Eyes Wide Open is an exhibit created by the American Friends Service Committee observing the American soldiers and marines that have died in the Iraq War. The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC is a Religious Society of Friends ( Quaker) affiliated organization which provides Humanitarian relief The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, or the War in Iraq, is an ongoing Military campaign It contains a pair of combat boots to represent every American soldier and marine that has died in the war, as well as shoes representing Iraqi civilians who have lost their lives during the invasion and occupation. Background Iraq was known in the west as Mesopotamia until the 20th century The exhibit was first shown in Chicago's Federal Plaza in January 2004. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. At that time, the exhibit contained 504 pairs of boots. [1] As of March 2007, the exhibit contained over 3,400 pairs of boots and had visited more than 100 cities in 40 states. [2] As a result of its unmanageable size, the exhibit has been broken down state-by-state. There are currently 42 state exhibits.
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Background
According to the American Friends Service Committee, the intent of the exhibit is to present a visual reminder of the "human cost" of the Iraq War and provide a place for public mourning. The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC is a Religious Society of Friends ( Quaker) affiliated organization which provides Humanitarian relief The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, or the War in Iraq, is an ongoing Military campaign [3] Based on public information from,[4] the American Friends Service Committee writes the name, age, rank and home state of each soldier and attaches it to a representative pair of boots. As the exhibit travels across the country, family members, friends and sympathizers leave flags, flowers and other mementos with individual pairs of boots. [5] If a family wishes to have their child's name removed from the exhibit, AFSC will replace the serviceman's name with the information "name removed request of family". September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows is co-sponsors the exhibit. [6]
In addition to boots representing the deaths of service men and women, AFSC has collected shoes representing Iraqis who have lost their lives during occupation. Few names of Iraqi dead are known. Raed Jarrar, an Iraqi social activist, has collected the names of several thousand Iraqi civilians. [7] These are the names that appear on tags of civilian shoes at Eyes Wide Open exhibits and for another exhibit entitled, "Dreams and Nightmares". AFSC’s Dreams and Nightmares is a memorial to Iraqi civilians that includes photographs and stories of individuals that have lost their lives during occupation. [8]
Related exhibits
Since the inauguration of the original exhibit, several other exhibits have been created to assist in the original one's goal.
Eyes Wide Open State Exhibits
The national exhibit had grown so large by spring of 2007 that it had become difficult to transport by semi-truck. As a result, it has been divided into state exhibits. [9] Illinois established the first state exhibit in August of 2006. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. As of April 2007, there are 42 state exhibits: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, two in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland/Washington D.C., Maine/Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri/Kansas, New Hampshire, New York/New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America. Alaska ( Аляска Alyaska) is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent Arkansas ( is a state located in the southern region of the United States. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. Connecticut ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. Delaware ( is a state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The State of Georgia ( is a state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule The State of Idaho ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The State of Iowa ( is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. The Commonwealth of Kentucky ( is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D The State of Maine ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers Missouri ( or) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee Kansas ( is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American " New Hampshire ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. North Carolina ( is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads Oklahoma ( is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. Oregon ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern Puerto Rico (ˌpwertoˈriko officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ("Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico" {{lang-en|"Associated Free State of Puerto Rico"}} Rhode Island ( officially named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States South Dakota ( is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. Tennessee ( is a state located in the Southern United States. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. The State of Utah (ˈjuːtɔː or) is a western state of the United States. Vermont ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state Washington ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. West Virginia ( is a state in the Appalachian Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by Wisconsin ( or wɪˈskɑnsɨn (French Ouisconsin) is one of the fifty United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States [10] With the conclusion of the national exhibit, all but five states have agreed to start state exhibits in the near future. All of the Eyes Wide Open state exhibits continue to be under the leadership of The American Friends Service Committee.
The National Guard Exhibit
The National Guard Exhibit was created in summer of 2005 and contains 400+ pairs of boots for National Guard soldiers that have lost their lives in Iraq. For the National Guard of a State and other countries' National Guard see National Guard. The exhibit often also displays the boots of all soldiers lost from the exhibition state. In addition, the exhibit contains 50 pairs of civilian shoes representing the Iraqi civilians killed during occupation. The exhibit has visited more than 30 cities in 22 states. [11] National Guard units are not often sent abroad. [12]
The exhibit in popular media
The exhibit was featured in blues musician Robert Cray’s music video for "Twenty". The Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of Music based on the use of the Blue notes It emerged as an accessible form of self-expression Robert Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American Blues musician Guitarist, and Singer. The song "Twenty" tells the story of a fictional serviceman who returns to The U. S. haunted by his experience in Iraq. The video stars an actual Iraq War veteran, 23-year-old Aidan Delgado. [13] Cray did not know of the Eyes Wide Open exhibit when he came up with the concept for the song, but realized that the exhibit would be a meaningful way for the character in his song to come to terms with the death he faced in Iraq. Robert Cray’s album, also titled "Twenty" was nominated for a Grammy as Best Contemporary Blues Album of 2006. The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys —are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences [14]
References
- ^ http://www.afsc.org/eyes/about-the-exhibit.htm - Retrieved: May 29, 2007
- ^ See Where We've Been : Eyes Wide Open Exhibit : AFSC
- ^ About the Exhibit : Eyes Wide Open Exhibit : AFSC
- ^ http://icasualties.org/oif/ The Iraq Coalition Casualty Count - Retrieved: January 2007
- ^ Joe Garofoli, Empty boots are silent testament to war's toll http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/03/26/BAGTBBV26U1.DTL (San Francisco Chronicle, March 26, 2005) - Retrieved: January 2008
- ^ http://www.peacefultomorrows.org/article.php?id=515 - Retrieved: May 29, 2007
- ^ http://raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com/ - Retrieved: May 29, 2007
- ^ http://www.afsc.org/eyes/dreams-and-nightmares.htm - Retrieved: May 29, 2007
- ^ Experience Eyes Wide Open : Eyes Wide Open Exhibit : AFSC
- ^ Eyes Wide Open: An Exhibition of the Iraq War
- ^ http://www.afsc.org/eyes - Retrieved: May 29, 2007
- ^ US National Guard, About Us http://www.arng.army.mil/AboutUs.aspx - Retrieved: January 2008.
- ^ Jazz News, Robert Cray's Music Video "Twenty" http://home.nestor.minsk.by/jazz/news/2006/02/0807.html (Jan 2006) - Retrieved: January 17, 2008
- ^ http://www.afsc.org/iraq/cray-video.htm - Retrieved: May 29, 2007
External links
- http://www.afsc.org/eyes/ - Eyes Wide Open website
- http://zombietime.com/eyes_wide_open/ -Contains pictures of the exhibit and addresses how it received by the public
- http://www.criticalconcern.com/eyes_wide_open_exhibit.htm -Addresses controversy over the exhibit