A Vet with PTSD & Art Therapy

Sept. 9, 2008 - PRLog -- PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) related to military service is something that drives the artist Phil Dynan.

After his forty years of treatment, and edged by the current epidemic of PTSD amongst troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, Dynan felt a need to assemble an Art Exhibition which would inform and entertain the public about this disorder.

Dynan assembled an all-star international collaboration for the Exhibit, which opens at the International House in Davis, California on September 12 and runs through October 7th.

An Artists’ Reception will be held at the International House, 10 College Dr., Davis from 6-8 PM on Friday, September 12.

The group includes Dr. Mario Verta, an Italian painter and medical doctor; Rita Leistner, (embedded with US forces) Canadian photojournalist; Iraqi born M.J. Alhabeeb, a professor at the University of Massachusetts; Anastasia Nelson, a painter and graduate of UC, Davis; Scott Woodard, a painter from Texas; Terry Mahy, an illustrator from New Zealand; Ernie Velasco, painter from San Francisco; and Stephen Bennett, a renowned portrait painter with an International following.

Rita Leistner, internationally known photojournalist, contributed photos from Iraq, where she spent two years "embedded" with US, UK, and Turkish armed forces.

Dynan’s paintings are large and generally abstract. "All Things Connected" refers to the death of 28-year-old Marla Ruzicka, killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq; while his latest painting "The End of Dreams" is a reference to his return to America from an overseas assignment and his subsequent treatment for PTSD.

"I couldn’t speak to all the effects of war, or even express them in a variety of terms. I’m limited in my expression, but in this show I have a lot of help. The other artists speak to a variety of issues in a variety of ways," Dynan explains.

"I wanted the viewer to be able to process the story in different ways and on different levels. Some people – myself included – can’t handle the reality very well. So there is a full range of realism to abstraction and items in between the two."

Dynan says the title "Between Worlds" reveals how he feels after overseas service. On one hand he says the experience was educational and exciting. But on the other hand, he claims that he has never "really returned" fully from his government service.

Rita Leistner brings a touch of realism to the exhibition with her first-hand photos taken in Iraq. Some are from Army interrogation centers, but others center on life for the women trapped in Iraqi mental hospitals and how the war has affected their lives.

"Without Force, Effect or Significance" by Texan Scott Woodard, is a counterpoint to Leistner’s interrogation photos and allows the viewer to switch to a level that is easier to look at that may be easier to process.

New Zealander Terry Mahy recently graduated from University. His final project was a presentation combining illustrations, interviews and a spoken presentation on the "Effects of War". This will be his first exhibit ever.

One of the most revealing paintings is a triptych painted by UC Davis graduate Anastasia Nelson, now an Art Gallery Director in Northern California. Her piece, a partial collaboration with Dynan, illustrates their vision of how a young person begins their military career; how it affects the mind and body during combat; and finally, how the young person appears after the military, in comparison to how they began.

M.J. Alhabeeb was born in Iraq in 1954. In addition to his career as a professor of resource economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he has been practicing painting and classic calligraphy for more than 30 years. It is easy to see his connection to Iraq and his feelings for the people of his native country in three beautiful paintings presented as part of the exhibition.

Italian painter and medical doctor, Mario Verta presents "Young Americans", a view from abroad that Dynan chose because it also speaks to the tragic aftermath of war and how it affects our veterans and our society.

San Francisco painter (and baker) Ernie Velasco presents portraits that also show the effects of war. His approach is soft and accessible, giving the viewer more options for interpretation than a head-on confrontation with battle wounds would ordinarily provide.

New York portrait painter, Stephen Bennett, who conducts painting workshops world-wide for the non-profit group "Faces of the World", in a sense, wraps up the exhibit with paintings of veterans from past wars. His colorful and unusual paintings have become so popular that the United Nations is issuing 18 stamps with his portraits in 2009.

A commemorative book from the event is offered at:
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/340714/
More information about the exhibition and some previews of the art and pages from the book can be seen at: http://internationalhousedavis.com/

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Art Gallery not-for-profit. This exhibition is traveling and currently at the International House in Davis, California