Sally Von Bargen

Elegy

USA, 2008

Necklace

Materials:

Brass, paper, digital photos

Techniques:

Fabrication, Etching and Digital Printing

Dimension in cm:

55 x 45 x 8

Artist Statement:

Elegy honors the individual men and

women who left homes in the US, travelled

to Iraq for war and died there. It is about

the pain of loss and lies, etched with the

words, "lies brought this lament - this elegy

of truth - these lost treasures.”

What was your starting point or your

inspiration for doing this project?

I have travelled and lived in the Middle

East. I knew in 2003 that the illogic and

lies used by the Bush administration to

justify war would lead to a long, costly and

unnecessary conflict. Day after day the

death toll rose and the “faces of the fallen”

would be shown on the television news. By

early 2008, the only way I could reconcile

my sadness at the loss of so many lives was

to  put my hands to work. Elegy is the

result.

What were the main reasons for choosing

the materials, shapes or technique in your

work?

Elegy is a monumental neck-piece

consisting of over 4200 digital portraits.

Each portrait shows one American man or

woman who lost life in Iraq during the

Bush presidency. Using public records for

the names and photos of the fallen, if no

portrait was available a silhouette was used

to represent the lost life. Each Elegy portrait

is printed on acid-free paper, which was

chosen for its workability. The prints were

mounted on an intermediate paper layer

and sandwiched back-to-back to form a

simple 1.5cm x 3cm link.  The links were

connected by brass rings and formed into

70 strands which terminate at brass disk.

The disc is etched with the words, “lies

brought this lament - this elegy of truth -

these lost treasures.”

What kind of feeling you wish the viewers

will get from your work?

It is my hope that Elegy engenders feelings

of respect for those who died, sympathy for

their families and friends, and disdain for

politicians who lie to justify war.

If you could give your Jewelry to an

important figure in the Middle East who

will he/she be? and why?

Elegy is a personal memorial and not

meant to be worn by any individual.  It

honors the sadness we all feel form lives

lost unnecessarily due to the violence of

war.

Personal information:

personal website:

www.sallyvonbargen.com

Browsing

artjewelryforum.org & mecaforpeace.org

Inspiring artists

Kiki Smith, Joni Mitchell and Louise

Bourgeois

Top 3 materials

Aluminum, Brass, Digital Imagery

If I wasn’t an artist what profession would I

choose?

Jazz Singer

My dream is

to live long and die smiling.