Making art is often a solitary pursuit.
But George J.E. Sakkal of Ellicott City said he was particularly alone five years ago when he started using his collages to explore what he saw as a war based on "lies and deceit" in Iraq. At that time, he was told that he was unpatriotic.
"It's very difficult to be by yourself ... when you know so strongly that you are right," he said.
Today it is a relief and a source of pride that his exhibit of complex, symbolic collages - titled The Art of War: Decisions from the First Year - has found acceptance from audiences and been reinforced by other critics of U.S. policy in Iraq, Sakkal said.
He said in his artist statement that he is not concerned with images of war, per se.
"I focus my presentation on a visual interpretation of the decisions that took us to war and the decisions that were made in its management and conduct," he said.
The exhibit will be on display in the Columbia Art Center Galleries through Nov. 16.
Sakkal, 66, who teaches at the art center and at Howard Community College, has been exploring his approach to collage for more than three decades.
His works use thousands of bits of paper chosen for their color, texture and structure, and put together to make complex, original compositions that do not reflect the source material.
From across the room, the finished collages resemble sprawling architectural structures against bits of sky. Closer up, the individual pieces of paper become clearer, including some specific shapes and images - people, flags, words - that reinforce the message of the work.
"The work is not something you can see the first time," he said. "You will not get bored with them. Each time you will see something you haven't seen before."
He calls his style "obsessive visuality" and explains that it stands in contrast to the current trend toward minimalism in art.
"I'm trying to get people to understand that collage has an entire area that has yet to be discovered. ... You cannot achieve these kinds of results in paint."
It is a departure from popular art styles as well in its embrace of intuition and not just cognition, he said.
For 95 percent of his pieces, he said, he has no idea what they will be about when he starts. Each one begins by laying down a foundation of colors and shapes directed by his feelings.
