The National Veterans Art Museum
When visitors first enter the museum, they will hear a sound like wind chimes coming from above them and their attention will be drawn upward 24 feet to the ceiling of the two-story high atrium.
Dog tags of the more than 58,000 service men and women who died in the Vietnam War hang from the ceiling of the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum in Chicago on Veterans Day, November 11, 2010. The 10-by-40-foot sculpture, entitled Above & Beyond, was designed by Ned Broderick and Richard Steinbock.
The tens of thousands of metal dog tags are suspended 24 feet in the air, 1 inch apart, from fine lines that allow them to move and chime with shifting air currents. Museum employees using a kiosk and laser pointer help visitors locate the exact dog tag with the imprinted name of their lost friend or relative.
Since 2003, the museum has broadened its mission to include art by veterans of all wars. In 2010, we dropped the word Vietnam from the name to become the National Veterans Art Museum (NVAM). Today, the NVAM is still located in Chicago's South Loop and houses more than 2,500 works of art, including paintings, photography, sculpture, poetry and music. All the works in the Museum's permanent collection were created by more than 255 artists who are veterans of American conflicts.
The artwork presented at the museum provides a unique viewpoint on the controversial subject of war to all visitors. It is a tenuous and reflective balance of beauty and horror, giving unique insight into the psyche of combat veterans and consequential hindsight war leaves on its survivors.
