Army CPL. Patrick D. Tillman 2014

Curator: This is Binh Danh's "Army CPL. Patrick D. Tillman," created in 2014 using mixed media. Editor: Stark. Bleak, almost. The gray tones really amplify a feeling of loss, like gazing at a ghost. It's not a color photograph; I think this visual choice says much about memory, about past presence and current absence. Curator: Danh often employs a unique technique of printing photographic images onto daguerreotypes or chlorophyll prints, processes which connect the image to the organic world. This piece speaks powerfully about the ephemerality of life and memory, especially considering Tillman's controversial death in Afghanistan. He was a football star who gave up his career to enlist. Editor: Knowing that makes the stark presentation all the more poignant. The central composition, dominated by the cross amidst a landscape hinting at other memorials, is powerful in its visual rhetoric. The eye moves around a muted gray landscape dotted with faint tributes, and always returns to the single central marker for Tillman. Curator: Absolutely. Danh engages with the discourse surrounding the glorification and the reality of warfare, challenging us to look at both the individual and the larger narratives imposed on them. His use of older photographic methods grounds it in specific historical understanding of photography. Editor: I think about the political implications, too, especially concerning heroism and what happens when ideals clash with brutal facts. This seems more an attempt at sincere remembrance than a piece of state sanctioned patriotism. Curator: His careful manipulation of the medium emphasizes this tension— a quiet but incisive way to make us reconsider hero worship. Editor: Precisely. Instead, we grapple with fragility. It compels a recognition that goes far beyond just a photograph of a fallen soldier; we perceive a loss of ideals and hopes. Curator: A somber yet evocative piece, that manages to blend technical mastery with socio-political commentary in Binh Danh's signature style. Editor: A striking way to encourage contemplation about conflict, and the cost of war in general.