The current Laband Art Gallery show presents a searing view of human rights abuses, but what makes the show unique is that it is a launching pad for a provocative discussion series at Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School on the complex societal issues depicted in the art of Daniel Heyman.
“Bearing Witness: Daniel Heyman” features portraits drawn from life of former Abu Ghraib detainees. Heyman incorporates the subject’s words into his compositions to create a disturbing perspective on the collision of U.S. Forces and Iraqis. From 2005-2008, Heyman and writer Nick Flynn sat in on interviews with dozens of former Abu Ghraib Prison detainees in Turkey and Jordan. As the men opened up about atrocities they suffered, Heyman drew their portraits. His art interweaves bits of their testimony, provoking thought and reexamination of the war and its lasting impact.
Laband Director and Curator Carolyn Peter created the show and discussion series, which began with a panel Jan. 13 at the law school entitled “Torture in the Time of War – Legal Remedies and Ramifications.” It explored the legal issues stemming from the Abu Ghraib lawsuits, which are now in U.S. federal court, as well the experience of the detainees and their lawyers in working with Heyman, who was invited to the interviews of former Abu Ghraib inmates by their American attorney, Susan Burke.
Burke understood that “justice is slow and perhaps the ruling [in their lawsuit for damages against American contractors] will not be favorable,” said former co-counsel Rosemary Healy, who spoke at law school panel. “But Susan viewed the art as a way to get the stories back to the American public more quickly and in a way that is more accessible. They touch you in a way that the lawsuit never will.”
Also on the panel, with Peter and Healy were Law School Professor David Glazier, who teaches Foreign Relations Law, International Law and Law of War, and is a retired U.S. Navy Commander. Both called the collaboration of artists and attorneys powerful.
“The art exists not because the artist had the idea of doing but because the lawyers had the idea of bringing artists into their work and getting involved,” said Glazier.
Healy, who participated in many of the interviews at hotel rooms in Jordan and Turkey, pointed out that Heyman’s presence in the room during interviews with the lawyers had apparently made it easier for the victims to speak — some for the first time about their abuse, to believe that their stories would be heard and to feel that justice might eventually be done.
Calling the invitation to Heyman to take part in the detainee interviews, “thinking outside the box to achieve restorative justice,” Glazier prodded his audience of mostly law school students: “How do you as a lawyer do things that can help your client?
“Money [damages] is one way, but the brilliance to me of the lawyer’s approach here is the idea that this art, in telling these people’s story, makes them feel that some Americans actually might care and are going to hear their stories, … and that the lawyers have brought some sense of closure to these individuals…. This is a very imaginative approach to restorative justice.
This collaboration was a very, very exciting thing.”
The three panelists noted in particular that the paintings can inspire and provoke an audience.
“These paintings recall horrific things done to people in Iraq on our behalf. These are really atrocious acts,” Glazier said, adding that “many of you came to Loyola with the idea of dealing” with such issues, and as students of the law, we should address the possible remedies, including criminal prosecutions and civil suits.
Peter observed that while “the power of art to tell us things about our society and to act as a form of expression have been seen throughout history, this appears to be unique in terms of a collaboration between lawyers and artists.” Click here to view a video of the panel’s discussion.
In addition to the Iraq prisoner pieces, also on exhibit at the Laband are other Heyman portraits of what he terms “survivors” – former inmates of American prisons and immigrants. Those topics will be discussed during other panels in the discussion series.
The show opened Saturday, Jan. 15. There was a reception Jan. 20 at the Laband Gallery with a reading by Nick Flynn, the poet who also participated in the interviews. The show closes March 12, with a reception and conversation with Daniel Heyman at 3 p.m.
There are a series of other panels at both the law school and at the Laband Gallery. Click here for details, information on the show and slides of the art.
