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Photo Exhibit Captures Essence of Soldiering

Students today must understand that without the soldiers who went to defend this country, this country wouldn't be what it is today.

Exhibit curator and producer Cyma Rubin

By Dave Pond, Web Communication

From gut-wrenching separations of soldier and family to celebrations of battlefield victory, a traveling photographic exhibition now on display at D.H. Hill Library allows for an intimate and historical look into the lives of America's fighting forces.

The American Soldier: A Photographic Tribute contains 116 enlarged photographs  (including several Pulitzer Prize winners) dating back to the Civil War and the dawn of the photographic era.

"When most people see a soldier, they only see a uniform," said Soldier curator and producer Cyma Rubin, the 2003 NC State College of Textiles Distinguished Alumna. "They don't see where the soldier is soldiering.

"One of the reasons I chose to reproduce the photographs on such a large scale is so viewers can really step into what is happening in those soldiers' lives at the exact moment each photo was taken," she said. "I think that's what's making the exhibit so effective and so touching."

Prior to Soldier's July opening at the Hot Springs (Ark.) Convention Center, Rubin whittled down thousands of wartime photos to cast her all-encompassing vision of American soldiers past and present, without focusing solely on current events or shock value. It was the right decision - Soldier attracted more than 132,000 visitors during its run in Hot Springs.

"I tried to tell the story through the complete progression of the photographs," Rubin said. "I also tried very hard to find photographs that were not iconic - photographs that everybody knew - because that would detract from the story as well.

"I purposely didn't get into showing any of the amputees or any of the severely wounded veterans from Iraq, because it just wasn't the story I was trying to tell," she said. "If you look at the photos carefully, you can take the same faces and expressions you see in the Civil War [photos] and exchange them with those of the soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq, and nothing's changed except for the uniforms and the weapons."

Soldier images cover the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, the Spanish Insurrection, the Boxer Rebellion, World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq, allowing even the most novice historian an opportunity to delve deeper into some of our nation's greatest triumphs and tragedies.

"It's a real history lesson - so many people don't know the history of those wars," Rubin said. "That's why I wanted to write the accompanying text panels in as simple terms as possible, because it gives them some material and context as to what happened."

Getting everything together proved to be a time-consuming, yet rewarding task.

"Exhibitions like these give viewers the opportunity to understand just how meaningful the photographer is in recording what happens to us throughout the world," Rubin said. "It was a tough process dealing with time and space limitations, but I am very proud of The American Soldier."

Rubin was the curator of 2003's Capture the Moment: the Pulitzer Prize Photographs, an exhibit that attracted thousands of visitors to the D.H. Hill Library, and NC State leaders are delighted to have Soldier on campus as well.

"I could not think of a more appropriate venue for this exhibit," NC State University Vice Provost and Director of Libraries Susan K. Nutter said. "Not only is North Carolina the home state of six major military installations, but more specifically, this university has always had close ties to the military.

"Until the 1960s, all male students were required to participate in ROTC [the Reserve Officers Training Corps] for at least two years," she said. "Many NC State graduates have earned high ranks in the armed forces - in fact, more than 50 NC State alumni have served as generals or admirals in the U.S. military."

If there's one thing Rubin hopes that Soldier viewers will take away from seeing the exhibition, it's a reverence for the men and women who have served both stateside and abroad.

"It's about the people, not about the politics," she said. "Students today must understand that without the soldiers who went to defend this country, this country wouldn't be what it is today.

"Whether they go as volunteers or draftees, they fought for this country and they fought for our freedom," she said. "We may not all agree about the decision to send American troops to Iraq, Afghanistan or wherever they are sent, but that's a separate issue.

"The fact is that our soldiers are out there, and they must be treated with respect and care."

The American Soldier: A Photographic Tribute will remain on view at D.H. Hill Library until January 11, 2008.

Related Links:

• Hours
• Exhibit Information
• NCSU Libraries

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Front page photo courtesy The Associated Press 

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