Super Bowl Update

above: Autobiography (02) by Maurice Costello

In honor of Veteran's Day, I wanted to share with you some very personal and intimate art pieces from the National Veterans Art Museum in Chicago. The National Veterans Art Museum inspires greater understanding of the real impact of war with a focus on Vietnam. The museum collects, preserves and exhibits art inspired by combat and created by veterans. The pieces express their experiences through photography, sculpture, paintings, drawings and mixed media.

Please note: The work in this museum- and shown here- was made by veterans of war and the depictions of their experience is poignant and uncensored.

Good Morning PTSD by Christopher Arendt:

Real Life Souvenirs by Jay Burnham-Kidwell:

Towers (1) by Victoria Bryers:

Exiles on Main Street by Elgin Carver:

Title Unknown by Ronald Doc Cook:

58,000 Plus by John Dell:

Angel In The Desert by Marcus Eriksen:

(un)clothed and in her right mind by Iris Feliciano:

Aftermath by Michael Gottschalk:

Orphan III by Bill Hackwell:

In the Jar of Mars by Michael Helbing:

Where the Publisher Meets the Writer by Jay Burton Hellwege:

Tourist Photographs from Iraq - This is How I Wanted to See Myself by Aaron Hughes:

Fascinating Vietnam by William Hoin:

Memory of a Conflict by Louis Janetta:

Blown Away by Richard Lindsay:

Seventeen Months, Twenty-Nine Days by Grady C. Myers:

Early Out by Scott Neistadt:

Morphene, Anyone by Neal Pollack:

Mending by Scott Rogers:

The Wall by Michael Rumery:

Anguish by Bruce A. Sommer:

Together Separately by Anthony Stetina:

They Also Serve (POW) by Gary Tillery:

Prayer Boots by John Turner:

Head by Gregory Van Maanen:

Diptych Self Portrait by Kimo Williams:

This is How You Died by Richard Yohnka:

Punji Trap Wound by Bernie Zawiki:

Autobiography Installation by Maurice Costello:

The above pieces only represent a few of the works within the museum. You can view the online collection here.

God Bless all the brave men and women who give of themselves for the rest of us and this country. Thank You.

all images courtesy of the NVAM Collection Online website © 2012 - National Veterans Art Museum

We often think of knit or crocheted objects made with yarn, cotton and wool as cozy, comforting, even grandma-esque. But the works of artist Patricia Waller will most certainly shift that paradigm.



above: Sesame Street's Ernie is drinking himself to death and Spongebob is about to electrocute himself in two pieces from Waller's most recent Broken Heroes collection.

With collections named Broken Heroes, Bad Luck, How To Kill Your First Love and Accidents, her works feature loveable icons, dolls and cute little animals in dire straits or dying a brutal death. Teddy bears, duckies, bunnies and the like are stabbed, bludgeoned and bleeding while recognizable characters like Winnie The Pooh, Miss Piggy, Bugs and Spiderman find themselves meeting an ugly demise. Hello Kitty commits Seppuku, Tweety Bird becomes Chicken Soup and Bambi gets the axe.

Simultaneously disturbing and compelling, I had to share some of her pieces with you.

Below are some pieces from her Broken Heroes and Bad Luck Collections:








Some pieces from her Happy Gardening Collection:




Some pieces from her How To Kill Your First Love Collection:




and finally, two pieces from her Accidents Collection:



Born in Chile, Patricia Waller now lives and works in Germany:


In the artist's own words:

"My ambiguous universe wrought from our turbulent modern existence is focused on art, commerce, technology, and pop culture. In a subversive tongue-in-cheek manner, I mix together the absurd and the bizarre, careful observations of everyday life and an interest in humanity, to create the different phases of my work.

Due to the technique of crocheting, traditionally a handcraft that is carried out in the intimacy of a cozy home, my artworks seem harmless at first sight.

But if you take a closer look, you will discover biting irony and a strong dose of nastiness." -- Patricia Weller

See more of her work here