Rebecca McCall

For the month of July, the library will feature artist Rebecca McCall. Read her artist statement below:

The paintings are based on photographs by the late Jim Harney, a Bangor photojournalist who traveled to Baghdad as the U.S. was gearing up for its “Shock and Awe” invasion of Iraq. In January 2003, two months before the invasion, Harney visited Blue Hill Public Library to present a slideshow of the people he’d met during his trip. McCall was in the audience. She wrote later, “Never had the human face looked more beautiful to me, and never had aerial bombing seemed more barbaric and insane.”

With Harney’s support, McCall acquired prints of the photos and began her portraits in late March of that year, just as the invasion was under way. The paintings have been shown in Hartford, CT, as well as in Orono and more local venues, including the library in 2005. This is the first time that the paintings will be for sale, and all proceeds will be divided equally between the library and Save the Children.