iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 30/01/2026

With the world teetering on the edge, the work of @wartoys.org feels all the more timely. I’m so incredibly grateful to Spielwarenmesse for the invitation to share our toy industry program and for the opportunity to connect with so many likeminded peers.

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 09/01/2026

Needed a small sanity break from the news, so threw on some headphones and zen’ed out editing underwater test shots from the summer. Excited to play more and keep learning the gear and specialized techniques. It’s just different enough. #photography #toyphotography #underwater #scuba #gijoe #pool

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 11/11/2025

On Veterans Day, I remember the photojournalists who have given their lives while documenting the horrors of war: David Gilkey, Dickey Chapelle, Chris Hondros, Tim Hetherington, Yaser Murtaja, Gilles Caron, Kenji Nagai, Larry Burrows, Gerda Taro, Robert Capa… #photojournalism #photography

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 20/09/2025

My thanks to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and photographer Staci Vandagriff for covering the “War Toys: Ukraine” exhibition at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. (I’m not on the right 😉)

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 19/09/2025

I’m grateful to the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts for hosting a talk with Ben Grimes and I. Ben is the creator of a theater program for vets struggling with PTSD called The Breach. Coincidentally, we both were in Iraq in 2017. It was interesting for us each to get a different perspective of the war.

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 14/09/2025

Still have lots of cleanup to do, but just finished two very long years of work and pushed all 40 translations of @wartoys.org’s educational board game live!!

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 01/09/2025

Warms my heart seeing this, knowing how much its loss was felt by Iraqi kids displaced from Mosul during the war against ISIS. AP: Iraq reopens historic mosque in Mosul 8 years after Islamic State destruction apnews.com/article/iraq... #wartoys #photography #alnurimosque

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 13/06/2025

Shooting something I think folks are gonna like a lot… #photography #wartoys #behindthescenes #bts

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 27/05/2025

2011 outtake from Old City of Jerusalem. The kids instantly understood the account that I was working recreate. #photography #wartoys #toyphotography

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 10/05/2025

@wartoys.org will never be as cool as No War Toys back in the 60s. I mean, seriously… The Doors played their friggin anniversary party!! #wartoys #thedoors

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 07/05/2025

CALL FOR PROPOSALS - 2026 International Toy Research Association (ITRA) Conference. Artists and academics are encouraged to participate, share your work, and become part of a larger community, dedicated to toys. Deadline: 12/31/25. itratoyresearch.org/2026conference #toydesign #arttoys #toyresearch

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 19/04/2025

This was a fun series to work on at Mattel for Hot Wheels. The “Brian” license plate is for HWC.com graphic designer Brian Fitzgerald, who died way too young. #toyphotography #hotwheels #photography #diecast #stunt

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 13/04/2025

Proud to have worked with @jamuseum.bsky.social on this shot for Mark Nagata’s “Kaiju vs Heroes” exhibition. Mark (@marknagata.bsky.social) is a brilliant artist and just the nicest guy. #arttoys #toyphotography #kaiju #monster #hero #marknagata #toy #sofubi #photography #vinyltoys #janm #losangeles

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 25/03/2025

Flying home, realized my grandfather would know this view. Naval aviator, he died in a training exercise in Corpus Christi after surviving WW2. My father was a baby and grew up hearing about his “hero dad,” motivating him to fight in Vietnam. Generational trauma passed to me, and I closed the loop.

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 25/03/2025

A few weeks ago, I got to attend an academic conference on the study of play organized by TASP in Texas. It was an honor presenting War Toys’ work and learning everything I could from fellow presenters and attendees. #wartoys #play #studyofplay

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 19/03/2025

I’m excited to be participating in a panel discussion next Monday on art & conflict hosted by the International Relations Council. For more info and for pay-what-you-can tickets to the Zoom based event: www.irckc.org/what-we-do/w...

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 16/03/2025

Fantastic crew with sets by Screen Novelties and lighting by Eric Adams. These setups were massive, and we committed to creating as much in camera as possible. #toyphotography #bts #behindthescenes #production #photography #screennovelties #disney #disneyprincess

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 16/03/2025

Princess and the Frog (shot for Disney Consumer Products) There are closer shots of Tiana on this amazing set, but I love seeing the whole, movie-accurate recreation of this moment. #toyphotography #disney #disneyprincess #art #photography #tiana #princessandthefrog #toys #doll #wishuponastar

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 13/03/2025

This was a stupidly fun project, especially working with Screen Novelties on the sets and props. #toyphotography #bts #behindthescenes #production #photoshoot #photography

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 21/02/2025

Summer 2022 - working in a small, farming community on the eastern outskirts of Kyiv. A few months earlier, during the Russian ground assault on Ukraine’s capital, children in this area were exposed to heavy fighting. #wartoys #childreninwar #behindthescenes #bts #process #kyiv #ukraine #war

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 11/02/2025

Refugee camp along the Lebanon-Syria border in 2014 - I miss being out in the field, even though there are parts of my aging body and heavy heart that are doing their best to dissuade me. The work is so damn hard, but it’s only getting more timely. Stalling a bit longer to get our 1st toys all done!

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 11/02/2025

Interesting bit of trivia: about ten years ago, ISIS stole this photo and turned it into a propaganda piece. Unrelated, but I was extra annoyed when their snipers took a couple shots at me in Mosul a few years later. #wartoys #toyphotography #isis #propaganda #photography

Photograph from Gaza that has been stolen and altered by the Islamic State into a propaganda piece.

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 09/02/2025

Another favorite from my days in-house at Mattel. Fun / frustrating trivia: this was supposed to have “McCarty” as its license plate, but the factory goofed. Only three protos were made, and one was damaged for this shot (had to switch out the wheels). #toyphotography #hotwheels #photography

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 29/01/2025

Business as Usual Toy by Mark Nagata / Max Toy (Shot in response to the 2008 financial collapse) #arttoys #kaiju #toys #sofubi #toyphotography #photography #marknagata

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 24/01/2025

Prototype “army man” of photojournalist Byron Smith, shot in Chernigiv, Ukraine at a location where he worked a few weeks before. Figures coming soon from @wartoys.org #toyphotography #photography #photojournalism #armyman #ukraine #toys

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 22/01/2025

I shot this in 1991, at age 16, using desk lamps and found materials. It’s oozing teenage angst but has held up pretty well considering! #toyphotography #ektachrome #film

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 14/01/2025

“This is like a fart in my face, but a fart in my face would be better because each fart smells different, and this all smells the same to me.” Oliverio Toscani’s critiques at Fabrica were colorfully brutal. Won’t be shedding any tears for the man, but can’t deny the impact he had on my work.

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 07/01/2025

Fun seeing this old shot from my days in-house at Mattel. Considering that it was photographed with an early digital camera over 20 years ago, it’s held up pretty well! #toyphoto #toyphotography #photography #hotwheels #toys

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 03/01/2025

Working in the Old City of #Mosul in 2018 with support from TdH Italia. Crews of young men were carefully pulling scrap materials, trying to avoid unexploded ordinance buried alongside the decaying remains of IS fighters and civilians. #wartoys #iraq #photography #toyphotography #behindthescenes

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 29/12/2024

I sadly didn’t get to meet the man, but I was incredibly honored by the invite to present @wartoys.org work at the Carter Presidential Library. He was a true leader, not afraid to roll up his sleeves and work for a better future, especially when it seemed naive.

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Brian McCarty @brianmccarty.com · 25/12/2024

Xmas, 1979 Superman Underoos and a new Millennium Falcon, delivered by Santa!

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