Chickamauga, GA

Herman Melville, in his “Battle Pieces and Aspects of the War”, turned to poetry to help convey the immensity and scope of the American Civil War.  Melville observed that prose or the very lexicon of our language could not adequately convey the cataclysm that was the Civil War; only art was able to fathom it. This sentiment is echoed in period journals and memoirs, when soldiers have difficulty finding the words to describe what they experienced. The battlefield is repeatedly referred to as “dreamlike.”

Today, through preservation, many battlefields of the Civil War remain 19th century landscapes; they look much as they did 150 years ago, with some still retaining the scars of fierce fighting. In this sense, walking the fields today is like stepping back in time.  The history of the American Civil War is woven into our country’s landscape, and made present in our deep familial and cultural connection to the land. The popularity of Civil War reenacting is a testament to the idea that the past is present; many Civil War enthusiasts participate in the military units of their great, great grand fathers, reenacting the same battles their forbearers fought nearly 150 years ago.  The past is very much present for these Americans.

The Civil War 150 Pinhole Project seeks to visualize the American Civil War from the soldiers’ point of view and illustrate the haunting beauty of the war’s many battlefields.

Following the war’s timeline, the project will cover all major encounters from a soldier’s perspective in battle, in camp, and on the march.  The 19th century faithfully reveals itself in this series, which will eventually conclude at Appomattox, Virginia April 2015, the 150th anniversary of the end of the War.  The aim of this project is to illuminate this monumental period in American history through the rudimentary eye of a pinhole camera.

Opening reception April 8, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.

On view in the Carol Shen Gallery April 8 – May 16, 2014

Exhibit hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Please contact Liz Titone for inquiries.

This exhibit is funded by the Carol Shen Memorial Fund.