Local artists featured in war art exhibit

Kevin J. Cavanaugh's first day of combat during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq is forever etched in his mind.

The Marine veteran was 22 years old in March 2003 when he and other ground forces crossing the U.N. border between Kuwait and Iraq were welcomed by the sight of destroyed vehicles and burning oil wells. Plumes of fire and smoke dotted the landscape.

“It was a very bizarre experience,” said Cavanaugh, now 30. “The sky was a surreal kind of bright yellow, orange and black all at the same time. Then there was the uncertainty. No one really had any idea of what was going on or what was around the next corner.”

The Wheaton resident later painted an abstract vision of what he saw on that day and called it simply “March 23, 2003.” Now that painting is part of a national touring art exhibition making a three-month stop in Chicago.

The exhibit — “Wounded in Action: An Art Exhibition of Orthopaedic Advancements” — opened June 1 and runs through Aug. 31 at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.

Organized by the Rosemont-based American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the exhibit showcases artworks “inspired by war, pain and healing” by more than 70 artists, including 10 from the Chicago area. The contributing artists include military personnel living with orthopedic injuries, surgeons who treat wounded soldiers, and the family members of servicemen and women.

Cavanaugh, who now works for the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, said he was asked to participate by an exhibition organizer who saw one of his paintings. While he has been drawing and painting since his teens, Cavanaugh isn't a professional artist and hasn't participated in a large-scale exhibition before.

The same is true for Arlington Heights resident Hollie Benedik, who made a photo documentary for a class project while she was attending college and her older brother, Christopher Benedik, was serving overseas in the Army.

Just 14 months apart in age, the two Benedik siblings did many of the same things growing up together in Carpentersville. That changed in 2005 when Christopher enlisted and eventually was deployed to Iraq.

“For the first time, we were living completely different lives,” said Hollie, 25.

After receiving various photographs from her brother, Hollie in 2008 created several diptychs comparing her brother's life in the Army and her life as a college senior. The theme of the images, dubbed “A Close Connection,” is trying to stay connected despite being separated by distance.

“Even though we were so far apart, we didn't grow distant,” she said. “We were still close, but in a different way.”

Hollie said she hopes that people who see her photographs remember that for every service member overseas, a family here loves and misses them.

“When people see a soldier, they forget that he could have a wife and kids or siblings or whatever out there,” she said, adding that her brother is back home and going to school full time.

Meanwhile, former Wheeling resident Matthew Jimenez wants to show his appreciation for our nation's military personnel through his artwork.

Jimenez, an orthopedic surgeon at a busy Chicago trauma center, has treated veterans with lingering problems from injuries suffered during wars ranging from World War II to Iraq and Afghanistan. He said his relationships with those patients have taught him about “honor, kindness, respect, love of country, love of family and self-sacrifice.”

“Every time I see them, I shake their hand and make sure they know how much I appreciate everything they have done for our country,” the 49-year-old said.

Having his watercolor painting, “Boots of a Fallen Soldier,” in the “Wounded in Action” exhibition is another way Jimenez hopes to express his gratitude. The painting shows a pair of old boots with dog tags in the laces.

Jimenez said the image represents the unwitnessed deaths that occur during conflicts.

“I know families mourn that loss and wonder, ‘How did it happen?'” Jimenez said. “And oftentimes, there are no details. They just hear that their loved one died in battle.”

Jimenez said the one thing that's always with a soldier — even at the end — is his or her boots.

“Those beat-up old boots know what happened,” he said. “If only those boots could talk, what would they say? But they are silent.”

Chicago is the “Wounded in Action” exhibition's fifth stop on its national tour. After Chicago, the show will travel to the U.S. Army Medical Department Museum in San Antonio, Texas, and the Evans Army Community Hospital and Soldier Family Care Center in Fort Carson, Colo.

If you go

What: “Wounded in Action: An Art Exhibition of Orthopaedic Advancements”

When: June 1 through Aug. 31

Where: Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., Chicago

Cost: Free

Info: woundedinactionart.org