Art of Bravery: Immortalizing Veterans

It’s not unusual for Nachman L’hrar to sketch strangers. This spring, while riding the bus to campus, the 27-year-old Ringling College freshman was intrigued by a homeless man riding near him. He found himself imagining what his story might be. The illustration major couldn’t help himself. He slipped out his pencil and sketchpad from his backpack and began to draw, creating a narrative along the way.

“You come up with a story in your head, if you’re not able to speak to your model,” he says. “He looked like he had been through a lot, and I thought he was a veteran.”

As the man got off the bus, a veteran from World War II, a Vietnam War veteran and a group of students from the Sarasota Military Academy all got on board. They didn’t know one another, but they struck up a conversation about the military, and L’hrar joined in.

Like them, L’hrar was also a veteran. Raised by immigrant parents in Los Angeles with 11 siblings, L’hrar says he grew up in poverty. When he was 10, his Jewish family decided to immigrate to Jerusalem, where they would receive government financial support. Even though he only lived in Israel for four years before returning to Los Angeles to finish high school, L’hrar felt indebted to his adoptive country, so in 2008, he enlisted in a three-year tour of duty in the Israel Defense Forces.

“These are amazing artists who can accurately render a person to a T, but they chose not to. It’s that combination of human interaction and their stories that finds the veteran’s real face.” - Nachman L'hrar

 

Sitting in those two rows on a Sarasota bus was four generations of veterans and veterans-to-be, all sharing their stories. When L’hrar got off the bus, he was inspired to immortalize those types of stories on canvas.

“Veterans: The Art of Bravery” is L’hrar’s ongoing mission to preserve the stories of the men and women who have served their country. Running through Dec. 14 in the Christ-Janer Gallery, L’hrar’s initial idea has evolved into a multi-artist show featuring 40 custom-made portraits of local veterans throughout history.

“I want veterans to know that somebody cares,” says L’hrar. “It’s important for this to grow, because veterans are treated like nothing, and they need to know that their stories matter.”

L’hrar collaborated with illustration faculty members Matteo Caloiaro and George Pratt to secure a gallery space and reach out to local veterans.

From February to May, eight groups of five artists and five veterans met in illustration studios inside Ringling College’s academic center. Artists sat down with their subjects and drew as the veterans shared their stories. Each artist interpreted their subject based on their wartime tales.

“Some of the portraits look nothing like the person,” says L’hrar. “These are amazing artists who can accurately render a person to a T, but they chose not to. It’s that combination of human interaction and their stories that finds the veteran’s real face.”

During the gallery’s opening night on Veterans Day, the veterans returned to see the final product, many of them seeing a portrait of themselves for the first time. After the show closes, they’ll each receive their piece as a gift.

L’hrar says he’s been inspired by his conversations, and he’s planning a second installment, which will open in January, featuring even more students and subjects.

“These guys aren’t going to be around for too long,” he says. “I don’t want them to disappear before they’ve had a chance to share their stories.”