Destroy the Three Bridges of Ben Hai 1962

Editor: Here we have Mort Künstler’s “Destroy the Three Bridges of Ben Hai” from 1962, a painting rendered in mixed media. The immediate feeling is chaotic, but the figures are posed so precisely, so cleanly. How should we read the tension between the seeming reality of this depicted scene, and what seems like an artifice? Curator: Let's start with the materiality itself. Künstler’s decision to use mixed media allows him to engage with both the texture and immediacy of the scene and more controlled pictorial elements. We must ask: How does this influence its meaning, especially given its narrative context as a portrayal of conflict and a narrative that, let's be honest, idealizes U.S. involvement? Look at how the materials—pigment, perhaps gouache, and possibly photographic reference—combine to create a consumable, arguably propagandistic, image. Does that add a layer to our interpretation? Editor: I hadn’t considered the artistic choices themselves furthering any propagandistic bent, though I see your point. Does the way it might mask labor contribute, like obscuring any sense of cost to make it digestible? Curator: Absolutely. Think about the viewer, perhaps in 1962, consuming this image through magazine reproduction. The physicality of the mixed media becomes flattened, creating a seamless, almost effortless, narrative of heroic intervention. This ease of consumption normalizes, even celebrates, the destruction depicted. We must interrogate what this "narrative art" is actually selling us through its construction. It hides more than it reveals about conflict and history. Editor: I’m starting to look at this piece in a completely new light, recognizing the work that goes into making it so "easy" to understand. Curator: Precisely. The labor and materials aren’t just invisible; they actively work to reinforce a particular viewpoint. Thinking critically about the means of production here helps expose the ideological work the image is doing. Editor: I’ll definitely keep that in mind when looking at similar works going forward! Thanks.