War Toys by Brian McCarty
What started as a Kickstarter initiative circa 2011, has now resulted in a book and collectible from Brian Mccarty. Titled "War-Toys: Israel, West Bank, Gaza Strip", the book is the result of several years of work and collaborations with children living on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and if you had been following Brian's instagram @brianmccarty, you would have been privy to the journey, as they unfolded. "It’s an honor to share their perspectives." added Brian, to which we now have the honor to witness, in published form, and via Brian's talks.
To say this book is an "achievement", might be an understatement. To say this work is a necessity to better help understand humanity, seems to be pretty apt, methinks. The stills posted here itself, brings to mind a cocktail of "despair" and "hope", and we would be lucky to be able to gulp it all down in a single seating, perhaps? But to be absolutely fair, I am basing my reactions to the images seen online, and my gut impressions of this project, versus flipping thru the pages itself.
Earlier in November, the first volume of work on the War-Toys project was shown in a solo exhibition in Peanut Underground Art Projects, NYC and distributed internationally as a monograph.
This coming Thursday, December 5th at 7pm, Brian will be speaking at the Microsoft Auditorium inside the Seattle Central Library. The event is supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation, author series sponsor Gary Kunis, media sponsor The Seattle Times, and presented in partnership with The Elliott Bay Book Company. Copies of the War-Toys book will be available for purchase and signing.
For those of you that can’t be in attendance, there are still copies of the regular and special editions available to purchase here. All proceeds fund the continued production of the War-Toys project.
"...while in NYC I got to see my work go up at the flagship Toys "R" Us store in Times Square. It was magical to watch the reaction of kids to the giant photo of Finn and Jake looming overhead. Huge thanks again to Cartoon Network for letting me play with some of their iconic properties and characters!
Because of commissioned projects such as this and continued public support from book sales and tax-deductible donations, I nearly have enough funding in place to start the next segment of the War-Toys project. I’ll keep you posted as definitive plans take shape for travel to other areas of combat in 2014. I'm eager to collaborate and share the perspectives of children in as many different war zones as possible. " -shared Brian.
The 80-page, fabric bound book includes over 75 photographs and illustrations; an introduction in English, Arabic, and Hebrew; essays by renowned expressive therapy experts Dr. Judith Rubin and Dr. Julia Byers; and a narrative account of the production of the series.
an alternate cover with silver foil stamping (seen above).
an individually numbered / signed title page.
a toy artifact (34mm tall, cast in pewter) – molded from the actual toy solider featured on the cover and used in Wall Shooting.
a signed / numbered 5x7 print of Wall Shooting.
a certificate of authenticity.
PRODUCT PRESS: "Wall Shooting was one of the first photographs from the series. It recreated children's accounts of a little boy being shot by a soldier, using an army man purchased in the Arab Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. The plastic toy, captured in a moment along the West Bank separation barrier, was chosen for the cover of the book.
Expertly molded from the original prop, the 34mm tall figure was recreated in pewter by Los Angeles-based Pretty in Plastic with the addition of "War-Toys 2013" to the bottom of its base. Subsequent volumes of War-Toys will feature other toy artifacts on their covers, chosen from equally memorable collaborations with children in each region of conflict."
