Word: mfa
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...Must Sees” and are followed by a list of activities so thorough, so positively guide-booky, that they would make any Fodor’s writer proud: picnic on Boston Common, visit Walden Pond, walk the Freedom Trail, take a Duck Tour, inhale culture at the MFA...
...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...