2023 Combat Art Symposium

Photo By Lance Cpl. Ethan Miller | U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Curtis Loter, U.S. Army Artist in Residence, a native of Bettendorf, Iowa, shows art to the crowd during the Combat Art Symposium at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, Triangle, Virginia, Sept. 7, 2023. Artists from across the country gathered at the Museum for the Combat Art Symposium to discuss combat art and to explore ways to grow the combat art program. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Ethan Miller)  

TRIANGLE, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES

09.11.2023

Story by Lance Cpl. William Tucker 

Marine Corps Base Quantico

LCpl. William Tucker
20230911
The Combat Art program is a program that merges the military and art, this program has
been around for 80 years, being founded in 1941 by Brigadier General Denig. General Denig’s
guidance to those in the program was simply “Go to war. Do art.” to which this still applies today,
with Combat Artists being involved in several conflicts from World War Two all the way to
modern combat operations such as Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
In order to maintain the future and to relay information throughout the program a combat art
symposium is held every year at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Kris Battles, the
individual managing combat art for the Marine Corps, and the individual in charge of
maintaining and creating pieces for the National Museum of the Marine Corps, takes charge of
the Symposium.
“My Mission is to recruit, train, and deploy uniformed and civilian combat artists to create
world-class art that will tell the Marine Corps story for generations to come.” - Kristopher Battles,
Marine Corps Artist in Residence.
Open to all branches and combat artists this allows for a wide array of ideas to unfold.
Among the members of this program is an artist by the name of Marc Poole, whose art is usually
composed of aviation operations and Art pieces focused on aircraft. Having been interested in
creating art since he was young he would often choose to partake in more art oriented classes
in school allowing him to grow his ability as an artist and expressing his passion for history. Now
a well renowned artist he has several collections in the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum,
Navy Art Collection, and the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Marc is also a member of
the Marine Corps Combat Art Program.
“As an artist and historian, I take the challenge of visual storytelling very seriously. I don’t
wish to reinvent or contrive any aspect of what I do, and instead try to find a way to creatively
visualize the stories I tell based on first hand accounts, research, and my own actual
experiences.” Marc Poole.

• Date Taken: 09.11.2023
• Date Posted: 09.26.2023 08:58
• Story ID: 454032
• Location: TRIANGLE, VIRGINIA, US