Patriot Plaza: When Art Matters

Editor's Note: Dava Guerin is an author of nine books, many about veterans, wounded warriors, and their caregivers. She supports the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, the Gary Sinise Foundation, and is a volunteer at Sarasota National Cemetery and Patriot Plaza. 

The French Impressionist painter, Edgar Degas, once observed, "Art is not what you see, but what you make others see."  
 
As a volunteer tour guide at Patriot Plaza, I am inspired by the art forms–from sculpture and mosaics to Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs. The artists competed to create art that reflected the themes of Patriot Plaza–honoring service, inspiring patriotism, and embracing freedom. Each inspired visitors to embrace their patriotic vision, and as we know, art is in the eye of the beholder. 
 
Ann Hirsch, with her cast bronze sculpture of a parent eagle and eaglet in a nest— the eagle "mantling" its young—symbolizes how a human parent might be protecting a young adult heading off to war. Ellen Driscoll, in her dramatic fifty-foot mosaic, captures the time and distance between military members and their families serving across the globe.  
 
Degas was right. Patriot Plaza's visitors help us realize that what others see is just as important as what the artist envisioned.  
 
When Patriot Plaza premiered in 2014, imagined and funded by The Patterson Foundation and gifted to the Department of Veterans Affairs, it became the only living museum of its kind in a national cemetery. Sarasota National Cemetery is one of 155 national cemeteries in the U.S. and one of nine in Florida. It is the final resting place for 35,000 of our nation's veterans.  
 
As a guide, I especially love young people who take our tours; they are inspiring.  
 
For example, they were captivated by photographs from the exhibit, "Witness to Mission." Their observations were priceless. One student, standing in front of the photo of Marine Cpl. Justin Gaetner, who lost both of his legs above the knee, placed her hands on his prosthetic legs and asked, "Would he ever walk again?" 
 
Another asked if he could read one of the stories in "Testimonies." He stood in front of the tablet "Sacrifice," and as he was about to read the story, six of his classmates joined him. At the end of the tour, the students asked about the headstones spread uniformly across SNC. They wanted to know who the people were who were buried there. I reminded them to remember they were standing on sacred ground. One student quietly pointed to a veteran's grave from WWI. She and the others were mesmerized. "Who was he? How did he die?" she asked.  
 
The students who came to Patriot Plaza that day asked their teacher if they could stay longer. As with everyone who takes our tour–military or civilian–they leave with a treasure. And that is the amazing experience of Patriot Plaza.  
 
If you haven't been to Patriot Plaza, you can schedule a private tour by emailing Maria Schaedler-Luera, Patriot Plaza Tour Coordinator at the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, patriotplaza@sarasotaarts.org
Phone: 941-365-5118 x305