Delcambre senior wins $2,000 prize in national ‘Hero’ art/essay contest

DELCAMBRE - Many in Delcambre know John Crittendon, a senior at Declambre High School, can run. But what few may know about Crittendon is that he has talent to draw.
While his running talent recently helped him break a 47-year-old Delcambre school record in the 800-meter run (the new record time, 1:59.70, broke the 1969 record belonging to Louis Falgout), his drawing talent helped him win a $2,000 third place prize in the inaugural Unsung Heroes Art Competition held in the United States.
Crittendon, who is half Japanese, submitted his project called “Mad Jack.”
Through his research and artwork, Crittendon brought a new Unsung Hero to LMC’s attention: Lieutenant Colonel John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming Churchill, a British Army officer whose actions during World War II helped Crittendon confront the complexities of his own Japanese-American heritage. His piece, along with the other winning student art projects, will be displayed in LMC’s Hall of Unsung Heroes in Fort Scott, KS, a state-of-the-art museum and exhibition space opening in May 2016.
In his paper, he explained who Mad Jack was and his contribution to World War II.
“I chose Mad Jack as my unsung hero, though he was part of the war effort against half of my ancestors, he was just the type of person the war needed,” Crittendon wrote. “His courage and unselfish dedication to saving the free world was instrumental in bringing the war to an end. An instant connection was made with Lt. Col. Churchill as his involvement in WWII related to my Japanese-American heritage. Thus, I envisioned a personal approach with a realistic but abstract view to my life with my unsung hero. Using heavy contrast and detailing in my piece, I pictured myself there, a soldier, uplifted by the sounds Churchill produced from his bagpipes, but torn apart by the suffering that my other half faced because of war. Then, the explosion of the atomic bomb wreaked havoc on my world, instantly destroying everything. Consequently, that explosion united a world at peace once again, ending the reign of terror.”
Crittendon said he learned he finished third when he received a phone call from his Delcambre art teacher Jean Judice.
“I was happy,” said Crittendon. “The prize money is going to come in handy for college.”
He plans to attend UL and major in engineering, not art. Art, he said, is something he does to relax.
The drawing, he said, took at least 30 hours from the time he began and then completed it. He thought of the pain his mother’s parents and grand parents went through with the atomic bomb. He tried to show that in his drawing.
In his paper, he wrote: “Therefore, emphasizing the explosion in color provided a vital focal point in my composition along with the fading of the soldier representing the end of the war between the Japanese. Understanding the outcome of WWII, I expressed Churchill playing in triumph but regretfully turning his face away from the bomb and innocent family. Likewise, I conveyed the pain and sorrow I felt through the faces of the mother and child. Ultimately, the two pieces of tape resemble my Japanese mother and American father who bonded my life as a whole, as well as, my work of art.”
“The Unsung Heroes Art Competition provides art students with a deep and meaningful learning opportunity as they apply the lessons of history to their lives today and draw inspiration from universal values like courage and compassion,” says LMC Executive Director Norm Conard. “We are thrilled to be featuring student art projects that celebrate positive role models from history in our new Hall of Unsung Heroes.”