Artworks

The Janissaries, an elite unit within Rocaterranian army, feuded with the Federal Socialist government over labor issues throughout the summer of 1958. By late October, the dispute was settled and an agreement reached during the Brümaire Convention of Compromise. Both parties celebrated their resolution together with a parade led by the Janissary Guard band in Ostenwelt, a small town settled by Dutch immigrants. Captain Josef Wepka (front row, right) plays the tuba alongside the unit’s Ojallic clergyman.

Personal Significance:

As a history major at the University of Colorado, Kuhler had wanted to attend summer classes in 1958, but his parents demanded that he help out on the ranch instead. This feud was represented in Rocaterrania by the labor dispute between the Janissaries and Federal Socialist government. The parade celebrating the successful resolution of the Brümaire Convention of Compromise represented Kuhler’s return to university studies for the fall quarter.

As he illustrated scenes, Kuhler sometimes imagined voices, sound effects, and musical accompaniment, including military marches and patriotic anthems with original lyrics. Given Kuhler’s German roots, and given that Rocaterranians were European immigrants, the style of music he imagined added verisimilitude and texture to his narrative constructs.

Influences:

Janissaries were members of elite infantry units of Ottoman army, dating from the 14^th century; military bands, especially those of Germany during World War I. Firsthand anecdotes from Kuhler’s German-born father, Otto, who served under Kaiser Wilhelm during WWI. Brumaire was the second month in the French Republican Calendar, starting between October 22 and 24, and ending between November 20 and 22.