Combat Paper Project

Combat Paper Project

March 4 - April 29

Opening Reception - Friday, March 4  5-8 PM

Artist Talk/Performance: March 19th, 6-8 PM

Community School of Music and Arts

The Combat Paper Project uses art-making workshops to assist veterans in reconciling and sharing their personal experiences as well as broadening the traditional narrative surrounding service and the military culture.

Through papermaking workshops veterans use their uniforms worn in combat to create cathartic works of art. The uniforms are cut up, beaten into a pulp and formed into sheets of paper. Veterans use the transformative process of papermaking to reclaim their uniform as art and begin to embrace their experiences in the military.

Combat papermakers use ongoing participation in the papermaking process to progress from creating works specific to their military experiences to expressing a broader vision on militarism and society. The work reflects both the anger of the past and hope for the future. This collaboration between civilians and veterans generates a much-needed conversation regarding our responsibilities to the returned veteran and an understanding of the dehumanizing effects of warfare.

A Combat Paper studio is located in Trumansburg, NY where veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan created the work in this show. Stenciling, screen-printing, typing and various other forms of mark making were used to create the imagery on the paper.  For more information please go to: www.combatpaper.org