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Paul Stankard (American, 1943-2026)
Damselfly and Mask, 2002
Flameworked, encased, ground, polished, and laminated glass
2 5/8 x 3 1/4 inches
Cafesjian Art Trust Museum, 2022.1654.1 

I chose the song “Tank Killer” by Man Is The Bastard. This song is very frantic and noisy and is a very short song (31 seconds). I think it fits the one side of this really cool piece, the face looks like it's showing signs of distress and being trapped. The song is about war and seeing tanks on fire, one section of lyrics says “Men on fire—generals laughing." When I hear this lyric and look at the artwork, I picture the face of a soldier who is trapped in war and is forced to fight for the rich men at the top.

—Ian Carlson

For the other side of the artwork, I chose “Summer Love” by The Blackbyrds. This side of the artwork I believe represents peace and reflection. The single Damselfly flying over the flowers is a scene that I think this song captures really well. The way the twinkle parts in the song, I picture the damsel fly flowing over these beautiful views. The colors of the artwork match the song as well, I picture flowers blooming to this song.

—Ian Carlson

I think the song “Peace and Happiness" goes best with the art piece I chose because the vibes of the song are similar to the vibes of the art. The song is pretty calm and mellow, it's not too upbeat or too sad. The lyrics are about finding peace and happiness, which I think goes well with the flowers and nature that are shown in the art piece. All of the different instruments also fit well with the art.

This song was written and sung by Evan Felker, who is the lead singer and songwriter of the band Turnpike Troubadours, but he also has some of his own songs that he releases apart from the band. Evan Felker and Turnpike Troubadours reference nature and being outdoors in a lot of their songs. They also have done quite a bit of conservation work. I saw Turnpike live in Minneapolis when they teamed up with Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever and did a concert for conservation. The concert raised over $100,000 that was put towards preserving wildlife habitats for upland birds and other conservation. Paul Stankard, the man who created the art piece that I chose, said he was really intrigued by the woods, swamps, flowers, and nature near his home in New Jersey. Both Evan Felker and Paul Stankard show their appreciation of nature through their art, whether it be creating music or making sculptures out of glass.