"Exit Wounds" Exhibit on Display at Carlos Gallery

The collage of snapshots in Jim Lommasson’s exhibit Exit Wounds is no ordinary collection of images.  From Iraqi children to veterans on leave, the pictures in the Carlos Gallery of the Nabit Art Building present glimpses of a soldier’s story as he fights two battles: one against his enemies and the other against his emotions. 

Sixty years after fighting the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, Lommasson’s father finally told him about the dark side of war and the emotional pain that haunted him his whole life.  His father’s emotional struggles led Lommasson to create an exhibit that expressed the inner-turmoil of soldiers fighting in the current conflict in the Middle East.  Exit Wounds uses photographs, quotes from soldiers, and even letters a Marine’s mother wrote to an Iraqi woman her son accidentally harmed.  Through these powerful devices, the exhibit encourages soldiers to share their pain rather than bottling it up as his father did, and invites all observers to understand the sacrifice that soldiers make, even if they return in perfect physical health.  Regardless of one’s political position on the Iraq War, the stories revealed invoke sympathy, understanding, and respect for men and women in any military on any side.  The power in each small photograph is extraordinary and as moving as the greatest masterpieces in the world of art.

The exhibit will be on display at the Carlos Gallery in the University of the South’s Nabit Art Building until February 19, 2010.   Lommasson will present a talk on the exhibit on February 5 at 4:30 pm.  For more information on the artist and his work, please visit www.lommassonpictures.com.