Above: Drew Matott works on a design during the Combat Paper Project held at the Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center in Holmdel last month. Left: Jim Petillo, Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War, works on the project. Bottom left: Linderman, executive director of the N.J. Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Foundation, works on a design using insignia from a uniform. Below: Drew Cameron (l) and Drew Matott (center) assist Bill Linderman (r) with the Combat Paper Project. PHOTOS BY ERIC SUCAR staff The fibers of old military uniforms are taking on a new form at the Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center in Holmdel.
The center unveiled its new exhibition, the Combat Paper Project, featuring a threeday papermaking workshop Dec. 9-11, during which veterans used military uniforms worn in combat to create works of art.
According to the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation, the Combat Paper Project is a grassroots initiative founded in 2008 by veterans of the Iraq War in which papermaking serves as a healing process.
“I find it to be like an art therapy, as a lot of the vets that are involved in it find it very therapeutic,” said Katie Henry, coordinator of education initiatives and resources. “Our process helps veterans be able to come to terms with their experience in the military.”
The veterans transform their uniforms into handmade paper, which can be enhanced with stenciled text or images, screen-printing and pulp painting, Henry said.
“Basically [the project] is about the process, not just what the vets produce,” she said .
The process, referred to as “breaking the rag,” is a procedure where veterans break down the uniform fabric into pulp and water, which is then placed into a mold to create thin sheets of paper.
“Before it dries, you can do different things,” Henry said. “You can spray stencils with ink, you can embed it, and they can put it under pressure when it dries to thin it out and compress it.”
The papermaking program also assists veterans by allowing them to share their personal experiences as an art form, as well as broadening the traditional narrative surrounding service and the military culture.
“They close off a lot of memories because they are very painful, but by talking it through and being in control of it, you are able to reconcile some of those experiences,” Henry said.
Workshop participants have the option of having their artwork put on display after the three-day project is completed.
“It is open for veterans of all wars, and it is free for veterans and all active military personnel to attend,” Henry said. “They do not need to bring their own uniforms. That can be provided for them. We are just trying to get a very different range of people to come in and have a new audience come to the museum.” The exhibition will be on display at the Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center through the end of February. Regular adult admission is $5; student and senior citizen admission is $3; children under 10 are admitted free. The Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center is located adjacent to the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial off the Garden State Parkway at Exit 116. For more information, call 732-335-0033.
