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Blood Brothers
David Gianfredi

July 1 - August 30, 2007

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Installation View

Installation View

Like an echo, my experience with the United States Army has resonated through my life.  Young, eager and full of a hunger to be more that what I thought I was, I joined a unit that had recently returned from Vietnam.  Though I wore the same uniform and followed the same rules, I was clearly not in the same army as those who had experienced combat.  Combat leaves its’ mark.  Soldiers are not trained to give any thought about the life they end – the reality that they have just killed someone’s dad, brother or son; that truth is not part of the “Army of One” marketing package.   Yet, when the bodies are buried and all return home, soldiers do not seem to handle it well.  Predictably, they are haunted by the deeds they committed and now are left to atone for them alone.  The majority of soldiers are generally nothing more than people looking for a better economic future, if only they can survive their present.

As our modern American nation finds itself at war once again, this project unsurprisingly takes into consideration the past war of Vietnam, as well as the current war with Iraq.  Currently, soldiers my age and younger, with far less experience, are putting their lives on the line by fighting in Iraq while I sit watching from the sidelines.  I realize that patriotism and national security are the excuses used in both conflicts to justify the horrors of war and the resulting stain it leaves upon the soldiers.

The Blood Brothers exhibition is a reflection upon the complexities of war, politics, greed, and imperialism.   Every individual involved, from the politician who wills it, to the general who orders it, to the foot soldier in the trenches that actually commits the act, all will at some point have to come to terms with their part in the task of bringing the reality of war to life. 

 David Gianfredi

7th Infantry Division Logo

Acrylic on Canvas
approx. 70" x 50"

Red Cross

Acrylic on Canvas
approx. 70" x 50"

Sold

POW / MIA

Acrylic on Canvas
approx. 70" x 50"

Texaco

Acrylic on Canvas
approx. 70" x 50"

Sold

Oath of Office

Photoshop Print
45" x 36"

Hi Mom

Oil on Canvas
36" x 48" 

US Soldier Walking On Iraq

Acrylic on Canvas
approx. 70" x 50"

14th Engineering Battalion Patch

Acrylic on Canvas
approx. 70" x 50"

Bronze Star

Acrylic on Canvas
approx. 70" x 50"

59th Ordinance Patch

Acrylic on Canvas
approx. 70" x 50"

Bible Panel 1 (Front)

Acrylic on MDF
36" x 48.5"

Bible Panel 1 (Back)

Acrylic on MDF
36" x 48.5"

Bible Panel 2 (Front)

Acrylic on MDF
36" x 48.5"

Bible Panel 2 (Back)

Acrylic on MDF
36" x 48.5"

Bible Panel 3 (Front)

Acrylic on MDF
36" x 48.5"

Bible Panel 3 (Back)

Acrylic on MDF
36" x 48.5"

Bible Panel 4 (Front)

Acrylic on MDF
36" x 48.5"

Bible Panel 4 (Back)

Acrylic on MDF
36" x 48.5"

32,000 Soldiers Representing War Dead (Detail)