{"id":30718,"date":"2019-06-12T13:38:50","date_gmt":"2019-06-12T17:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=30718"},"modified":"2024-07-02T17:11:36","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T17:11:36","slug":"a-veterans-view","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=30718","title":{"rendered":"A Veteran&#8217;s View"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>During his deployments to Afghanistan in 2012 and 2014, Reuben Mabry relied on his artwork for respite. Now a master\u2019s student in UNC\u2019s studio art program, he uses his eight-year career in the U.S. Army as the foundation for his work, creating paintings about the indoctrination of military members.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"ast-oembed-container \" style=\"height: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"A Veteran&#039;s View\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tYPW5QBpF0g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>A few family photos, a sketchbook, pens, and a watercolor set \u2013 these are what UNC graduate student and U.S. Army veteran Reuben Mabry brought overseas while serving in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSketching is something I\u2019ve done ever since I was a little kid, so it was also something I wanted to incorporate in my life there in Afghanistan,\u201d he says. \u201cI used that as a method to connect with art and, at the same time, separate myself from the space.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During Mabry\u2019s 2014 deployment, he maintained a long list of daily responsibilities. As an Apache helicopter pilot, company commander in charge of 97 soldiers, unit mayor, and deconstruction and airport security officer, taking time to de-stress was a necessary part of maintaining balance.<\/p>\n<p>On top of administration duties, Mabry also flew aerial-support missions at a time when the U.S. military was shifting responsibilities to Afghan troops. Sensing the withdrawal of U.S. forces in the region, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and ISIS saw this as a perfect opportunity. When U.S. or Afghan troops were under siege, Mabry was assigned to strike the enemy from above.<\/p>\n<p>But six months of 14-hour missions four times a week eventually took its toll.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeing involved with violent acts of taking people\u2019s lives, afterwards it sort of affected me,\u201d he says. \u201cI started thinking about, <em>Why is it that I\u2019m having these emotions or<\/em> not<em> having certain emotions?<\/em> At times you become almost nonhuman and you see the victims as nonhuman as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With his service obligation coming to a close, Mabry decided it was time for a change. Already living in Raleigh and looking to continue his education with a master\u2019s degree in studio art, Carolina was a perfect fit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rooted in research<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With his face inches away from an 8-foot long painting, Reuben Mabry delicately pencils in topography lines. Taking a break, he steps back to look at his work thus far, scanning the chaotic and violent scene in front of him.<\/p>\n<p>A pile of art books and military instruction manuals sit on his work desk a few feet away. Combing through his former training materials, Mabry incorporates symbols from that text into his work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy research now is to really analyze the effect these materials, symbols, and text have on certain individuals \u2014 obviously from my subjective view,\u201d he says. \u201c<\/p>\n<p>Instruction manuals are just the starting point of Mabry\u2019s study. \u201cResearch is integral within the art-making process,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen it comes down to creating work that has some conceptual depth, you have to do <em>a lot<\/em> of research.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mabry integrates multiple technical and conceptual theories in his final thesis project, including inspiration from other abstract artists, traditional Asian calligraphy, and philosophical ideologies about the use of symbols in culture and how indoctrinating materials can be used as a form of control.<\/p>\n<p>While Mabry\u2019s art is rooted in research, it remains deeply personal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI used those materials to do a very direct thing in the past. And now, I\u2019m using the same materials that are very heavy for me, and then I\u2019m creating paintings and drawings,\u201d he says. \u201cPutting yourself out there can make you feel vulnerable, but at the same time, with that vulnerability there\u2019s something great.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He hopes his work gives viewers perspective into what military personnel endure before, during, and after combat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the audience can connect with that and understand that this is a different way to describe a veteran\u2019s perspective,\u201d he says, \u201cthat is something I hope they would try to think about.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"boilerplate\">\n<p><em>Reuben Mabry graduated with a master\u2019s degree in studio art within the College of Arts &amp; Sciences.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/endeavors.unc.edu\/a-veterans-view\/\"><em>By Megan May, Endeavors<\/em> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Master\u2019s student Reuben Mabry in UNC\u2019s studio art program uses his eight-year career in the U.S. Army as the foundation for his work, creating paintings about the indoctrination of military members.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":30720,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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