Monday, February 15, 2010

Art Theft In Iraq

War is hell. There is no easy way to put it. The amount of destruction that comes even from a small war is catastrophic. It is not uncommon for an entire culture of civilization to be wiped of the planet by a war. When you have two different sides that hate one another to the extent they are ready to declare war you can count on one thing. There will be blood. Human life is devalued to the most extreme since of devalue. When you see this strong since of hatred from one society to another, it is very common for it to be accompanied by destruction. People tent to have a symbol or piece of art work that can define a culture or timeframe in their country. The act of destroying these symbols is considered a small victory in the minds of the enemies. They want to see their opponents wiped of the face of the earth and this means any art work they have created.
For example take a look at the start of the war in Iraq. Art that depicted Saddam Hussein was destroyed left5 and right. This process by the people of Iraq is their physical display of the culture change. They are shedding their old ways and beliefs. Everyone has seen the video of saddam’s statue being pulled down by a tank in the middle of a busy city. People were cheering clapping and many where coming up to the stature and slapping it with the bottom of their shoe (This is a symbol of insult in Iraq) these people were celebrating a new era in Iraq.
I have served in Iraq and saw first hand how destructive war can be. Even if the United States was not there Iraq would still be at war. There is a culture war that has been coming on for hundreds of years. Much like the civil war we experience in the United States. This war waging had had its effects on this country. It is hard for the people there to protect human life little lone they symbol of their accent couture. Art that has been preserved for many years is being destroyed. I think the best option would be to move the art to safe location. During WWII Europe moved much of its art to a safe location and because of that will still have it to view today. If Iraq would do something similar to this then the art they have there could last hundreds of more years.

1 comment:

Stephanie Lewis said...

Very practical. Thanks for sharing your experience.