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I thought it would help shed some light to let you know how I was able to sketch different views during the 911 arraignment. Above are rough sketches from my sketchbook showing two large monitors with split screen displays. Thanks to some
pre-travel negotiations and the help of several people I was given access to sketch from
these monitors. Mo, the senior video technician at Gtmo, set it up so I saw exactly what I needed to see: detainees, judge, prosecution, defense, all from the perspective I'd been dreaming about, but could not access physically. This allowed me to capture many
crucial events from the front rather than the back. My appreciation goes out to Todd Breasselle and Michelle Shephard for helping to initiate and orchestrate the 'room with a view'.
And here is a photo I took of the WTC as it looked on Saturday May 12th,'12. It is now the tallest building in NYC again, nearly completed. The solar flare shows two blue lights coming out of it, much like the projections we see each year that symbolize the original towers. A fitting coincidence.
As things wind down in Gtmo, we are having a final press conference. I did a few sketches to capture the group in a panoramic, above, and KSM's lawyer Nevin, below.
A long day in gtmo court today, starting off with all four accused refusing to speak and later, going into prayer session in court. It was an image I could not pass up sketching.
I had a unique perspective in the morning, drawing from monitors that gave me the perspective seen from in front of the court rather than in back, where I'm usually sketching behind a thick glass window in the viewing gallery. I managed to get out 8 in the morning, then moved to the courtroom viewing gallery and captured 3 more, including victim family members flown in to watch the procedure.
I have never sketched this many before- there were so many scenes I wanted to capture, so many worth capturing. KSM had dyed his beard a henna red, which was a little startling at first. That, and a female defense attorney attired in modest head-to-toe covering in deference to the detainee's beliefs.
The 9/11 co-conspirators will be arraigned this Saturday May 5 in Guantanamo, officially marking the beginning of the trial process for KSM et al.
Miami Herald has a story about it here:
Miami Herald story
I'll be traveling down to sketch, and will be updating the blog. The photo you see here was taken by AP's very talented
photographer Brennan Linsley of my hand sketching Omar Khadr.
With the NY Giant's acquisition of Tim Tebow, many wondered how his public displays
of his faith would be received. Most likely New Yorkers won't really make too
big of a deal about it. Tebowing with the Empire State Building seemed like the perfect way to go about illustrating this topic.
Today's NPR splash page opens with an article on General Martins.
Read it:
NPR Gen. Martins onGuantanamo commissions
Last week this illustration assignment came by my desk; how war affects our military, and to what degree. How much pressure are we placing on our troops here in America, with expectations and judgements? Were there pre-existing character faults at play?
With those questions in mind, I came up with the idea of words overlaying and creating a portrait of Sgt. Bales. The other idea I had was a Jenga game; pull out the wrong piece and it all comes tumbling down.
My father was in the military so I personally know what it's like to be a family member in the military. I had the chance to live in and see different cultures. But at the same time, my father was rarely at home, sometimes gone for months at a time during the Vietnam era. It can take a toll.
