Nick wears a soldier's uniform but wields only a paintbrush. As an embedded Canadian artist during the Second World War, he is tasked with an impossible mission: to capture the chaos and carnage of battle on canvas. With soldiers, refugees, and showgirls as muses, Nick embarks on a surreal odyssey of self-discovery to understand the purpose and power of his art. What he witnesses-and what he paints-will change him forever and help shape the vision of a young nation. In The Art of War Yvette Nolan offers a poignant meditation on the role of artists in times of war and peace. Finding humour and insight in the challenges of expressing the inexpressible, it is an exaltation of those who steadfastly seek truth amidst great turmoil. • Nolan was inspired to write The Art of War after seeing the work of Canadian war artists in the years leading up to the 2005 opening of the new Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. • The Canadian Forces Artists Program, which evolved from the war art programs of the First and Second World Wars, is still active today and recruiting artists to deploy with the Canadian military. • First produced by Hardly Art Theatre at the Remai Arts Centre BackStage Stage, Saskatoon, on November 9, 2023. Nick wears a soldier's uniform but wields only a paintbrush. As a WWII Canadian war artist, he has been tasked with capturing the chaos of battle on canvas. Surrounded by soldiers, refugees, and showgirls, Nick embarks on a journey of self-discovery that transforms him and a young nation. In The Art of War, Yvette Nolan offers a poignant meditation on the role of artists in times of war and peace, a tribute to those who steadfastly seek truth amidst great turmoil. "A deeply existential meditation on the power - and necessity - of art. … Nolan manages to elevate the most mundane of sceneries into something magnificent."
