Artists take off the gloves for exhibit

HAND-SOME ART- Carol Henry, owner of Carol Henry Studio in Agoura Hills, inspects the Hand to Hand: Witnessing the War traveling exhibit in its first California showcase. When the United States went to war in Iraq in March 2003, Georgia artist Cecelia Kane began documenting the conflict by painting news headlines on stuffed white gloves.

By 2006, Kane was ready to quit the paint-a-glove ritual, but artists around the world rallied to maintain the effort until the war ended. Five years into the war, the "Hand to Hand: Witnessing the War" exhibit features nearly 1,600 gloves decorated with paint, sculpture, animation, beadwork, printing and other media by more than100 artists. The exhibit is being showcased at the Carol Henry Studio in the Whizin's Center in Agoura Hills through Aug. 1.

"She became fatigued," Henry said of Kane. "Artists came forward and said, 'Don't stop.'"

For the past two years, artists worldwide have lined up for the chance to document six days of the war each week. Actual headlines are used in decorating the gloves. Henry said Kane has vowed to stick with the project until the war ends.

A TIME TO REFLECT- Azma Karachi, an Iraqi woman now living in Pakistan, takes an introspective look at the Hand to Hand: Witnessing the War traveling art exhibit now showing in Agoura Hills. "It's interpretive," Henry said of the diverse artwork that has been produced. One artist used mini body bags instead of gloves, while another had the gloves spelling "help me" in sign language.

A media report said Kane launched the project because most Americans weren't personally affected by the war.

Henry's studio is the first in California to showcase the traveling exhibit. The month of July, she said, seemed to be an appropriate time to "bring attention to the whole trauma and cost of the war" to local residents. The consequences of the war are "endless," she said.

Kane's 2003 gloves feature headlines and the names of young men and women who had died. Simple illustrations of soldiers' faces covered with an "x" representing their deaths are painted on the early gloves.

By 2004, Kane's glove art expanded along with the daily headlines. The headline "Justice Department memo says torture may be justified" features a rendering of a bloody piece of a memo labeled "Top Secret" that says "Torture OK." Another glove by the same artist features a grim reaper with a pile of dead bodies illustrating the headline "Congress thunders over abuse in Iraq."

Henry says her favorite gloves are the ones made from maps so people can see exactly where in the world events are unfolding. One headlines states, "Bomber kills 30 in Baghdad." The map clearly shows the location of Baghdad.

Henry said a woman from Pakistan, Azma Karachi, attended the exhibit. Karachi used to live in Baghdad, and she reminisced with Henry about how beautiful the city had been before the bombing of historical and religious sites.

A glove dated Feb. 6, 2008, features a headline completely obscured except for the word "waterboarding." The artist decorated the glove with this commentary: "So again he has to send out his posse to defend the indefensible."

The Feb. 29, 2008, glove announces the death tally- "4,000 U.S. deaths at milestone after bomb strikes" An earlier headline found on a glove says, "Bush on TV- Iraq is worth it."

Henry will create six gloves for the exhibit early next year. She creates artwork on photographic paper without the use of a camera.

The "Hand to Hand: Witnessing the War" exhibit is open from 2 to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday until Aug. 1. Carol Henry Studio, a Contemporary Art Salon, is at 28914 Roadside Drive, Ste. B1, in Agoura Hills. For more information, call (818) 991-0009 or visit carolhenrygallery.com.