JULY 2022 – brutjournal

THIS IS THE PLACE FOR DISCOVERIES AND DISCUSSIONS OF THE MOST INVENTIVE ART FORMS – ALL KINDS OF ART THAT IS FAR-OUT, FANTASTIC, FREE-SPIRITED, FUN, FUNKY, PHENOMENAL AND GOOD FOR THE SOUL. (MAMA CALLED IT SUI GENERIS)
SUBSCRIBE, BABY. RIGHT NOW!

THE CORRUPT, POLITICIZED U.S. SUPREME COURT’S RULING DESTROYING ROE VS. WADE IS A CRIME AGAINST ALL WOMEN IN THE U.S.A., WITH DIRE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FREEDOM OF WOMEN AROUND THE WORLD. THIS PROTEST SIGN FROM THE NEW YORK CITY DYKE MARCH (JUNE 25, 2022) CAPTURES THE SPIRIT OF THE FIGHT TO COME FOR REAL JUSTICE, WHICH WILL ONLY BE ACHIEVED WHEN THE GOVERNMENT LEARNS TO KEEP ITS HANDS OFF WOMEN’S BODIES.

Editor’s letter

What the heck is brutjournal?
by Edward M. Gómez

A cultural historian who focuses on art made by prisoners of war shares items from his collection, as well as discoveries he has made while traveling.
by David Ensminger

Portrait art, part 1

Carried over from June, the first part of our look at the art of portraiture.

Portrait art, part 2

Also carried over from June, when it was published late in the month, the second half of our look at diverse expressions of the portrait maker’s art.

NO MORE WAR, PLEASE. WE’VE HAD ENOUGH.

War always represents a failure of diplomacy and wise policy-making, if not a ruthless demonstration of lethal power. It’s totally destructive, and an ailing planet cannot tolerate anymore of it. Here, artists respond to the effects and the folly of war. Free access to this article.

PHOTO ESSAY: A HOME FOR UNUSED TOOLS OF WAR

In 2004, the artist Cathy Ward, brutjournal’s London-based correspondent, visited a vast, remote salvage site for cast-off military equipment in the desert of western Utah. Here, a photo essay with images from that U.S. road trip provokes a dispiriting sense of massive waste.

WHEN PRISONERS OF WAR MAKE ART, NOT WAR

The Texas-based cultural historian and photographer David Ensminger has long researched and collected art objects made by prisoners of war. Here, he shares some observations about the character of such creations and the conditions in which they were produced.

BY THE TIME WE GET TO PHOENIX, WE’LL BE DITCHING OUR JEANS AND CHANGING INTO PAPER CLOTHES

Talk about waste — or cost-cutting efficiency? — when it comes to clothes! brutjournal’s U.S.A. West Coast bureau chief Sarah Fensom examines the subject of the Phoenix Art Museum’s exhibition Generation Paper: Fast Fashion of the 1960s. Groovy!

STEVEN HIRSCH’S PHOTO ADVENTURE: SAVORING SUMMER’S VIBE — THROUGH A TELESCOPE?

A few summers ago, brutjournal contributor Steven Hirsch was hanging out at the beach, goofing around with a boardwalk-mounted telescope, shooting photos through its lens with his iPhone’s camera. The results: sun-soaked psychedelia, as this portfolio shows.

“WAR IS A CRIME”: THE MILITARY VETERAN AND ARTIST HOWARD SAUNDERS’ DRAWING-COLLAGES

Now in his eighties, Howard Saunders served in the U.S. Navy in the period leading up to the U.S.A.’s full involvement in the Vietnam War. As an artist and social-justice activist, he has made art critiquing the toxic thinking that leads to war. Free- access article.

IRINA DANILOVA: A UKRAINIAN-BORN ARTIST “CRIES OUT LOUD” — AND TAKES ACTION

A native of Kharkiv, the artist Irina Danilova has lived and worked in the U.S.A. for 30 years. Deeply moved by Russia’s recent attack on her homeland, she will soon present, on July 20, an online event showcasing anti-war works by various artists. Free access to this article.