Walker Art Center Community Forum Addresses Ethical Questions Related to the Use of Images of Disasters in the Media and Contemporary Art

What does a 1963 silkscreen covered with repeated images of a gruesome car wreck have to tell us during times when we see enough suffering and tragedy—from prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib to the victims of tsunamis, hurricanes, and terrorist attacks—to fill a 24-hour news cycle? Visitors can find out at a free Community Forum,

The Spectacle of Death: The Role of Disaster and Tragedy in Shaping Community

, Sunday, February 12, at 3 pm, in the Cinema. Using Andy Warhol’s work as a springboard, this forum explores ways that media-driven images of man-made and natural disasters shape our cultural identity. Addressing the ethical questions related to the use of images of calamity and death, panelists will ask: Are endlessly multiplied pictures of tragedy robbed of their power to haunt, or do they remain potent enough to generate empathy and moral outrage despite their ubiquity? Moderated by Timothy Mennel, former managing editor of Artforum magazine and an urban studies instructor at the University of Minnesota.

This is a free event, but a ticket is required. Tickets will be made available at 2 pm at the Bazinet Garden Lobby desk.

Panel Participants

Timothy Mennel, Moderator
Mennel is former managing editor of the Andy Warhol Catalog Raisonné and an urban studies instructor at the University of Minnesota. He will moderate the discussion and present on Warhol’s Disaster series.

Yasmil Raymond Ventura
Walker assistant curator Raymond Ventura assisted with the exhibition ANDY WARHOL/SUPERNOVA: Stars, Deaths, and Disasters, 1962–1964. She will focus on how contemporary artists have treated disaster and calamity.

Robyne Robinson
Robinson, Fox 9 News anchor-reporter, is the recipient of the 2005 Upper Midwest Emmy for Best Anchor. She brings her experience as a reporter and anchor during the 9/11 terrorist attack and Hurricane Katrina to the discussion.

John Schott
Chair of the Cinema and Media Studies Department at Carleton College. His Web projects:

Camera/Iraq – http://www.camerairaq.com
A Web site gathering commentary, news photo essays, and film regarding practices in the Middle East. With as many as 2,500 visitors a week, the Public Journalism Network has said that Camera/Iraq is “a site every journalist, academic, and citizen interested in photojournalism should be watching.”

Ratchet Up – http://www.ratchetup.com
A blog on digital culture and digital imaging.