“In Our Name,” an artist’s interpretation of the innermost thoughts of American war veterans

ARTIST DIALOG with BILL BLAHD to be held June 23 at THE GALLERY AT THE LINEN BUILDING

Blahd will discuss his current exhibit ‘IN OUR NAME: BILL BLAHD PAINTINGS 2010-2011’

An Artist Dialog with Bill Blahd will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 23, at The Gallery at the Linen Building, 1402 W. Grove St. in Downtown Boise’s Linen District. Admission is free. Plenty of free, off-street parking is available at the Linen Building.

Blahd will discuss his current Gallery exhibit “In Our Name: Bill Blahd Paintings 2010-2011.” “In Our Name” is a collection of paintings inspired by Blahd’s experiences as an ER doctor at the VA Medical Center-Boise. The work features the stories his veteran patients have shared with him about their experiences with war, coming home and reintegrating into society. It is a powerful and sensitive body of work that invites conversations about veteran experiences in a new and interesting way from a very personal perspective. “In Our Name” will run through July 3.

BILL BLAHD ARTIST STATEMENT

The images in this body of work, “In Our Name,” represent my interpretation of the innermost thoughts of American war veterans as shared with me at the VA Medical Center-Boise.

I have worked as a doctor in emergency rooms for 30 years with people who in some way have been traumatized. Yet these last three years working at the VA Hospital Emergency Room with our combat veterans has stunned me. Many returning combat vets (particularly from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq) come back filled with a sense of nihilism and self-annihilation; the horrors of combat appear to have indelibly stained the psyches of these individuals. As an artist as well as a physician, my experiences with these soldiers compelled me to develop a series of paintings that represent their stories by illustrating the internal pictures of their lives as communicated to me.

By using the medium of art (color, image, composition), my aim is to communicate something meaningful – a sense of emotion or feeling that builds upon what we are able to verbalize about these issues.

I’ve created and am sharing these works of art not so much for the returning vets but more so for the public, in whose name these soldiers are sent to fight.

ABOUT BILL BLAHD

Born in Los Angeles in 1952, Bill Blahd (billblahd.com) studied art at Tulane University, UCLA and the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. He also studied medicine at UCLA from 1974-1979.

Blahd has exhibited his work in art galleries and museums around the country. He lives in Boise with his wife, Liz, and children Sophie and Tony.

The Gallery at the Linen Building is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays and by appointment. For more information, contact David Hale at 208.385.0111 or info@thelinenbuilding.com. Visit thelinenbuilding.com and interact with the Linen Building on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.

ABOUT THE GALLERY AT THE LINEN BUILDING: The Gallery at the Linen Building is a second-floor, loft-style art gallery located inside the Linen Building Event Center. With natural light, warm sunsets and bird’s-eye views of Downtown Boise and the Linen District, The Gallery offers artists and art lovers a fresh, unique urban space in which to display and view art.

ABOUT THE LINEN BUILDING: Built in 1910 and originally known as the American Laundry Building, the Linen Building Event Center has been transformed into an architecturally unique special events center and art gallery. The two-story facility hosts art and fashion shows, music concerts and events, weddings and receptions, corporate meetings and functions, proms and many other events. The Linen Building offers clients catering, full bar, audio/video, lighting and many other customized services.