Veterans as Artists, Going Beyond the Stereotypes
We tend to stereotype veterans, seeing them in a one-dimensional light as courageous individuals who served our nation, which is, of course, an important distinction.
But what about everything else that makes up the characters of the millions of Americans who’ve served—their passions, interests, unique talents, vocations, and avocations?
The largest percentage of U.S. veterans alive today are Baby Boomers, who served in Viet Nam and they number more than seven million nationwide.
I was surprised to learn how many artists there are among the veteran population here in Connecticut alone: visual artists, musicians, novelists, playwrights, choreographers, actors, dancers, until it was pointed out to me by fellow Boomer Rod Frantz, who is working hard to establish The Veteran Artist Program (VAP), based in New York City, here in Connecticut. A lifelong arts activist, Frantz is the volunteer driver behind An All Veteran Artist Celebration on Sunday, Nov. 15 in New Haven, produced by VAP, which is working closely with The Veterans Art Foundation on the visual arts portion of the event.
“I think what the arts does for a lot of veterans is it allows a form of expression that enables them to penetrate the civilian world,” Frantz says.
When you think of veterans of the past—Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Clint Eastwood, Richard Pryor, Robert Rauschenberg, Julia Child—these are people who completely reshaped the arts and cultural dialogue of this country and the one thing they have in common is that they were all military veterans.
“So, the idea of veteran artists isn’t a foreign concept to anyone aware of the history of veterans,” Frantz continues. “Our veterans feel at tremendous remove from our society because civilians have no exposure to what they were doing before they served. We have minimal coverage of the Iraq and Afghanistan [wars] and people have minimal knowledge of the experiences they had...The VAP is the arts component that allows veterans to have an artistic dialogue with the civilian world about how we absorb these highly trained, highly motivated men and women back into our world.”
Frantz points out that all human beings are more than their occupations.
He describes himself as a “retired” rock n roll singer. He was lead singer for the late ‘70s-’80s new wave band Urban Verbs that had two records on the Warner Bros. label. His older brother Chris Frantz and wife Tina Weymouth of the Tom Tom Club and Talking Heads will be the masters of ceremony of An All Veteran Artist Celebration.
Frantz says what he’s doing by getting involved in the VAP, is honoring his father’s service. A major general in the Korean War, his father had a lifelong involvement with the military.
“My father was a huge influence on all of his children,” Frantz notes. “I wanted to do work with these veterans because he always had great empathy for veterans. And Tina’s father was a former admiral in the Navy—so we all have military backgrounds in our youth.”
The Celebration
A multimedia arts event, the program will feature Phil Klay, winner of the National Book Award for Fiction, reading from his novel Redeployment. Klay is a resident of New York City. All other veteran artist in the show are from the Greater New Haven area.
Klay will be followed by Exit 12 Dance Company with Roma Baca, a veteran of the Iraq war, performing two original choreographed works.
“I saw one of his pieces reduce an audience to tears,” Frantz says. “The kind of reaction you don’t necessarily think dance is going to elicit—very powerful.”
Third up is Veteran Home Front Theater’s presentation of Peter Falcione’s Confessions of a War Dog.
“He was a Viet Nam-era dog handler and lovingly recounts the story of love and loyalty between a combat dog handler and his canine partner,” Frantz explains. “It’s a very compelling story.”
In addition, a fine arts exhibit curated by the Veterans Art Foundation including paintings, drawings, photography, and sculpture will be on view in the theater’s main lobby.
Frantz hopes to take the show on the road to colleges and theaters throughout the state by securing grants and receiving donations. Donations are tax-deductible and 100 percent go toward producing the events.
“This means providing fair pay for all of our participating artists, dancers, actors, and writers. It also allows us to rent the theater, hire a technical crew...[etc.],” Frantz says. “All funds raised beyond our goal will go directly to veteran artists via VAP.”
What a wonderful way to support our local veterans, support the arts, and deepen our understanding of men and women who served in our military through the one thing that can connect us all: creative expression.
An All Veteran Artist Celebration will be held onSunday, Nov. 15 at 4:30 p.m. at The Main Stage Theater, 177 College Street, New Haven. Tickets are only available by calling 203-562-5666 and can either be or picked up at the box office at 247 College Street. Tickets are also available day of show at The Main Stage Theater. Due to a generous donor, all tickets for A Celebration of Veteran Artists are now available free to the public. Please call the Box Office to have your tickets held in your name at the Main Stage Theater of CAPA. More information about VAP online at www.veteranartistprogram.org Donations to the Connecticut initiative can be made at www.indiegogo.com/projects/a-performance-celebrating-veteran-artists#.
Amy J. Barry is a Baby Boomer, who lives in Stony Creek with her husband and assorted pets. She writes features and reviews for Shore Publishing newspapers and is an expressive arts educator. Email her at aimwrite@snet.net or at www.aimwrite-ct.net.
Editor's Note: The day of the performance is Sunday, Nov. 15. The day was incorrect in the original version of the story.