PORTRAITS OF A WORRIOR
Returned Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan Series
As a physician and an artist, I find purpose in using both my medical training and my artistic talents to facilitate healing. My life's mission revolves around this central theme: to heal. Whether through the practice of medicine or the strokes of my paintbrush, I am committed to exploring the depths of human experience and understanding.
In my artistic endeavors, I gravitate towards portraying individuals who carry the weight of pressing social issues, embodying a form of "social realism" that seeks to capture the truth of their existence. One such series focused on Holocaust survivors and their World War II liberators, immortalizing their faces and the stories hidden within their eyes before it was too late.
Growing up amidst the backdrop of World War II, I experienced firsthand the pervasive fear and uncertainty that shrouded daily life. The sight of flags adorned with stars representing service members, as well as the solemnity of those bearing gold stars in remembrance of fallen heroes, served as constant reminders of the sacrifices made for our nation's freedom.
Now, as the flags once again grace the windowsills in the wake of conflicts around the world, I am compelled once again, to turn my attention to a Series of portraits of Veterans I did in 2012 I of those who had returned from the battlefield. Through the intimate conversations I had and the creation of their portraits, I endeavor to shed light on their experiences and the healing journey they had to undertake.
These veterans said to me: "I did it because it was my duty" and "I am serving my country and my people."
Wilma Bulkin Siegel, M.D.
“War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.”
Smedley Buttler
Music and Piano: Juan Carlos Torrealba
I Won't Go Without You
As a physician and an artist, I find purpose in using both my medical training and my artistic talents to facilitate healing. My life's mission revolves around this central theme: to heal. Whether through the practice of medicine or the strokes of my paintbrush, I am committed to exploring the depths of human experience and understanding.
In my artistic endeavors, I gravitate towards portraying individuals who carry the weight of pressing social issues, embodying a form of "social realism" that seeks to capture the truth of their existence. One such series focused on Holocaust survivors and their World War II liberators, immortalizing their faces and the stories hidden within their eyes before it was too late.
Growing up amidst the backdrop of World War II, I experienced firsthand the pervasive fear and uncertainty that shrouded daily life. The sight of flags adorned with stars representing service members, as well as the solemnity of those bearing gold stars in remembrance of fallen heroes, served as constant reminders of the sacrifices made for our nation's freedom.
Now, as the flags once again grace the windowsills in the wake of conflicts around the world, I am compelled once again, to turn my attention to a Series of portraits of Veterans I did in 2012 I of those who had returned from the battlefield. Through the intimate conversations I had and the creation of their portraits, I endeavor to shed light on their experiences and the healing journey they had to undertake.
These veterans said to me: "I did it because it was my duty" and "I am serving my country and my people."
Wilma Bulkin Siegel, M.D.
“War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.”
Smedley Buttler
Music and Piano: Juan Carlos Torrealba
I Won't Go Without You
