Word: mfa
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...course, these images of destruction and horror are particular striking in light of the events of September 11th. In fact, the MFA notes as much in a pop-up message on their webpage. The message in the box reads, "Art can play a significant role in our lives even in the most difficult times....Since the tragic events of September 11th, these works of art have assumed a new relevance, and some of our visitors may find them particularly disturbing. We hope that this exhibition will provide a forum for reflection and discussion...
...Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston is showing a fascinating and disturbing new photography exhibit--one whose poignancy and controversy is infinitely enhanced by the recent terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. The exhibit constitutes a representative selection of the works of Paris-based photographer Sophie Ristelhueber. The photographs, in turn, exhibit striking images of the destruction and scarring caused by various wars of recent history, including the Gulf War, the conflict in Kosovo, and the civil war in Lebanon...
...Unfortunately, it seems that this message from the MFA is on a certain level correct for the wrong reasons. What the MFA seems to be saying is that people may find Ristelhueber's work particularly disturbing because the images of carnage and war that she chronicles will conjure up painful memories and associations with the tragedies of September 11th. But what is really disturbing about Ristelhueber's work is not the images themselves, but rather their theoretical underpinnings...
...attacks that kill innocent civilians by the thousands are simply part of an immutable historical continuum. The exhibit is not upsetting for what it shows, but for the inappropriate message it offers. Even if Ristelhueber is able to chronicle one disaster after another with artistic detachment, she (and the MFA) should take into account the need at this time for emotional response and moral valuation...
...brief but wonderful conclusion to the book Gornick explains her impetus for writing the book after 15 years of MFA programs, her frustration at the overemphasis put on how to write and not why to write. The conclusion even explains her seeming abandonment of her theories on writing for the criticism of other works declaring that “I have learned that you cannot teach people how to write…all that is inborn, cannot be taught-but you can teach people how to read, how to develop judgment about a piece of writing: their own as well...