Peace Effort
:::::: 04.11.05 - 04.15.05: Pentagon Visit
Keith will be in Washington D.C. for his 3rd visit to The Pentagon where he will be supporting "Peace For Defenders."

As part of a peace effort Keith Biele painted a series of 12 paintings to be used for a calendar. Each painting contains most of the world's religious symbols hidden within the details.

The symbols are there to show how many different beliefs there are and to get people to realize how much effort it takes to communicate clearly. The symbols are hidden in the details as a solution – focus more on the big picture and the basic ideals that all religions share in common to make times more peaceful.

Part of the effort was for Keith to drive the paintings to each of the 9/11 crash sites, set them up on easels and take a photo as a blessing of peace for each location. The Pentagon Building Management was not allowed to let him take a photo outside the Pentagon, however they were able to approve him to set up inside March 15-26, 2004. They also let Keith work on a painting next to his exhibit. He was set up between corridors 1 and 2 on the second floor of the A-ring from 8am-5pm, Mon-Fri for two weeks. According to the building management this had never been done before.

The basic idea of placing peaceful images with an artist working peacefully in an area of defense preparation turned out to get an excellent response. Many people mentioned that it helped to give them a little more balance in emotions. Keith set up in the Pentagon again in August and will return periodically. This also led to visiting military bases like Eglin Air Force Base and Camp Pendleton. The recent visits to El Segundo Middle School and Santa Monica High School to spend time with the art classes has already led to engagements with more schools across the country.

See more paintings and other works in the gallery.