May 2 - June 20, 2009

DON SCHOL: VIETNAM REMEMBRANCES

(in the John Albok Gallery)

Artist ReceptionSaturday, May 2, 2009

5 pm – 8 pm

DALLAS, TX  PDNB GALLERY – For the first time PDNB will feature a works on paper exhibit that is not photography, but photo-based. Texas artist, Don Schol, will present his recent woodblock suite, Vietnam Remembrances.

After receiving his MFA at the University of Texas in 1966, Don Schol was drafted into the Army and became an Officer in the Infantry. He was deployed to Vietnam, but luckily upon arriving, was assigned to lead a combat artist team whose mission was to record the war for historical purposes. Eventually he and his team completed their works after their tour of duty. The complete archive now remains in the Military History War Art Collection in Washington D.C.

Schol’s philosophy, religion and art studies no doubt made him an excellent candidate for such a project. War is brutal, and he witnessed and expressed man’s inhumanity to man. This period of his life became a major influence on his future works of art. Through mainly sculpture, he has dealt with the Existential theme. Morality, fate, human choice, religion all come into play.

Schol has great admiration for the German Expressionists. From this the artist grasps for the emotions through strong line and forceful imagery. The Vietnam Remembrance series invokes a sudden visceral response from the viewer.

These woodblock prints are not as severe as some photographs by Vietnam journalists Larry Burrows, Eddie Adams or Don McCullum. Schol explains his metaphors are designed to “soften the sobering effects of the utter starkness of reality.”

Don Schol was born in Iowa and was one of several generations of soldiers in his family. His father was a prisoner of war in Germany. After WWII, his mother and father moved their family to Dallas for a fresh start. At present Schol is a member of the Art Faculty at the University of North Texas, teaching photography, drawing, and sculpture the past 40 years.