Izzy Bonecutter

Artist Statement
My piece aims to portray the negative psychological impacts that the Vietnam War had
on a real soldier named Charles Whitman. After his service, Charles family couldnt understand
the agony and torment the war had placed on him. For many soldiers, when hope is not an
option, suicide and self-abuse occurs. The bombs in Charles sunglasses reflect his opinion on the
war, along with his mournful facial expressions. Michael Connelly once said, You cant patch a
wounded soul with a band aid. I think this quote accurately interprets my perspective and the
perspective of many others, including Charles. This quote figuratively backs up the reasoning of
the effects of PTSD, and clearly states how hopeless and irreparable a soldier who has
experience the war feels. My perspective statement backs up the negative effects of the war.
Throughout the process of creating my piece, I did three drafts. Creating drafts helped me
improve my work by refining individual parts and pieces in my work. I really appreciated the
feedback I got because it gave me a whole new perspective on my piece and how it could be
improved. A piece of feedback I had gotten was to refine Charles helmet to make it look like a
more realistic war helmet. I had searched pictures that accurately gave me a better image of
what my helmet should have looked like. This was a step of improvement from draft two to draft
three. The most significant amount of improvement I went through during this project was in
draft 1, my perspective statement. Stephen had helped me critique this multiple times to create
one statement that I would be able to use to base my art piece off of. It was important to me to
have a very clear perspective statement so that I had lead way and guidance throughout the
project, and so that I could incorporate my perspective into my art. My last draft had detail, and
was refined from draft two. I wanted to challenge myself by using a different art medium
(beans,) so it was difficult to add in all the detail. I think using the beans was one of my biggest
areas of refinement. There was a significant improvement throughout all my drafts. I ensured all
the elements of a strong art piece played into my visual piece by taking time and having pride in
my work. I put a lot of effort into my project, and placing each and every bean made me realize
how dedicated I was to having a visually pleasing, refined piece of work.
Like many others, Charles Whitman bravely served in the United States army during the
Vietnam War. Like many of these servicemen, Charles came home as a soldier intoxicated with
the horrors of the Vietnam War. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) caused abusive
behavior, anxiety, feelings of dejection, and anger in this man. Most regrettably, these effects for
Charles ultimately meant suicide. The after effects of the Vietnam War are engraved on many
individuals and have lasting negative effects.
About 5.2 million adults are diagnosed with PTSD each year, and an estimated 30% of men and
woman who have spent time in war zones will experience post traumatic stress disorder. Charles
inspired me to create this art piece to spread awareness about the negative effects of the war.