The Art of Simple Substitution

A rather belated Happy Earth Day to everyone!

This year, my Earth Day wasn't spent communing with nature, but rather with artist and peace activist Robert Shetterly. The Honors College brought Rob, best known for his series of paintings entitled Americans Who Tell the Truth, to campus for the annual Rezendes Ethics Lecture and he was absolutely amazing. As a person, as an artist and as an inspiration. His talk, titled the Ethics of Collateral Damage, juxtaposed his well-known paintings of national heroes, local crusaders and historical figures with another project called Collaterals exploring the unknown human faces behind the term "collateral damage." While calling attention to the civilian toll in Iraq and elsewhere, his talk also made essential points about Americans expectations from and relationship with our government:

"It should be obvious that when a government has lied to its people about the reason for taking them to war … then you should realize that unalienable rights as a term is a smokescreen, a mass narcotic that induces denial and hypocrisy, and a term which is viciously defended not because it’s a point of truth, but because it masks a lie.”

Certainly food for thought. Rob also brought a sampling of six paintings from his Americans Who Tell the Truth series now numbering 135 and set to grow with the addition of several notable truth-tellers, including Jim Hansen. His ability to capture his subjects likeness and spirit is incredible. I was particularly excited to see the just completed portrait of Chris Hedges, author of War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning- the Honors Read selected by my class. *star struck*

After the lecture, we took Rob out for dinner at Woodman's Bar and Grill, a favorite local spot in Orono. Small, local places like Woodman's are great for celiacs. The kitchen is small and usually the chef is flexible. I used simple substitution once again, asking to substitute rice for the pasta in the Shrimp Napoli- a delicious combination of shrimp, sun-dried tomato and mushrooms in a pesto sauce. Yum!