About this Traveling Exhibit

This photography exhibit all began after Chris Reese returned from a seven-month tour overseas. Reese was activated as a Staff Sergeant with the US Marine Corps' 4th Civil Affairs Group from late February through the end of 2003. Between March and September he traveled throughout Kuwait and the southwestern part of Iraq.

When he returned to teaching fulltime at The Art Institute of Washington, he discussed the possibility of putting some of his work in an upcoming faculty show. The idea blossomed into a solo show instead. Reese urged to include some work by his fellow Marines in order to show off a more well-rounded war experience.

The focus of the exhibit was to showcase elements of Operation Iraqi Freedom that most Americans could not see on television. Reese is Digital Media instructor and knew by experience that the mainstream media outlets leaned towards highlighting the bullets, bombs and blood instead of the rebuilding efforts. Out of this knowledge came "Operation Iraqi Freedom: The Images You Didn't See on Television". However, this title had unintended repercussions.

The same week that the exhibit opened, the Abu Graib prison scandal broke. The images from this scandal were in every paper and on every television. Our show had some media attention diverted as a result. Soon, however, people began to inquire about the nature of our show. Would our images be scandalous and on display as art? No, we answered, they are actually a positive outlook of the war. It was amazing to see how few media outlets turned their attention back to us.

We had the great fortune of connecting with our sister schools around the country and created a buzz about the show. The exhibit had been booked in other cities like Tampa, San Diego, Los Angeles, and York (PA). The show then had additional interest and it is currently in Pittsburgh with tentative plans to send it to Miami and Baltimore.

When the show returns to Washington DC later this year, it may go on display for a short time. The plan is to then auction the artwork off to raise money for a scholarship for military personnel who would like to get a degree at The Art Institute of Washington. Details have not been made at this time but will be posted as soon as things are confirmed.

For more news and articles about this show, please see the Press and News section of this site.