Kickstarter

Our goal is to publish a book of military art in order to show the folks at home a different side of war, one that has not been well-publicized in the past.

Each image represents a moment in time, when an emotion was captured in ink, paint, or pencil. Our hope is that through sharing these images, we can build understanding of what our military men and women experience during their deployments, and foster a part of the healing process that comes from talking about those experiences.

This unconventional war is characterized by its unconventional art. It ranges from artistically painted unit emblems on concrete barriers to hasty scribbles in the latrine. It may be a memorial to fallen comrades, or a humorous sign created by a nameless comedian. We've seen captured enemy vehicles covered with greetings to family back home, and propaganda spray-painted by local insurgents. Soldiers have been writing on walls since there were soldiers (and walls!) but we feel that the character of the graffiti reflects the nature of this war.

Eventually, these images will be published in a book titled “The Graffiti of War”. Proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to organizations helping veterans struggling with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This website and this project will help by opening a dialog between the veterans and their friends and families.

We need funding to be able to publicize our project to the military servicemembers who have pictures of this graffiti, or who are currently deployed and in a position to record it. When we started this project, we remembered some crazy, profound or funny things we saw and said, "I wish we would have taken a picture!" We will accomplish this through ads in print and online media, as well as brochures, and logo items that we will send to deployed troops in care packages. Doc is planning a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan as a photojournalist this summer; we also need to cover some of his expenses.

Thank you for you contribution, and thanks for caring enough about the troops to do something about it.