Combat Paper Exhibit Grand Opening - Muckenthaler Cultural Center

Description

The Muckenthaler Cultural Center Foundation, will unveil a contemporary new exhibit, Combat Paper, on Thursday, June 21 at 6:30 p.m.

Through the art of printmaking, Combat Paper explores the experiences of military veterans in recent wars. The project began as a series of workshops by veteran Drew Matott and artist Drew Cameron as a way for returning soldiers to share stories through art. In the workshops, veterans turn their battle uniforms into paper for printing.

The exhibition includes prints and objects from the Combat Paper Collection assembled through nationwide workshops, as well as artworks created in a Muckenthaler workshop called “Combat Paper: Uniforms into Handmade Paper” (June 3 to June 6) to be held at the Cultural Center. The special veterans workshop is free to veterans and their families.

“Combat Paper: Uniforms into Handmade Paper” will be instructed by Drew Cameron, a hand papermaker, printer and book artist based in San Francisco, CA. Cameron earned his degree in Forestry from the University of Vermont and served in the US Army from 2000-06.

The Combat Paper Project utilizes 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.

The Combat Paper Project is based out of art studios throughout the United States and has traveled to Canada and the United Kingdom, providing veterans workshops, exhibitions, performances and artists' talks. This project is made possible by a multifaceted collaboration between artists, art collectors, academic institutions and veterans. The Combat Paper exhibition will run from June 21 to August 19.