Ed Kienholz initially conceived The Non War Memorial (1970) as a Concept Tableau, that never fully materialized. Provoked by the senseless casualties of the Vietnam War, Kienholz envisioned a “war memorial”
that would consist of 50,000 surplus uniforms filled with dirt to resemble corpses, placed arbitrarily across a 75-acre
meadow near Clark Fort, Idaho. With the passage of time, the uniforms would break down and dissipate. Eventually,
wildflowers would emerge, and the land would return to its original splendor. Kienholz created a limited edition of this
potent concept, with a book containing 50,000 photographs of dirt-filled uniforms, displayed on a pedestal, around
which five dirt-filled uniforms lay lifeless at its base.

The following is the text of a letter authored by Ed and Nancy Kienholz to describe the work:

As per the description in the front of The Non-War Book, I had originally intended to build a Non-War Memorial on the Clark Fork River in northern Idaho. However, things change. The river property went to an ex-wife and more importantly won The Vietnam Memorial competition in Washington, D.C. and caused to be built one of the most significant monuments possible.

In the early seventies, as an illustration of the stupidity of war, rape and carnage, I had 25 of these black Non-War books printed. Over the years, Nancy and I have accomplished limited exposure of them by building a suitable base, constructing a Plexiglas holder and cover and scattering 4 or 5 “corpses” around the piece.

… You can use [The Non-War Book] one of two ways: either make it available as it is through your library system, or, if you want to construct a showing unit such as is described in the enclosed instructions, we will sign it as a Non-War work when we are in the neighborhood.

The “corpses” are simply Vietnam era army issue shirts and pants. They must be sewn together down the front of the shirt and at the fly and waist. Next, tie or wire the wrists and ankles shut to make a “body suit” capable of being filled with sawdust or sand. (If you use sand as a filler, be sure the buy dry bagged sand which won’t rot the uniforms).

The corpses are then to be sprawled at random around the base of the piece as in the photograph.

In Peace,

E. & N. Kienholz

See this work by Kienholz and more in our current exhibition, on view at L.A. Louver through September 1, 2016. More info here.

IMAGE: Edward Kienholz, The Non War Memorial, 1970, Concept Tableau plaque and text; book, dimensions variable, Edition of 25