Culture arts & entertainment The Washington Diplomat | July 2019

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DIPLOMATIC SPOUSES ART Power of Touch Changu Mazana, wife of the Bo- tswanan ambassa- dor and a mother of four, is studying massage therapy as part of her “passion is to use my energy to help other people.” PAGE 31

ART Palate for Protest Artist Rirkrit Tiravanija grew up in a diplomatic family — and with that morsel of insight, his thrilling exhibition com- bining food and protest at the Hirshhorn takes on an even deeper layer of meaning. PAGE 33

EXHIBITS Edward Keinholz’s “The Non-War Memorial”

PHOTO: © KIENHOLZ / COURTESY OF L.A. LOUVER, VENICE, CA / PHOTO BY SHELDAN C. COLLINS Urban NEW LOOK Ingenuity When it comes to design- ing the city of the future, AT it’s little surprise to find the Swedes in the lead. The In the annals of U.S. warfare, Vietnam was a failure on so many levels that it’s difficult to keep nation that revolutionized track of the blunders that have become the subject of countless articles, books and documen- modern home furnishing has VIETNAM taries. While street protests and anti-war marches have been thoroughly documented, the role set its sights on the urban landscapes of 2019 of artists in opposing the war are less well-known, but a captivating exhibition examines their and beyond. PAGE 34 work in “Artists Respond: American Art and the Vietnam War, 1965–1975.” PAGE 30

JULY 2019 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | 29 | | WD Culture History

Vietnam Re-Examined

First-of-Its-Kind Exhibit Looks at Vietnam War Through Lens of American Artists • BY BRENDAN L. SMITH

Artists Respond: American Art and the Vietnam War, 1965–1975

THROUGH AUG. 18 SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM 8TH AND F STREETS, NW (202) 633-7970 | WWW.AMERICANART.SI.EDU

n the annals of U.S. warfare, Vietnam was a failure on so many levels that it’s di cult to keep track of the blunders that have become the subject of countless articles, books and documentaries. IPolitical and military leaders repeatedly lied to the American public about the war and sought to suppress unsparing accounts such as the Pentagon Papers. While street protests and anti-war marches have been thoroughly documented, the role of artists in opposing the war are less well-known. A captivating exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum examines their work in “Artists Respond: American Art and the Vietnam War, 1965–1975.” Unprecedent- ed in historical scale and depth, the exhibition features both famous and rarely discussed works and show- cases previously marginalized artistic voices such as women, African Americans, La- PHOTO: © 2018 STEPHEN FLAVIN / ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NW / PHOTO COURTESY DAVID ZWIRNER tinos and Asian Americans. A survey of artistic reactions to the Vietnam War at the  e exhibition includes al- Smithsonian American Art Museum includes pieces such most 100 works by 58 artists as Dan Flavin’s “monument 4 for those who have been who examined the devastat- killed in ambush (to P.K. who reminded me about death),” ing e ects of the war through a above; ’s “Red Strip Kitchen,” at left; and diverse range of mediums and David Hammons’s “America the Beautiful,” below. styles. Organized by the mu- seum’s curator of 20th-century art, Melissa Ho, the exhibition features work spanning a tumul- tuous decade from President Lyndon B. Johnson’s regrettable decision to deploy U.S. ground troops to South Vietnam in 1965 to the fall of Saigon 10 years later when U.S. forces abandoned many South Vietnamese allies.  e work runs the gamut from PHOTO: © MARTHA ROSLER, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST subtle, such as Dan Flavin’s con- AND MITCHELL-INNES & NASH, NY ceptual crisscrossing red neon tubes, to the sensational.  e PHOTO: BY ALFRED LUTJEANS / LICENSED BY THE ESTATE most extreme example is Chris AND ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NY Burden’s 1971 performance piece titled “Shoot,” where a Chris Burden had a marksman shoot him in the arm for his 1971 performance piece “Shoot.” marksman shoots him in the le PHOTO: © DAVID HAMMONS / arm with a ri e.  e performance rings hollow like a publicity stunt rather than a COURTESY THE OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA serious examination of the deadly consequences of war. American soldiers dying that had seemed distant suddenly came in the jungles of Vietnam wouldn’t be impressed by a privileged white artist safe at home in vivid color news reels of dy- home deciding when and where he will be shot in scripted, sanitized violence. ing soldiers and napalmed jungles.

Yoko Ono’s pioneering performance titled “Cut Piece” is more poignant and PHOTO: COURTESY OF LENNON / © YOKO ONO 1965/2019 Martha Rosler’s photomontage “Red powerful but may only be tangentially related to the Vietnam War.  e perfor- Stripe Kitchen” from her “House Beau- mance in 1964, two years before she met John Lennon and became famous for war A film shows Yoko Ono’s “Cut Piece” tiful: Bringing the War Home” series protests, shows her silently sitting on the  oor at Carnegie Hall while white men being performed at Carnegie Hall in  ips that dynamic on its head, showing New York in 1965. and women step forward and cut o parts of her clothes that they then keep. Some American soldiers inspecting a mod- seem tentative, making small snips, while a smirking man cuts a swath through the ern American kitchen.  e work conveys a fundamental disconnect. Americans top of her dress and bra straps, causing Ono to  inch and cover herself.  e implied would be outraged if soldiers invaded their homes, but they were funding those violence against women digs deeper and questions our unspoken complicity in that same soldiers who were burning Vietnamese villages and committing atrocities degradation. such as the massacre at My Lai. Vietnam was the  rst war that was beamed into living rooms across America through extensive TV coverage and newspaper articles and photographs. A war SEE VIETNAM • PAGE 32

30 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | JULY 2019 from a sub-Sahara country. When they rst arrived in 2015, Spouses their four children ranged in age from 9 to 17. e couple sent them CONTINUED • PAGE 31 to nearby Bullis School in Potomac, Md., which serves students from kindergarten to the 12th grade., so ships mean, what love means.” that they could all go to the same A majority-black country of just school regardless of age. Now their over 2 million people, Botswana has eldest, Pearl, is 20 and will be start- long enjoyed a reputation for racial ing her junior year this fall at the equality, democracy, progressive so- George Washington University, cial policies, good governance and where she will be studying inter- a strong economy, all of which has national business. She lives just o made it one of most stable nations in campus and oen brings her college Africa since the former British pro- friends home during the holidays. tectorate gained its independence in She has another advantage for 1966. choosing GWU. Since the Botswa- Botswana is slightly larger than na Embassy is not far from campus, France and slightly smaller than she oen has lunch with her father. Texas. is sparsely populated, eir younger daughter, Baraedi, is landlocked country in Southern Af- 17 and a senior. She plays basketball rica is known for some of the most and soccer at Bullis and also runs stunning wilderness and wildlife on and works out in their home gym. the African continent. In fact, 70 eir two sons, Khumo, 14, and percent of the land is occupied by Jack, 12, love cycling and soccer. the Kalahari Desert and 38 percent As the wife of a rst-time ambas- is comprised of national parks, re- sador, Mazana said the experience serves and wildlife management When Changu Mazana and her husband, Botswanan Ambassador David Newman, moved to D.C. in 2015, their four children has been an eye-opening, pleasant ranged in age from 9 to 17 and all attended Bullis School in Potomac, Md. areas. learning experience. Although mining drives the gan Specia of e New York Times the movement. Mazana observed. “Being in the U.S.A. has been economy (Botswana is home to in May. “Being a biracial couple in Wash- “When I am the only black per- great, to come to a strange country the world’s largest diamond mine), Despite the contentious elephant ington is easier than some other son in the room, I just get on with and meet wonderful people who tourism has become an increasingly ban, Botswana has broken the mold American cities. When we travel, it’s it in a positive way. I am a condent made us feel welcomed and helped important source of revenue as visi- with its progressive policies in other not a problem in New York or Mi- person and I think that helps,” she us navigate the eld of diplomacy,” tors ock to its nature preserves areas. In June, the country’s High ami. I haven’t been to other places, added. she said. WD While Botswana has been widely Court rejected a 54-year-old colo- like the Midwest, where it might be On the ip side, at monthly Afri- praised for its conservations eorts, nial law that could imprison people uncomfortable. ere is no problem can Ambassadors’ Group meetings, Gail Scott is a contributing writer it recently attracted controversy in same-sex relationships. e land- in U.K. or Europe. It is not an issue,” Newman is the only white envoy for e Washington Diplomat. because it ended a ve-year ban on mark ruling stood in stark contrast elephant hunting. e government to other African nations such as faced intense international pressure Kenya that still criminalize homo- to keep the ban to protect the 27,000 sexuality. elephants in the country. ere are Mazana says that because of its only 450,000 elephants le in Africa unique history and smart gover- — one-third of which have found nance, she has high hopes for the refuge in Botswana — and poachers future of her country. kill around 30,000 each year. Critics “I have no doubt in my mind that also say the decision was motivated Botswana will soon be the pride of by Botswanan President Mokgweet- Africa in every industry. To have si Masisi’s eorts to woo rural voters such a dynamic leader [President ahead of elections later this year. Mokgweetsi Masisi] with a clear vi-

But the government defended the sion for his country and a rst lady PHOTO: © 2018 THE NANCY SPERO AND LEON GOLUB FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS / LICENSED BY VAGA AT ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NY / IMAGE © TATE, , 2018 decision, arguing that Botswana’s so supportive and in the forefront tough ban on hunting had led to un- of women’s development, the future Leon Golub’s “Vietnam II” is among the nearly 100 works in “Artists Respond: American Art and the sustainable levels of elephant popu- ahead looks great for Botswana,” she Vietnam War, 1965-1975.” lation growth and was hurting local said. “ese dynamic visionaries communities. In addition, the gov- are looking for growth and change. a persona called the “Mudman” aer the war and ernment said the ban had actually ey are open-minded and wel- marched 18 miles across in 1976 carry- decreased revenues that go toward coming…. We are excited. Change Vietnam ing a structure of bound sticks and rope on his back, conservation eorts because limited is good.” while his mud-coated body represented the choking CONTINUED • PAGE 30 trophy hunting can bring in signi- at applies to attitudes about red dust that swirled around the Marine supply base cant income. interracial relationships, which in Dong Ha. A ferocious battle there in 1968 le 68 “By sacricing 700 elephants per have evolved signicantly in recent American soldiers and 856 North Vietnamese ght- year we’re likely going to save more,” decades, particularly in the United Leon Golub’s massive painting “Vietnam II” expos- ers dead. Photos of Jones’s march and an installation Erik Verreynne, a wildlife veterinar- States. Despite the progress, ra- es that war machine in heartrending detail, showing of the stick structure with his dusty boots reveal his ian and consultant based in Gabo- cial tensions continue to percolate U.S. soldiers armed with machine guns advancing on vulnerable trek that forced viewers to confront the af- rone, told Kimon de Greef and Me- throughout the U.S., as evidenced by frightened Vietnamese civilians shielding their chil- termath of a war they were trying to forget. dren in front of the charred timbers of their torched A companion exhibition by Vietnamese artist Tif- homes. Pieces of the unstretched raw canvas are cut fany Chung titled “Vietnam, Past Is Prologue” ex- out, creating an impression of horrors that remain plores how Vietnamese artists responded to the war. hidden from view. She grew up in Vietnam during the war and ed to American soldiers, many of whom were draed and the United States with her family aer her father had didn’t want to ght, were mocked or ignored when they fought for the South Vietnamese military. e exhibi- came home, exacerbating PTSD symptoms that would tion includes maps, archival research and video inter- lead to alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide among views with former Vietnamese refugees now living in their brethren. Artwork by some Vietnam veterans in the United States. the exhibition reveals those struggles rsthand. “As Vietnamese Americans living in the U.S., our Jesse Treviño was draed and wounded in battle narrative of the war is almost invisible,” she said in a in Vietnam, resulting in the amputation of his right recent interview. “I’m interested in hidden histories arm, which he had used to paint. In “Mi Vida (My or histories that were erased into o cial records. So Life),” he painted scenes of his post-war life on his the histories are real. ey’re just not there for you bedroom wall, which was later cut out of the drywall to see.” WD and mounted on aluminum. His prosthetic arm and Purple Heart medal obscure part of his face while a Brendan L. Smith is a contributing writer ghostly image of a soldier with both arms still intact (www.brendanlsmith.com) for e Washington

PHOTO: HBIESER / PIXABAY emerges to one side. Diplomat and a mixed-media artist Botswana is home to one-third of Africa’s elephant population. A former Marine in Vietnam, Kim Jones created (www.brendanlsmithart.com) in Washington, D.C.

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