ArtPrize event honors artist and WWII Red Arrow vets

WWII veterans from the 32nd Red Arrow Division were honored to have their image captured in a mural, "Fading Warriors" by ArtPrize Artist Kimberly Gill. The ArtPrize entry was inspired by Gill’s late father Jack Hill, who fought valiantly alongside his fellow Red Arrow soldiers in the Pacific Theater. Their experiences were highlighted in the documentary film, “Nightmare in New Guinea,” produced by students and faculty of the Department of History and the School of Communications at Grand Valley State University.

Gill’s piece is being exhibited at First United Methodist Church, 227 E. Fulton, which held a reception September 27 for the artist, veterans and guests. The artist worked with watercolor, gouache, charcoal and pastel to create an abstract impression of disappearing, or fading away, in the 8-foot by 4-foot piece. “There is an abstract feeling of disappearing as many of these men have passed,” Gill said. “Their stories need to be preserved.”

Visit http://www.artprize.org/artists/public-profile/18851 for more information about Gill’s ArtPrize entry.

Professor James Smither, director of the GVSU Veterans History Project, in partnership with the Library of Congress, can be contacted at (616) 331-3422, or [email protected]. Learn more at http://www.gvsu.edu/vethistory/.