Monday, June 9, 2008

UNT art student and veteran fuels art with anti-war images

By Beth Freed of Dallas Peace Times

Cindy Hasio’s “The Serving.”

Cindy Hasio, an art student at UNT and a veteran of the first Gulf War, recently exhibited a piece entitled “The Serving.” The sculpture includes a painted grill with military helmet burgers stabbed by forks, as well as black and white pictures of soldiers with burnt edges.

“Once you come into the military, your sense of individuality is lost, and the conditions will eat you up or consume your feelings,” Hasio said.

Hasio, who has been an artist since she was a toddler, entered the military when her parents declined to finance her artistic education. They felt that it was not practical for her to pursue art because it would not provide her with steady work.

Instead, she joined the military to earn money towards her education. However, the experience affected Hasio in ways she never dreamed possible.

“I came out, I had the money to go to art college, but I lost my sense of self and individuality during my time in the service,” she said. “Something happened and I did not paint again until four years later.”

She now uses art as a mode of social critique. She hopes to enable people to make cross-cultural connections and to find meaning where they wouldn’t normally look for it. In “The Serving,” she hopes that Americans will realize how lucky they are to live in a free country.

“I think that most people take life and peace for granted, and don’t know how lucky they are to have the freedom to just walk down a street without worrying about a bomb,” Hasio said. “It’s just beautiful to see the sun each day and appreciate your freedom.”

To current soldiers, Hasio said that she hopes that they can stay positive in spite of the horrors they face everyday.

“I know that most of you feel scared and tired,” she said. “Give yourself some time to distract your mind from anxiety and create something productive in your spare time such as writing, art and music; it will help you cope with your emotions.”

Advice we’d all benefit from, if we want it.

Pegasus News content partner - Dallas Peace Times

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