When a Catholic artist-activist burns draft cards to protest the Vietnam War, his life becomes a living canvas of resistance, confronting every generation with the ultimate question: how far will you go for peace?
Draft Cards Are for Burning is a retrospective of Tom Lewis, member of both the Baltimore Four and Catonsville Nine. The documentary will chronicle not only his enduring influence amongst anti-war activists but also explores pressing questions about art and the aesthetics of activism today.
We have spent countless, painstaking hours archiving Tom Lewis's life and artwork.
It is our mission to tell his story.
"Why should an artist get so involved in protest that he lands in jail?
In such a case, is protest an integral part of his art, or is it an expression of personal life, which has no relation to his art? I prefer to think the first; I prefer to think that his art tests his view of life, and that in turn, his art is tested by his public life.”
Who
Was
tom Lewis?
TOM LEWIS
was an artist and peace activist, primarily noted for his part in the Baltimore Four and the Catonsville Nine. Lewis was active in the Civil Rights Movement as a member of CORE and had close ties to the Catholic Worker Movement. He was a member of the Prince of Peace Plowshares, and was arrested many times over the years for his antiwar activism.
Lewis was a well-known artist throughout the Worcester area, and many of his pieces still survive in galleries and archives throughout the USA. He was an art teacher at Anna Maria College, and he taught printmaking at the Cambridge School of Weston, and Worcester Art Museum.
Lewis was a memorable figure in the “radical Catholic” movement for his fusion of art and activism. Daniel Berrigan described his art as “A poignant and powerful witness to the survival of the endangered conscience…. He heals the ancient split between ethics and imagination.”
Discover the Art
Tom Lewis’s artwork has been featured in both private and public collections, while his public artworks in Worcester, MA are renowned.
Along with his sketches, Tom was known for his mural work and printmaking, which he taught at the Worcester Art Museum as a teacher.
