Artist Statement:

Dylan Williamson

My art piece is titled, White Blossom and was inspired by the book, The Things
They Carried. This is a story that follows soldiers throughout their hardships in the
Vietnam War. The purpose of my art piece is to demonstrate how deeply memories
and photographs affected the soldiers, and then to address the lies presented to
them throughout the Vietnam War. Using the metaphor of the white flower, I will
expose the falsifications and hopes that war ironically communicates to our
militaristic country. For example, contemporary movies make war out to be an
incredible event. War in actuality is full of lies and falsehoods and often taints the
ideologies of the soldiers giving them unrealistic hopes that are communicated
through the media. However the lies are seldom true in these international
conflicts. In war there is pain; in war there is death. Most importantly in war there
are people, just like you and I all living life with intricate dreams and memories, just
as complicated as our own. So before judging our so-called enemies, we should
look at ourselves. Are we really all that different? Or is war itself the true killer?
White Blossom Poem:
And light
Harmless light
Affirms gods virgin truth
Listen
Listen to the whispering silence
A quiet forgotten
Shadow
Right spills into wrong
Vapors suck grotesque
Red ribbons of truth
Commanding hate
Grief never ends
Terrible lies affirming
Games that become
Players as white blossoms
Silhouettes of memories lurk
Chasing shadows of marching soldiers
Each step sinking them six feet under
Until they each fall victim to white blossoms