Dimensions
165 x 241 x 31mm
For as long as Australians have been serving in wars, the victories and losses, the battles and faces, have been recorded by artists.
What is it like to be an artist in war? What are the challenges and motivations? How does the experience of war change artists and how, in turn, did their work change Australians' view of themselves, their country and their involvement in conflict?
These are the questions Scott Bevan put to 20 Australian artists who have recorded and responded to theatres of war, including Ray Parkin, Sir William Dargie, Nora Heysen, Wendy Sharpe, Bruce Fletcher and Peter Churcher. All generously share their stories, tears and original artwork in this book.
From World War II to Vietnam and two Gulf Wars artists have shaped how we see war, immortalising soldiers and battles and influencing how we see ourselves as Australians. The war artist has opened our eyes and perceptions to historic events that would otherwise have been censored, distorted or forgotten. In the process they have created some extraordinary art - beautiful, harrowing, mesmerising and character defining.
