The Civil War and The Third Noble Truth

Us And Them

At some point last year, it occurred to me that my work that utilizes Civil War era images is as much about a Buddhist principle as it is about the Civil War… and, maybe more so. Part of my interest in the particular imagery is rooted in my investigation into “man’s inhumanity towards man” and such behavior that seems to instigate war (or fighting, hate, etc.). I believe that there is an ego disease that naturally separates each of us from the other… this is the source of suffering, in my opinion. I’ll be trying to unfold and articulate much more about this as the blogging continues.

In my original artist statement on this series, in 2008, I noted how the “us vs. them” mentality of humanity would continue to spark wars, and I wondered if seeing “us as them and them as us” was possible. I’m sure not sure if it is, and, even if we could, would that prevent war. Maybe, war is simply a part of nature and humanity, and suffering is somehow optional.