Still Lives
2013–2015
Born of ill-informed misconceptions about the motives behind reenactments of the American Civil War during the 150th anniversary, my interest developed in the mentality of the weekend actors who caravan a web of routes to re-perform the actions of war on surrogate battlefields. My initial contact with a re-enactor involved driving through woods on a golf cart, while the driver wept and recounted the stories of all his ancestors killed or wounded in conflicts dating to the Civil War. I have since learned that the motivations compelling re-enactors are incalculably complex, but generally address themselves to the preservation of history and appropriate honor for the fallen.
My deeper curiosity and exploration began after hearing a re-enactor say "I don't die anymore." I learned that he invoked this privilege on the strength of his years of service in the community. But the idea of controlling one's death, choosing when and where to perform and re-perform one's demise, says something powerful about our relation to historical representation—about our need for it, and about its conditions and limitations. These portraits provide a sense of the diversity of actors existing in this community, many of whom devote their lives to this performance, and strive to immortalize them in a fabricated state of tranquility as they hover above the ground they fight for.
Ian Dillinger, 16th South Carolina, Died 45 Times
David Paul Davenport, 2nd United States Battery D, Died 177 Times
Rusty Dyles, 21st North Carolina Died, 108 Times
Matt Meeker, 3rd Arkansas Company D, Died 122 Times
Alex Hall, 34th North Carolina Company H, Died 7 Times
Chris W. Johnson, 1st South Carolina Sharpshooters, Died 6 Times
Charles Kreger, 2nd Maryland Company A, Died 22 Times
Berlin Owen, 2nd South Carolina Volunteers, Died 425 Times
Ed “Doc” Keith, 54th Massachusetts / 4th New Hampshire, Died 148 Times
Ed “Doc” Keith, 7th South Carolina, Died 149 Times
Bryce Kuykendall, 3rd United States Artillery, Died 512 Times
James Funk, 13th Virginia Infantry, Company H, Died 116 Times
David W. Funk, 13th Virginia Infantry, Company H, Died 207 Times
Jamey Wentzky, 2nd South Carolina Rifles, Died 76 Times
Travis Earley, 7th Virginia, Died 4 Times
Dan Traver, 34th North Carolina Company H, Died 92 Times
John Wingo, 88th New York, Died 23 Times
Trevor Turner, 24th Georgia, Died 5 Times
Buddy Cook, Chesapeake Signal Detachment, Provisional Army of the Confederate States, Died 11 Times
Daniel Kreger, 2nd Maryland Company A, Died 22 Times
Dustan “Pinky” Horrell, 7th South Carolina, Died 9 Times
Jerad Koepp, 2nd United States Sharpshooters Company D, Died 26 Times
Keith Rogers, 3rd United States Artillery, Died 238 Times
Sean Paul, 10th Confederate Calvary, Died 104 Times
Jason Corder, 2nd South Carolina Rifles, Died 73 Times
Becky “Will” Mezzanotte, Chesapeake Signal Detachment, Provisional Army of the Confederate States, Died 17 Times
Ben Schaffer, 10th Confederate Calvary, Died 36 Times
Mark McNierney, 1st Pennsylvania Reserve Company K, Died 211 Times
Matthew Grason, 7th South Carolina Died, 256 Times
Whitney Miller, 39th North Carolina, Died 6 Times
Rick Sampson, 66th Ohio Company I, Died 31 Times
Kyle Killian, 7th South Carolina, Died 141 Times
Marc Hoffman, 66th Ohio Company I, Died 112 Times
Randon Thomas, 4th New Hampshire, Died 432 Times
Michael Kreger, 2nd Maryland Company A, Died 110 Times
Kyle Wichtendahl, Aide de Camp to the Commanding General for Federal Command, Died 6 Times
Sarah Berry, 10th Confederate Calvary, Died 1 Time
Russell Marchand, 13th Massachusetts, Volunteer Infantry Company F, Died 128 Times
Steven Kennerly, 7th South Carolina, Died 26 Times