COMBAT PAPER VIDEOS

SELECTED AUDIO INTERVIEWS

Following service in the U.S. Army, Drew Cameron went to college in Vermont, on the G.I. Bill. There, he rediscovered the craft of hand papermaking (his father is a papermaker), while learning about the history of anti-war resistance, especially those movements led by veterans and service members. In the third episode of Eighty One Echo, recorded at Shotwell Paper Mill in San Francisco in 2016, Drew talks about making Combat Paper, the problem of American militarism and people who have inspired his work. What happens in a Combat Paper workshop? How does this craft fit into the history of hand papermaking, from the 8th century C.E. what is today Iraq to the hundreds of U.S. service members and veterans making paper from their uniforms today? What is creativity as an act of survival? You’ll hear Drew respond to these questions and more.

 

SELECTED DOCUMENTARIES

Six Vermont Artists, Dir. Deb Ellis, 2009, 45 min. from End of Love on Vimeo.

Video portraits of six Vermont artists created for the Vermont Arts Council “Big Read Project”, a project that encourages communities to read Ray Bradbury’s book Fahrenheit 451 together. The video is designed to engage discussion of issues of art-in-resistance, censorship, and the consideration of art as a social tool. The video is in every library in the state of Vermont. It has aired on public access stations throughout the state.

Interview with Drew Cameron from 2009, starts at 15:19 min

IRAQ PAPER SCISSORS Documentary from Sara Nesson on Vimeo.

In 2007, I met a group of young Iraq War Veterans working out of a paper mill just outside my back yard when I was living in Burlington, Vermont. This film follows their two year journey trying to make sense of what they had done in Iraq, and discovering talents and dreams beyond machine guns and combat. This film is the companion film to my OSCAR Nominated Documentary "Poster Girl" about Robynn Murray. Robynn was originally a subject in "Iraq Paper Scissors" but eventually these became two separate documentaries. This film was never released but is just as close to my heart and some day I hope it gets the attention it deserves. Through the Combat Paper Project, these young vets discovered a unique way to cope – by transforming their combat uniforms into handmade paper, books and art. Expressing themselves as artists and individuals, those who have served our nations wars, are refusing to be forgotten and, more importantly, hoping to be understood. To learn more about the Combat Paper Project check out: https://www.combatpaper.org/

SELECTED MEDIA COVERAGE

Making paper out of military uniforms. On the surface, that's what Combat Paper workshops are all about. Drew Cameron, an Army veteran who served in Iraq, was invited to Indianapolis by Herron School of Art and Design's Art Therapy program. He co-founded Combat Paper.
 

The Combat Paper Project visited UNC Saturday as a part of their Workshop Tour. Open to the public, the workshop aims to allow a creative space for veterans to create works of art using their uniforms worn in service.

Military vets shred their uniforms and make art as part of a therapeutic process. For more News about New Jersey, visit the NJN News site: http://www.njn.net...

SELECTED ARTICLES & INTERVIEWS