IC Interview: Teri Darnell
A few weeks ago we checked in with one of this year’s grant winners. A military veteran herself, for the past two years Teri Darnell has been photographing the traditional gathering places of veterans—Veterans of Foreign Wars posts across American— in her series Veterans in Crisis. The end result will be a photo book that documents the centrality of these institutions for veterans in providing companionship, healing, and solidarity in the face of an often difficult and hostile landscape for military veterans.
Where were you born?
Cleveland, Ohio
What are your favorite materials to work with?
My Sony RX1rii full frame mirrorless camera
Who are your influences?
German Photographer August Sander, and American Photographer Nan Goldin who documented important issues silenced in America.
What do you feel you are trying to communicate with your work?
My photography projects focus on segments of society that often go unnoticed and are disappearing. My projects have a human component of struggling cultures. My goal is bringingawareness about these communities to others.
What was the seminal experience that got you to the work you are making now?
In 2017, I drove past VFW Post 6287 in Apollo Beach, Florida while visiting my mom in Sun City Center. I have driven past VFWs posts before but I thought they were clubs for older veterans
Bingo was about to start when I entered. The place was filled with smoke. I saw a guy in a wheelchair with ‘First Marine Division’ on his ball cap. I asked him about the cap and he corrected me. It was his ‘cover,’ not a ball cap.
They all knew each other, like a family, giving each other support and jabs at the same time. I watched as the night unfolded and saw a place that people felt safe and at home. It was their home, away from somewhere else. I wanted to know if the same camaraderie was shared in other VFWs, and it was – each and every one.
Membership has drastically fallen over the last few decades from a high of over two-million to just over half that number. VFW posts have suffered from a war of attrition, many demolished for gentrification and others abandoned or falling into disrepair from neglect and lack of funding. Every day in this America we lose an average of 20 veterans to suicide. Many veterans, particularly in rural areas, are losing access to the needed services VFWs provide. Suicide rate is greatest within three years of leaving service. I believe that is where VFWs can help veterans the most, but there is a big disconnect for bringing new veterans and the VFW together. I believe that as VFW posts disappear, suicide rates will continue to increase.
Photographing these posts brings a sadness to me for what I feel is a metaphor for our treatment of those who served. Many veterans needing mental health care are not getting the support that they deserve from their communities or our government. I hope my project will help bring awareness to VFWs and get new veterans to join and current members to ask others to join too.
How can Idea Capital be of best service to you in particular and/or to artists in general during this disruptive period?
I wish I had the perfect answer. Please just keep doing what you are doing, stay in touch, and let us know if you find any opportunities where we can share our images and stories.