps the viewer to imagine the spirit of the stories that still reside on that ground.

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