Soldier Billboard in Miami Wynwood District
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, December 6, 2024


Soldier Billboard in Miami Wynwood District



MIAMI.- A poignant and controversial art project is on view in Miami. It is part of the Soldier Billboard Project which has had a presence in five other cities since the fall. The soldier billboards have sparked a heated debate on the street and on the web with responses from the military and the public.

Artist Suzanne Opton has photographed soldiers between tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her portraits afford the viewer a very intimate and serious look at the young men and women who have put their lives at risk serving in the military. The results are haunting and when they appear on forty-eight foot billboards floating above the freeway in the light of day or eerily illuminated at night, they are riveting and mysterious.

Thousands of American Soldiers are returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We may wonder what they saw, what they did and how their war experience has affected them as they return to civilian life. One of the soldiers, Cain Claxton, BNCOC Small Group Leader, was initially deployed for 120 days in Afghanistan and had only recently returned when his photo was taken: "I think it's about being vulnerable. As a Soldier, I don't want to ever look like that, but I'm more than a Soldier, I'm a husband and father. My kids don't separate the two. 'Daddy is almost always in his soldier clothes.'"

Five arts organizations have sponsored the Soldier Billboards launching with the start of the Democratic National Convention by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver. Forecast Public Art in St. Paul Minnesota put up one board during the Republican National Convention. DiverseWorks sponsored two boards in Houston and the Atlanta Center for Contemporary Art sponsored a board through the elections in November. Skylab/the Shelf in Columbus, Ohio had three soldier billboards up before the elections.

The Soldier Billboard Project is supported by the Fledgling Fund, CrossCurrents Foundation, the Cummings Foundation and private donors. The New York Foundation for the Arts is the fiscal sponsor.

Suzanne Opton's artwork can be found in collections in the US and Europe including the Cleveland Museum of Art, Austin Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and the Musée de l'Eysée, Lausanne. Switzerland.











Today's News

December 1, 2008

Museum of Islamic Art Opens in Iconic I.M. Pei Designed Landmark Building in Doha, Qatar

National Gallery in UK to Present Major Exhibition Picasso: Challenging the Past in 2009

The State Museums of Berlin and the Legacy of James Simon

Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga Opened Tracey Emin: 20 Years

Office for Contemporary Art in Norway Opens Whatever Happened to Sex in Scandinavia?

Erhard Klein: Thoroughly Concentrated Opens at Kunstmuseum Bonn

IVAM Installs Five Monumental Sculptures by Gerardo Rueda in Valladolid

Kunsthaus Zürich Announces Hot Spots: Rio de Janeiro / Milan - Turin / Los Angeles, 1956 - 1969

The Museum of Modern Art Salutes Agnieszka Holland with Major Film Retrospective

Peter Freeth RA: My Affair with Resin at the Royal Academy of Arts

People of Today: Faces of Wales at National Portrait Gallery in London

Tallest Building in China Breaks Ground

Institute of Contemporary Arts Presents Seven International Artists

Painting the Heart of Russia: Nikolai Timkovs Sustaining Vision

Minneapolis Institute of Arts Appoints New Head of Prints and Drawings

New Orleans Museum of Art Offers Free Admission through January 18

The Turner Prize, Only Better

Soldier Billboard in Miami Wynwood District

Going Public '08 - Port City Safari - the Sound of the City

Elihu Vedder's Drawings for the Rubáiyát at Phoenix Art Museum




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful