Oil on Landscape: Art form Wartime Contemporaries of Baghdad
by Christopher J. Brownfield
Presented in English, French, and Arabic.
The first glimpse into the underground artist community of Baghdad since the insurgency began and the only book available in the U.S. about artists who still live in Iraq.
The story of this artwork was featured on the the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, ABC New Now, the May 19th 2008 issue of New York Magazine, and radio interviews with the BBC and NPR, Reuters, and numerous other publications around the world.
Richly adorned with nearly one hundred full-color images, Oil on Landscape opens windows into the world of Iraq's artists, who bravely remain in their homeland in the face of danger. A unique insight into a world where customs and clothing may differ, but the basic tenets of humanity remain unchanged.
Written by a former U.S. Naval Officer who served in Iraq as a liaison between coalition forces, the U.S. State Department, and the Iraqi Government.
More information about this artwork and the [June, 2008] exhibition is available online at the websites of CBS Evening News ("Art In A War Zone" by Richard Schlesinger), NPR (with Margot Adler), BBC (with Dumeetha Luthra) and New York Magazine ("Baghdad Art Rescue" by Jake Halpern).
After studying English Literature and graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in May of 2001, Christopher learned to supervise nuclear power plants, served aboard a nuclear submarine, and studied engineering management at Old Dominion University. In 2006, he volunteered for duty in Iraq through the Individual Augmentee program. In Baghdad, Christopher worked as an energy-sector liaison between the coalition's military forces, the U.S. Department of State, and the Iraqi Government to improve the Iraqi energy situation during the low-point of the insurgency and the beginning of the surge under General David Petraeus.
Upon returning home, Christopher curated an exhibition of Iraqi art in New York City to help support the artists who still live in Baghdad. From 2008-10, he earned a master's degree in international relations from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Currently, Christopher is researching and writing about a new framework for global collaboration on nuclear security and nuclear energy. His first book was published by Alfred A. Knopf in the Fall of 2010 and reprinted in Paperback in 2011 under the title, Subversion!
