NOVEMBER 10, 2020 – FEBRUARY 6, 2021

curated by christina katsolis

ARTIST RECEPTION: FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 2021 FROM 5-7 PM

On display at the Pabst Visitor Center & Gallery at the Atlantic Center for the Arts

Located at 1414 Art Center Avenue, New Smyrna Beach

about the exhibition

In partnership with the Atlantic Center for the Arts, this exhibition brings together works created by veterans with years of military service to explore their unique perspectives, personal narratives, and themes of service and sacrifice. With a specific focus on photography, Honoring our Heroes: The Art of Service and Sacrifice showcases an array of works–from film to digital to alternative processes–meant to raise awareness of our veterans’ experiences and honor their service to their country. Veterans from four branches of service–the United States Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy–are represented and their photographic memories and service collectively range from 1959-2018, spanning conflicts from Vietnam to the present.

The majority of the works presented in this exhibition are an extension of the Southeast Museum of Photography’s Art in Action: Veterans Exploring the Visual Arts program. Through a series of workshops and open-studio sessions, Art in Action allowed veterans to meet and learn from professional artists, to discover and cultivate their own talents, and to transform their experiences through thoughtful and therapeutic forms of self-expression. Betsy Stange, a local veteran from DeLand and retired Lieutenant Colonel with the United States Army, stated of her work: “I love for my photos to tell a story…for those that understand the history before them, these images speak of times past and sacrifices made.”

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EXHIBITION

view a slideshow with selections of the artwork on display

BASTARDS’ ROAD

| exclusive screening | 2020 documentary film by brian morrison |

the road to redemption

This exhibition also features photographs from members of two military families, placing emphasis on the shared connections, concerns and emotional effects of deployment. An exclusive screening of sections of the documentary film Bastards’ Road (Directed by Brian Morrison) accompanies photographs taken by Daytona State College student–and Gold Star family member–Kerry Schrage.

about stacy pearsall

Stacy L. Pearsall was a Staff Sergeant in the Air Force and served as an Aerial Combat Photojournalist from Feb. 2, 1998 to Oct. 9, 2010. She's an Operation Iraqi and Enduring Freedom veteran. She is one of only two women to have earned the Military Photographer of the Year Award (2003 and 2007) and the only woman to win twice. During her time in service, she traveled to over 41 countries, and over the course of three combat tours, she earned the Bronze Star Medal and Air Force Commendation with Valor for combat actions in Iraq.

SALUTING OUR VETERANS

THE VETERANS PORTRAIT PROJECT

This exhibition includes a special presentation of photographs taken by retired Air Force Staff Sergeant and Aerial Combat Photojournalist Stacy Pearsall, who founded the Veterans Portrait Project. Over the last decade, Stacy Pearsall has honored veterans of all ages and branches of the military, one portrait at a time. Pearsall has photographed over 7,500 veterans from all 50 states.

Image above: Elizabeth Houx « Army E-6 Public Affairs, HR Garrett Houx « Marine Corps, Navy

Tremendous thanks to Stacy Pearsall for participating and to Triangle Reprographics for printing the works on display.

Honoring our Heroes: The Art of Service and Sacrifice is on display in the Pabst Visitor Center & Gallery at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, located at 1414 Art Center Avenue, New Smyrna Beach.

The exhibit is open to the public at no charge, November 10, 2020 through February 6, 2021.

A formal reception will be held on January 8, 2021, from 5-7pm.

TAKE A VIRTUAL TOUR OF HONORING OUR HEROES

Can’t view the exhibit in person? Take a self-guided tour of the gallery from your desktop or mobile device.

Please take a virtual walk (or click) through the Pabst Visitor Center and Gallery to view Honoring our Heroes: The Art of Service and Sacrifice. Read the information below for helpful viewing & navigating tips.

Virtual Tour Tips

• To quickly navigate around the gallery, click on the white arrow links on the floor.  These arrows will allow you to “jump” ahead to visit a new section of the gallery. 

• To view any section of the gallery you wish, simply click “forward” and swivel left or right using the hand pointer (cursor) to direct your movements. 

• As you move closer and continue to zoom in, you will notice clickable icons appear–an “i” or “camera”–which gives you a close-up view of a particular object or exhibit panel.

Please note: This tour has been tested and should work on all common devices, browsers, and operating systems (using a desktop computer with Windows, Mac or a mobile device such as an iPhone, iPad, or Android). Functionality and appearance may vary from device to device.

SPECIAL ARTIST FEATURE

Featured artist Richard Bullard recounts impactful moments from his career and offers insight into some of the images he captured.

SERVICE SNAPSHOT - AIR FORCE

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

LIAM BOWMAN - U.S. Army Veteran

I am a U.S. Army veteran. I was diagnosed with physical disabilities and PTSD. Art is my outlet from my pain. I've learned over the years from working with the Daytona State/Southeast Museum art program that I can accomplish many venues in my life. I am also a multifaceted drummer, percussionist and harmonica player at the same time I play my drums. I've  entered some of my arts and photos from photography classes in the art shows. It was a great experience. I feel every vet should have this opportunity.

RICHARD BULLARD - Special Forces Medical Sgt./Search and Rescue Technician

I was born in upstate New York in 1970 while my father was deployed to Vietnam. Months later, my mother returned to his duty station in Long Beach, California where I spent the whole of my childhood. I enlisted in the Army in December of 1992 to escape the streets of Long Beach and its drug culture that seemed to have consumed my friends. My first duty station was Fort Lenard Wood, Missouri. After my first enlistment I went to Fire Fighter EMT School in Mississippi where I joined the National Guard and stayed for nearly 4 years. In 1997, I attended the Special Forces Medical Sargent’s course after passing Special Forces Assessment and selection. I was assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg North Carolina. Our primary mission was anti-narcotics operations in South America–mainly Colombia, Bolivia Venezuela and Peru. During missions and throughout my career, I took photos for various reports and occasionally snapped some personal ones. Some of these photos lay hidden away on old hard drives or in an old shoebox in my closet never to be seen. Christina, intrigued by my photos and story, worked with me to choose images captured during my various deployments. She inspired me to express myself through photographic art projects and to present my work to an audience.

ANNA CASH - CMSgt (ret), United States Air Force

After 27 years of service, I retired from the Air Force in 2013 as the Career Field Functional Manager for Personnel.  My last duty station was at Joint Base Andrews where I worked in Policy as well as Personnel Readiness, however, I spent fourteen of my years in the 202nd RED HORSE Squadron and deployed with that unit in 2003 to Oman and then UAE.  After retirement, I became a single mom of three, ages 1, 3 and 7 as well as caregiver to my terminally ill mother and my therapy became the photography classes I was taking at the Southeast Center for Photographic Studies and some of the wonderful connections I made there.   Learning how to make beautiful images really helped me get through some challenging times.  I graduated from the program and I’m continuing to learn everyday.  I am the Secretary of the PPGDB which stands for Professional Photographers of Greater Daytona Beach and I continue to take classes through PPA.

TONI DUNCAN - U.S. Army Veteran

Toni Duncan is a photographer based in Daytona Beach, FL. Before pursuing photography, she served in the US Army. She is currently a photographer/editor for In Motion, Daytona State’s college newspaper. Toni is also pursuing a degree in Photographic Technology from Daytona State College.

ANTHONY GALUSHA - Sgt. USASOC Parachute Team Black Daggers

Anthony Galusha started photography as a skydiving photographer and videographer. Joined the army after high school and became a demonstration parachutist performing at air shows, football games and many other events. Continued photography as a hobby and a job until leaving the military after 13 years of service. Attended Daytona State College in order to expand his photographic knowledge and take better pictures. Continues to explore and take pictures capturing and sharing the unique sights he is fortunate enough to witness. Photographs in many mediums including digital and almost every format of film.

WILLIAM KNIPPER - Blackfoot 1-501st PIR ABN

I served as a member of the Blackfoot 1-501st Special Operations Airborne Division. I was involved in multiple deployments from 2000 through 2012 in Iraq and Afghanistan and have earned 5 Campaign Stars. I was a heavy-weapons squadron leader and senior marksman from my platoon.  Retiring after multiple injuries for which I received three purple hearts, I spend my time building custom motorcycles, hunting, fishing and experimenting with alternative photo processes.  I’m a pro-staff member for Alaska’s Healing Hearts, a national organization that helps veterans recovering from injuries by offering year-round outdoor recreational opportunities. I’m also involved with Challenge Alaska’s Paralympic Archery program, which provides adaptive sports training and competition opportunities for youth and adults with physical and visual disabilities, including veterans and active duty service members.

ALICIA LYNN - U.S. Army, Operation Enduring Freedom

I received a BA in photography at UCF (Southeast Center for Photographic Studies) and I have worked alongside some amazing photographers! Before that I worked on my degree in business management. The places I have been all over the world have given me a desire for understanding the unknown. I have been fortunate enough to have served in the military alongside some amazing people in war. When it comes to what I like to photograph, I love candid and moody moments. I have a soft spot for light fractures and cinematic like pictures.

GEORGE DAVID MARSHALL - U.S. Navy Veteran

I joined the US Navy in 1959 and served on a Seaplane tender that never left the dock, then on the USS Northhampton CLC-1 when President Kennedy came abroad, I was then sent to put a new Submarine tender in commission and sailed it to Holy Lock Scotland in 1962. The last ship I was on was the USS Rich DD820 that sailed from Norfolk VA through the Panama canal in 1968, Pearl Harbor and the Philippians to duty off the coast of Vietnam. We did many things, duty with the aircraft carriers, search and rescue off the coast of north Vietnam, and 5” gunfire support north of Danang Harbor. Then back to Norfolk. I steamed almost 50,000 miles at sea making me a salty dog.

I took my first photos in 1955, bought my first camera in 1959, first SLR in 1968. I have had studios with equipment all the way up to 8x10” plus full darkrooms. I have shot weddings, portraits, commercial and industrial photography, newspaper work, war photos, race car photos, travel and scenic photos, and much more. I have taken hundreds of thousands of images. Around 2000 I started to use digital cameras and since then have found that a modern small pocket camera does almost as good a job as my large bag of digital SLRs and lenses.

BRIAN MORRISON - Producer / Director 

Brian Morrison is a film producer and videographer based in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area. He produces music videos, commercials and corporate videos. Bastards’ Road is Brian Morrison’s first documentary feature. He learned of Hancock’s walk from their mutual friends from high school in MD. Morrison travelled with Hancock on his walk six times for weeks or days at a time, functioning as a one-man crew. The sheer magnitude of the narrative arc – an almost 6k mile walk across the country brought logistical challenges for shooting. To do this, out there with him, alone, was challenging and scary, but also liberating. Rather than a traditional documentary camera, a Red Epic camera was chosen to enhance the beauty and healing properties of nature during the walk. And during the very intimate visits a smaller DSLR was used to stay as close and flexible as those meetings required. The cinematic experience had to walk this line, to show both as one and separate, to express the explicit and implicit meanings always swimming around and through him. Jon’s extraordinary personality experiencing grief and building a new life all at once. His demons, his hope, his courage, humor, insight and intelligence all needed to be brought to life.

CRAIG NEUBECKER - Cmdr. (ret), U.S. Coast Guard- District 8

I began helicopter flight training for the U.S. Army, and flew Huey and Black Hawk helicopters for the Army for five years before transferring to the Coast Guard in July 1998. I left the Army because the Coast Guard offered the chance to have a real impact saving lives and doing missions every day, whereas in the Army, we usually only got to train for war, and flew significantly less than we do in the Coast Guard.

STACY PEARSALL - Air Force Staff Sergeant (Ret) and Aerial Combat Photojournalist

Stacy L. Pearsall got her start as an Air Force photographer at the age of 17. During her time in service, she traveled to over 41 countries, and attended the Military Photojournalism Program at S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University from which she is a 50 Forward distinguished graduate. During three combat tours, she earned the Bronze Star Medal and Air Force Commendation with Valor for combat actions in Iraq. Though combat disabled and retired from military service, Pearsall has not let her disabilities hold her back. With her service animal America’s VetDogs Charlie by her side, she continues to work worldwide as an independent photographer and is an author, educator, military consultant, BRAVO748 public speaker and founder of the Veterans Portrait Project. 

Pearsall is a ​Nikon, ​Manfrotto, and Spider Holster Ambassador as well as an ​Ilford Master. Her work has been exhibited at The Woodruff Arts Center, The Pentagon, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and the National Veterans Memorial and Museum among numerous other galleries and venues. Pearsall is the Producer and Host of the PBS television series, After Action. She is one of only three women to win National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) Military Photographer of the Year competition, and the first woman to earn it twice. She’s authored two books –Shooter: Combat from Behind the Camera and A Photojournalist’s Field Guide: In the Trenches with Stacy Pearsall both of which have earned international acclaim. 

She’s been presented with the Jefferson Award and Hill Vets 100 Artist of the Year, honored with the Daughters of the American Revolution Margaret Cochran Corbin Award and the Girl Scout’s Woman of Distinction Award, lauded by President Barack Obama as a Champion of Change, and she holds an honorary doctoral degree in journalism from The Citadel. Pearsall has served as a nominating juror for the Pulitzer Prize and held a presidential-appointed board member position for the NPPA. Pearsall began the PDN “Personal Project” award-winning series Veterans Portrait Project (VPP) in 2008 while rehabilitated from the combat injuries sustained in Iraq. While spending hours in VA waiting rooms surrounded by veterans from every generation and branch of service, she was compelled to honor and thank them in the only way she knows how, photography. Since 2008, she’s traveled coast to coast with the VPP covering 82 cities in all 50 states and has documented over 7,500 veterans in over 189+ engagements. 

GERARDO RAMOSSANCHEZ - U.S. Marine, Operation Enduring Freedom

I am a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army. I served this beloved nation for 12 years. My passion for photography began while I served. When I retired from the military, my primary goal was to become a professional photographer. Soon after retirement, I studied at the Southeast Center of Photographic Studies in Daytona Beach, Florida. I earned my degree in digital imaging with honors. Learning and understanding the foundations of photography has given me the ability to create stunning images. Being in the military taught me professionalism, attention to detail and commitment. 

MEGAN RIZZO - Military Police 805th MP Co 2003-04 Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom

I was raised between Florida and Indiana as a child, but after 9/11, I boomeranged back to Florida.

While serving in Afghanistan, I had the pleasure of meeting and working with the locals in hopes to free them from the control of nefarious forces. It was a life-changing experience. One thing people don’t realize is the beauty of Afghanistan. It’s truly a majestic place. I have some beautiful artwork that I arranged to ship home with me. I utilized my post 9/11 GI Bill and Graduated with Honors from Daytona State College in 2016 with a BAS in Supervision and Management. In 2021, I’m looking forward to doing more art projects with other veterans. It’s been a blessing to use art to change my focus on creating beauty. 

KERRY SCHRAGE

With the arts being a predominant part of my life, my main mediums are photography/videography and music. At the age of eleven I began playing drums and my love for music and songwriting hasn’t stopped. In my early to mid 20’s I found photography/videography and I was hooked. With nature being a driving force for my image making, I enjoy documenting anything and everything. Whether it’s an event, portrait session, wedding, or a creative idea of my own, I always take on my photo and video work from an artistic perspective.

BETSY STANGE - U.S. Army, 1986-2012

I grew up in a small town in Ohio, graduated from Stetson University, and after completing my four-year active duty military obligation returned to the area to raise our children. With the support of my husband and children, I managed to serve an additional 21 years in the US Army Reserve. About the time the last of the three kids finished high school I became more active in my photography studies and adventures.

TIM TELKAMP - US Navy Veteran

Tim Telkamp is a US Navy Veteran and one of the last battleship sailors. He is a plank owner who served proudly as an FC2(SW) on the USS Iowa BB-61. Today he is a photographer, craftsman, technologist, and mentor currently living in Central Florida. Wherever life has taken him, from crossing the Arctic Circle to South America and Europe he has gone with camera in hand. He is an exceptional Wet Plate Collodion artist who not only captures the modern world using this civil war era alternative process, but also makes much of his own wet plate equipment and mixes his own wet plate chemicals. In contrast to his historical craftsmanship, he has also been involved in many high-tech design and engineering projects. 

KRISTINA TRULUCK - Combat Documentation/Production Specialist

Kristina Truluck served as a Combat Documentation and Production Specialist for the United States Army. During her deployment, she captured thousands of images that were released to many news outlets, including Military Times, The Atlantic, NATO, Pentagon News Channel, Army Posture Statement, etc. Although retired from the military, photography remains her passion. She runs her own business in addition to volunteering with Horses Help Heroes, an organization that assists service members and veterans with service-connected disabilities using equine therapy.