Karen Snouffer, Aux Martyrs, 2006.
12" x 12", digital photo and oil on board.

Recognizing the emotional impact that memory and history have on our psychological identities, my work offers me an artistic means to elevate places, people and objects to a revered position of visual value.  My photo collage paintings have evolved out of my travels to locations in France and Germany where my father was stationed during World War II.  The most recent paintings in this series are based on my photographic investigations of the history and present life of Epernay, France.  As I grew from childhood through adulthood, my father shared his memories of this city and its surrounding region with obvious sentiment.  He and his fellow soldiers were honored by the French when the marched as an MP in General Patton's army across France and into Germany at the time of Europe's liberation from Nazi Germany.

In October 2002, I visited all of the locations where my father had been during the war, and I found that the people of the Epernay region (known as Sparnaciens) were especially interested in my need, both as a daughter and an artist, to discover more about my father's wartime experiences.  I wanted to explore this city because my father talked often of his memories of this region, of the joy he felt when the Allies marched into Epernay and were welcomed by its citizens.  On my first trip, I met with Francis Leroy, Director of Archives and Documents. He took me to the vacant school on Rue Verron where my father had been billeted.  (Each day during the time that my father and his fellow MPs guarded the town, a young French girl brought them a bottle of champagne as a token of gratitude.  One bottle was named for King George VI, the King of England.)  I realized at that moment that I also wanted to meet any Sparnacien citizens who had experienced the occupation and liberation.

On a return trip to Epernay the following year, the tourism office and Madame Dominique Jacquet, a colleague of M. Leroy, arranged for me to meet Monsieur Maurice Lesanne who had been chief of the French Police and a member of the Resistance during the war.  I walked with him through the city to see various historic sites related to the war: the site of the bridge that had been destroyed by the Germans; the location of the former French police headquarters; the site of the former German headquarters; the present-day Monument Aux Martyrs; and the Stele Patton.  It was a rare privilege to spend a morning with M. Lesanne.  He was kind and very proud of the documents of gratitude that the U. S. Army had given to him.

In May of 2006, I returned to spend three weeks in the region, to collect photographic images that I planned to use in my paintings.  I met with Madame Yvette Lundy, a former member of the French Underground and with Madame Paulette Riciutti, of Avenay, whose American husband had been an assistant to General Patton.  Both of these impressively strong women gave me a new perspective on the war, on what they and others endured and lost.  On that same visit, I also participated in the parade for the Ceremonies de 8 mai, having the honor to place flowers on the Stele Patton with Mayor Franck Leroy.  Subsequently on that trip, I visited the Musée de la Liberation in Paris to photograph war-related objects such as personal effects of members of the Resistance and images from the Holocaust.

I now have a unique connection to Epernay, France and its people.  These life-altering experiences help me to know my father's past with added passion and intensity.  I have discovered not only his memories but also those of the Sparnaciens.  I am proud to exhibit the artwork that has evolved out of my impressions of Epernay's history, in which my father was a significant participant.  This past is one that is full of mystery, pain and joy, and I aim to offer these artistic impressions as glimpses into this era of tragedy, loss and victory.  Through the unique merging and meeting of paint and photography, I strive to express these enigmatic qualities.

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