Two exhibits at the Michener Museum show scenes of war: What they say of the combat experience is in the eye of the beholder.
By: Anthony Stoeckert
In the sketch, Lance Cpl. Justin Mayfield looks like any other guy in his 20s. Wearing a fleece cap and a serious expression, he could be hanging out anywhere, at a train station, in a mall, or in the park. Read the description of Mr. Mayfield’s heroics in Iraq, however, and the drawing takes on a new meaning.
As described in the exhibit Fire & Ice: Marine Corps Combat Art from Afghanistan and Iraq at the Michener Museum in Doylestown, Pa., Mr. Mayfield, a squad automatic weapon (SAW) gunner with Fox Company, was awarded a bronze star with a "V" (for valor) for "coming to the aid of fellow Marines who had been caught in an ambush." It happened on Nov. 16, 2005, in the city of Hit, during Operation Steel Curtain, where the Marines prevented insurgents from crossing the Iraqi border.
The sketch was drawn by Marine Chief Warrant Officer Michael Fay, a reservist who is one of two official combat artists serving in the Marine Corps. In the description of Mr. Mayfield’s achievements, Mr. Fay wrote the phrase, "Ordinary men performing extraordinary deeds."
Capturing Marines during less hectic times of their service is one of the artist’s goals. One phrase that accompanies a drawing, "Hurry up and wait," sums up combat service for Mr. Fay.
"Having spent a month with them and seeing them later, (while) sitting down sketching… It’s interesting to see the changes in them," Mr. Fay says of Marines like Mr. Mayfield. "I’m always grateful that I get drawing and, 85 percent of the time, that special thing starts to happen."
Another special thing for the artist is hearing from friends and family members of Marines he’s drawn who find Mr. Fay’s sketches on his blog.
"Here’s somebody I might have known, or been acquainted with, for maybe a month or two," says Mr. Fay during a telephone interview from his home in Fredericksburg, Va. "To be able to get (that) essence, according to somebody who knows him pretty well, is something."
Mr. Fay’s path to becoming a Marine combat artist was a long one. "So simple it’s complicated, so complicated it’s simple," he says. He grew up in Allentown, Pa., always interested in art. In the late ’60s and early ’70s, he’d copy Grateful Dead posters and works by artists like Peter Max. He studied art at Penn State, the Philadelphia College of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
"The better the school I got into, the less I went to class," he says, making sure to note he’s not bragging.
At the same time, he was influenced by his Marine father. He notes a line from Billy Joel’s "Allentown" ("Our fathers fought the second world war/spent their weekends on the Jersey shore") and notes, "That was true for me."
So he joined the corps, serving from 1975 to 1978 as an infantryman, eventually earning a rank of sergeant. After finishing his service, he went back to Penn State and earned a degree in art education because he "thought it would be practical." But he never taught art, although he did teach special education in Virginia.
He re-enlisted in the Marines in December of 1983 and served until September 1993, seeing action in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, sketching when he could. He left the military and worked as a furniture maker. In the late 1990s, he met Lt. Col. Donna Neary, the Marine Corps combat artist who had opened a gallery in Fredericksburg. Mr. Fay recognized Ms. Neary’s art and they talked. He told her he was a former Marine and an artist. She wanted to see his art, so he went home and grabbed a few pieces he had hanging on his walls.
"I’ve got fairly long hair, a beard and an earring," Mr. Fay says of his look back then. "I told my daughter I was being the best darned civilian I could be. So Col. Neary said, ‘Would you ever consider coming back to the Marine Reserves to do this (be a combat artist).’ I said, ‘Are you kidding?’"
By 2000, he was back in the Marines as a reservist, serving as an official combat artist.
"All of this stuff, my dad being in the Marines in World War II and hearing all these stories (came together). Doing a little bit of artwork while I was in the Marines, and having a portfolio to show them," Mr. Fay says. "I could show them landscapes and civilian-type art, but they were also interested in, What would you be looking at? What would draw your eye?"
What draws his eye is the ordinary day-to-day life of a Marine. There are no restrictions placed on what he can draw, and it’s the human side he’s most drawn to. As Mr. Fay describes it, it’s people, sitting around, sharing letters from home, making their own entertainment, that interests him most.
He also draws Marines at work. Scenes in the exhibit show one lifting blocks of ice in 130 degree heat, while a sketch next to it illustrates a sweat-soaked combat engineer lifting a live Iraqi tank over his head. "All Eyes Down" shows a patrol finding its way across a minefield as it searches for enemy fighters. A series of drawings illustrates Marines inspecting Iraqis before voting.
The art begins with photographs he takes while out with Marines. "When you’re out on patrol, you can’t sit down and say, ‘OK everybody, freeze for a while,’" he says. He marches with other marines and occasionally stops to shoot a scene.
"I go through the photographs, my journal and my sketchbook," he says. "It’s sort of like the (Magic) 8 Ball. You shake it up and see what pops in the window. That’s hopefully what makes it art (how I interpret it at that time)."
His work appears to capture different personalities. "Commander Duane Caneva" is wearing sunglasses, looking larger than life. Right next to him are two Marines who look like regular guys hanging out.
Mr. Fay, though, says it’s difficult to explain how this happens, or even if it happens at all.
"For me, doing art is a mystery," he says. "For me, it’s something of a struggle. I never know how it’s going to turn out."
Having his work exhibited in museums is an unexpected development. Traditionally, combat art has been placed around bases and marine offices, and printed in historical publications and textbooks. The growth of the Marine Corps Museum in Triangle, Va., and interest in the United States’ current wars has resulted in attention to his art. Prior to the exhibit at the Michener, Mr. Fay’s art has been shown at the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, Maine, and in the Navy Museum in Washington, D.C.
The exhibits have resulted in some interesting interactions. After Mr. Fay gave a talk at the Michener Museum, one woman told him she admired his art but "I really have a problem with you being a soldier." He seems unfazed by the statement, and says it was a good thing in that she found the work aesthetically pleasing, but was stirred by her beliefs. Perhaps her perception of servicemen changed from the experience.
Mr. Fay was also met with protesters outside his exhibit in Maine. One protester, not realizing he was the artist, handed him a pink flyer that stated his work "inherently promotes war."
"I said, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re protesting me,’" Mr. Fay says of the encounter. He invited them to the show’s opening and they discussed his art and methods while also mentioning their concerns that the art didn’t show the cost of war.
"Myself as a Marine, I don’t want to reflect badly on my service," he says of being both a Marine and an artist who let his hair grow and wore an earring. "I’m very loyal and pretty gung-ho about the Marine Corps as an organization… To have people, especially people not in the military and who don’t know anybody in the military, experience my work and come away from it and at least say, ‘Yes, this is good art,’ that’s very gratifying."
Fire and Ice and Soldier are on view at the James A. Michener Art Museum, 138 S. Pine St., Doylestown, Pa., through Oct. 21. Hours: Tues.-Fri. 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. noon-5 p.m. Admission costs $6.50, $6 seniors (50 and older), $4 ages 6-18, free under 6; (215) 340-9800; www.michenerartmuseum.org

