One More Is One Too Many

Recent news of soldiers being killed in modern war zones brings to mind the mixed media work by Sophia Elise, "One More Is One Too Many"
Whether the numbers be few, and well reported in modern times of instant communication, or many, as in the war commemorated in Legato, one more death is one too many. Each soldier killed is a life cut short, a family in tears, distraught with grief, and another statistic reflecting the grim reality of war.

This work (one that is difficult to photograph but which drew many positive comments in Cassino) reflects those tears:
Title: Tears on Greenstone
Artist: Sophia Elise
Media: Acrylic and resin on canvas
Size: 38cm x 76cm

Sophia writes:
The inspiration for this piece came from the Tears on Greenstone at the Army Museum - (click here for link to this work).

On this "greenstone wall" that I painted are the names of family members and friends that have inspired many of the artworks in the Legato exhibition - there have been many tears shed by the participants of this exhibition and their families. This is in recognition of the tears of remembrance and the tears of loss and a reminder to us all to not let this happen again. We need to come together and work for world peace.

Thank you to all the artists who shared the names, stories and emotions with me on this very personal and heartfelt journey.

Title: Ripple Effect
Artist: Sophia Elise
Media: Mixed Media
Size: 60cm x 50cm

From Sophia's personal blog:
The title of this artwork says it all ....
Peace will spread like a ripple - starting small within ourselves and spreading outwards with our actions - Let every action be done with perfect gravity, humanity, freedom and justice, and perform it as though that action were your last. - Anon

It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. - Robert Kennedy

Title: One World
Media: Mixed Media and Acrylic
Artist: Sophia Elise
Size: 40cm x 50cm

Other images by Sophia can be viewed here: Legato Exhibition by Sophia Elise

Poignant Photographs

Part of the larger composition (photograph above), the individual images by photographic artist Lorraine Beattie each tell a story and are worthy of time and attention to read them well. In the digital age these works stand out as recording traces of history but also as an artistic and very humanitarian interpretation of the realities of war.

Crossing all cultures and reaching out metaphorically were these delicate images. Their apparent simplicity provides space for the individual viewer to read what is personally relevant regardless of nationality.
"Finis"

"Spent"

The photographs of tombstones bring an international reading; Lorraine's travel and research covered many countries and military cemeteries. We are reminded that war crosses boundaries and the ultimate sacrifice does not depend on culture or politics but is a tragedy for all people in all nations.
"Forever Young"

The cover image for the 2010 Legato depliant is the photograph "Freedom" by Lorraine. This image seemed to say it all; the pain, the beauty, past and present, the quiet hope for a peaceful future.
Central to the message of the cross-form presentation of the works is the striking colour of this message of hope. "Reaching Out"

All of these works are Limited Edition Photography on Giclee Canvas.

(For more images please go to the Legato photo page here.)

A First-hand Account of Time at Cassino.

Artist: Kari Lindsay-Beale
Title: "Legacy of a Soldier"
Size: 45cm long (necklace) + pendant drop section of 8cm length
Media: Lampworked Glass / Wearable Glass Art

Artist: Kari Lindsay-Beale
Title: "Lest we Forget"
Size: 45cm long (necklace) + pendant drop section of 8cm length
Media: Lampworked Glass / Wearable Glass Art

Artist: Kari Lindsay-Beale
Title: "Fields of the Fallen"
Size: 48cm long (necklace) x 3cm wide at the widest point
Media: Lampworked Glass / Wearable Glass Art

Work by Kari Lindsay-Beale has a strength that belies the fact that it is made of hand-made glass beads. Each of her pieces has a story to tell, beautiful yet sad.

Kari supplied the following information to support her work for the Legato exhibition:

My Grandfather, Major John Henry Beale (called Harry), was born in 1912 in Great Britain. He grew up in an army family, and lived in several countries including Palestine, India and South Africa before leaving his family at the tender age of 16 to sail to New Zealand and set up a life for himself there.

When Britain declared war against Germany in 1939, he enlisted as Private in the New Zealand Army 20th Battalion. He was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant and embarked for the warzone in the 2nd NZ Expeditionary Force on active service to the Middle East.

In January 1941 he was promoted to Lieutenant and served in Greece, Crete (where he was wounded and much of his division killed), Egypt and Papua New Guinea. He joined the NZEF 11th Reinforcements in January 1944 with the rank of Captain, and was posted to the 26th Battalion in the battle on Cassino, Italy. He was then appointed to the Headquarters of the Allied Armies in Italy from September 1944 to May 1945 where he was raised to the rank of temporary Major.

When the war ended he returned to NZ, was raised officially to Major and served in the Army until he retired from it in 1961.

He was awarded several medals from his time in service, including: The MID Emblem, the 1939-1945 Star, the Africa Star, the Italy Star, the Pacific Star, the Defence Medal, the War Medal 1939-1945, the NZ War Service Medal and the Efficiency Decoration (TF). After retiring from the Army, Harry owned several businesses until his death in September 1999.

At the time of his death he was in the process of writing an historical account of his war-time experiences. This book was not finished in time to be officially published and is a treasured memory now for all of his family. He was a man who always took a keen and active interest in politics and occurences globally. He was a man of dignity, a great conversationalist and a great listener and we his family miss him immensely.

Here is an excerpt from his book titled "The price must be paid":

"The 26th Battalion had once again suffered heavy casualties and had been withdrawn from the line to await reinforcements....We sat on the hill overlooking the Abbey when the massive air attack was launched that demolished the Abbey. Germans refuted the claim that it was used an as observation post and claimed the neutrality of the Abbey had been respected. However when the Abbey was overrun by the Polish Brigade, I entered the Abbey and there were German Machine Gunners dead beside their guns throughout. So even though it was not defended earlier, the Germans had certainly taken advantage of the rubble and in the final stages of the battle used the Abbey for observation and siting gun positions....
Now that Cassino had been captured, and the landings of Allied troops at Anzio had consolidated and moved inwards, the Highway 6 to Rome reopened. We moved north again liberating Italian villages as we went. It was a period of great relaxation, with Vino flowing and much celebration from the liberated villages. It was a great change to be part of a victorious army, where seldom was a German plane seen. What a turnaround from the early days of Greece when the skies were full of the enemy. I started to feel that the end of the war was in sight but there were still some hard battles to be fought."

(pg.78 & 79 of 'The price must be paid' by Major John Henry Beale)

My Grandfather found it difficult to speak of the devastating effects that the war had on him - he lost many good friends there and in order to cope he had to block many of these emotions. He always preferred to speak primarily of the tactical moves and the events in history that were involved at the time, but he did shed tears with us on occasion.

He found great solace and comfort in Psalm 23 and the Hymn "I vow to thee, my country":
"I vow to thee my country - all earthly things above
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love,
The love that asks no question: the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best.
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.
And then there's another country, I've heard of long ago
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know
We may not count her armies: we may not see her king
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness and all her paths are peace."

A Family's Story

Rex (Joe) McLellan

Jenny Bennett has shared with us photographs of her mother Gwenda Ruth Apsey (later McLellan) during the war when she was in the WAAC (Womens Auxiliary Army Corps) in Hastings, her mother's fiance, Theo, who was killed in action, and her father Rex. This is as much her mother's wartime story as her father's story.

Jenny writes: My father Rex (Joe) McLellan fought at Cassino and was wounded in action on the 15 March 1944. He was in the 25th Battalion. My husband’s father, the late Peter Parry Heath, fought in the 27th Battalion and was also at Cassino. Both survived the war. My mother’s fiancé, Edward Francis Theodore Mullinder (Theo) was not so lucky. He was injured and then died when his stretcher bearers stood on a mine [28 May 1944].


Edward Francis Theodore Mullinder (Theo)


Gwenda Ruth Apsey


Rex McLellan (back right) convalescing after the desert campaign.

My mother has recently died and amongst her possessions was Antonio Ridge’s book “For Love of Rose – Story of the creation of the famous Peace Rose.” This has inspired the work for Legato.. The rose was developed in France by the French Meilland and the Italian Paolina families and went on to be promoted by the American Rose Society who said “We are persuaded that this greatest new rose of out time should be named for the world’s greatest desire; PEACE.” Millions of Peace roses were planted over graves all over the world and also in hospital grounds, public parks and private gardens (including my mother’s ).

"Peace Rose for Cassino"
Like many New Zealand artists Jenny Bennett has used text with images to convey her peace message.

And So It Continues...

"Cassino Requiem" 2010 (diptych) - Gilmore Wall

Today the newspapers report that another Italian soldier has been killed in Afghanistan. New Zealand too has lost another national in Afghanistan, killed earlier this month. And so it continues.

It is New Year's Eve, and time to catch up on some blog posts long overdue. I would like to be writing about the art works, the artists, the exhibition. I prefer to write about peace, not war. But, while war continues, it seems that we must work both for peace, and an absence of war. Newspapers question why we are fighting in these places. Others suggest that career soldiers are simply working in a dangerous job, and no more heroes than anyone else killed on a work site.

We say "Don't be a hero" when we are really saying "Come home safely". Is it no more, no less than this? There are people who perform extraordinary acts under pressure, but there is surely no heroism in fighting a war with military presence. Peace comes from building bridges, not bombing them.

While reviewing Legato artist statements for this blog I was struck by the lines at the end of this email from Gilmore Wall of Auckland. Gill's challenging imagery (photo above) bridges the 65+ years from WWII until today.

The Second World War had a major impact on my family with many uncles, cousins and my father serving in all three armed forces in Europe, North Africa and the Pacific. The family lost one cousin in the Battle of Britain as a tail gunner in a bomber, another taken prisoner in the Pacific and my father was wounded in the battle of El Alamein, Egypt which ended his war.

Our uncle Lawrence Gilmore fought all three theatres with 2NZEF from North Africa including Cassino and made it through unscathed only to be sent to the Pacific where his brother (Robert) was. He is one of the last members of his generation of our family still living well into his eighties. He was away from home for five years. Like many of his contemporaries they speak little of their experiences during their time at war and so it remains difficult for following generations to fully understand what it was like. We can only speculate as to how horrific it must have been.

My father told the story of the day the war ended finally in the Pacific and he was on our grandparent’s farm, having just met our mother Isobel Jean (Lawrence’s sister), whence our grandfather collapsed and died in his arms from what must have been pure stress from waiting for his sons to return home. They never got to see their dad again.

My submitted artwork therefore depicts both my wife and my families’ connection with World War II and in particular Cassino. The imagery has been derived both from collections held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum and from personal mementoes telling the story of the coming together of many cultures as one nation protecting our freedom as a way of life. Unfortunately this is a repeated theme in our lifetimes.

We must ask ourselves, as we start the new year, how many more lifetimes will we let it continue? Wouldn't it be great if we had to turn to museums and historians for information about wars, instead of simply picking up a newspaper and turning on the television to watch our bloody history being made?

Mother Theresa said "Peace begins with a smile". Happy New Year, artists and peace workers. We can all be peace workers, join any of the many movements around the world. Bring whatever skills you have, but all you really need to bring is a smile.

Christmas with the troops all over the world.

While we think of the troops overseas away from families, fighting because they believe they must, so too are many peace workers away from home and in dangerous situations. Peace is more than a prayer at Christmas time, a fleeting thought amongst the festivities. John Lennon's "So This is Christmas" is sobering and challenging.

Working for Peace:
This group of young German, Italian and Polish students listen to the veterans, visit the battlefields and cemeteries and share prayers for peace (Cassino, October 2010).




The need to work for peace is greater than ever before.

*****

As we eat our Christmas chocolate, do we spare a thought for where it came from? It might be a shock to learn that the home of 40% of the world supply of cocoa is currently on the brink of war, or, depending on your definition, is at war. Your Christmas treats, hard earned, may cost you much more soon. It will hit your pocket, but will it also hit your heart?

Wars continue, often unnoticed as we pursue our busy lives. When it hits us in our wallets, or in our supplies of things we consider to be our normal right, does it bring it home to us a little more?

This link to the BIPPI website gives a glimpse of how much work needs to be done to have any chance of peace and harmony, for people to be able to live in peace. Peace is not merely an absence of war, but as fervent peace worker Bruno Picozzi puts it, "Peace is what happens when all peoples are free to develop themselves in the way they want, without having to fight for their rights." (Bruno Picozzi)

Yesterday I was reading of a war I hadn't even noticed evolving. Other nationals are being urged to leave the Ivory Coast as civil unrest verges on civil war. Power, it seems, was linked to cocoa production.

Today I made the usual Christmas treats, New Zealand recipes to take to Italian homes. Cocoa featured in many of them. The cocoa powder spilt on my bench "runner" refused to brush off easily, remaining for now a stain the colour of dried blood. It's not that I am bent on focusing on the brutality of war, in fact I much prefer to focus on peace. But living as I do between the Gustav Line and the Hitler Line, visited by historians and tourists wanting to know more about the history, it is difficult to extract myself from the sorrow of the history at times.

*****

My father tells of spending a wartime Christmas in Italy with his two brothers, where they celebrated by sharing a bottle of brandy. How lucky they were to be able to reach one another from their respective locations. My favourite story is his Christmas pudding story. This arrived too late for Christmas, so was being saved for a special occasion. That occasion arrived on the following Good Friday, when he survived being buried alive in an aerial attack on the Allied troops behind Mt Trocchio at Cassino.

So, this Christmas, let's not just look at the Christmas stories of WWII, but, as Katherine Jenkins does so beautifully, spare a thought for all those engaged in combat wherever they are, for what ever motive, this Christmas. This Youtube tribute to Katherine's work gives a glimpse of what continues today, from a more peaceful perspective. Art, music, writing... it all makes a difference. Whether or not troops should be where they are is for each of us to evaluate according to our own beliefs, but the fact remains that war continues and we must use every talent we possess to ease the suffering that continues today.

As I watch former foes greet one another as friends, German veterans and Polish veterans embracing as they remember their battles, I think of the magical song "Silent Night". In 1965 I learnt the original German version of Silent Night. Then only 20 years after the war, it was still too soon for Kiwi soldiers to be hearing it and was controversial for it to be taught in schools. Now we look at a peaceful Europe and wonder how could once have been so torn by war.

There is hope. But it seems that building peace takes more effort than going to war.

Music and Images for Peace

As some of the artists know, getting art work out of Italy is a difficult and expensive process. Artworks are seen as cultural heritage, and the protocol to take any art out of the country is severe to say the least. Some very generous artists have chosen to donate their work to local venues, like senior citizens homes. The work of one artist in particular, Angela Laby, I am hoping to place in schools as this work has text in English that would interest the children. (See photograph above). A picture is worth a thousand words, but when one grows up with words of peace in a picture seen every day, one must surely remember these for a lifetime.

The decision to work also with schools was affirmed for me this afternoon. I was invited to a school in Cassino to watch the end of year concert (a middle school, children around 12 - 13 years old I guess). This was in a fairly typical school hall, with excited children and throngs of parents. But the programme was far from typical. It was not about success and achievement, not about the school year. The theme of all the dialogue and songs was of sharing resources and cultures, of working to end poverty and oppression, and for peace. The theme appeared to be that Christmas is a time for thinking of others, and for understanding the true message of Christmas. This programme was not a "one off", but is repeated six times over two weeks to ensure that everyone has a chance to see it.

Each part of the world was presented with songs and dialogue, and finished with lighting a candle of hope for the children at risk in these places. Europe was represented in both French and Italian. The Americas were presented with both negative and positive stories, and the song (in English) "What a Wonderful World". When it came to Oceania I watched with much interest. What would it be? Children with painted faces, brown skivvies and tights, and "grass" skirts appeared... and to my amazement they performed a very convincing haka. This brought the audience to life far more than any other performance, and an encore was called for, not once, but twice. Later, despite two intervening acts of song and movement, as the hall emptied I could hear "Kamate, kamate..."

I waited behind to speak with the instructor, and to my surprise he knew much about the haka, the history, the protocol. This was no "dance rip-off" like the controversial car advertisement, but a true cultural exchange. Such is the memory in the town of Cassino of the performance of the NZ Army culture group in 2004.

This, together with a lovely book and photographs in today's post from Canadian visitors to Legato who said in their letter "Keep up the good work", has given me much heart.

Legato is a lot of work, finding funding is difficult, and at times it is a very lonely journey. Occasionally I wonder why I spend so much of my time and energy on this project. Then, when I see the generosity of artists, see how the art works move visitors, and remember the stories told to me by visiting veterans, I am very sure that, despite all the difficulties and frustrations, "the show must go on".

Thankyou Angela, for responding positively to the proposal to donate works to the people of Cassino. Today I think I found the right place for your messages of peace.