Beautiful Suffering: Photography and the Traffic in Pain [Paperback]

Mark Reinhardt (Editor), Holly Edwards (Editor), Erina Duganne (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 10, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0226709507 | ISBN-13: 978-0226709505 | Edition: First Edition

Susan Sontag once remarked that since the invention of the camera, photography has “kept company with death.” And indeed, images of suffering human beings and devastated landscapes appear regularly in the popular media and even in contemporary art. This volume explores these painful images from the past few decades of photography, weighing in on the intense critical debate that has arisen in recent years around depictions of acute human suffering—especially those that are beautifully rendered. 

Drawing on works from advertising, photojournalism, art photography, and conceptual art, Beautiful Suffering features reproductions of all the pieces in the Williams College Museum of Art exhibition that shares its name—including portrayals of AIDS sufferers, Abu Ghraib prisoners, refugees, and casualties of war. It also includes five critical essays that engage the works themselves as well as the larger issues the exhibition confronts: Is it inherently problematic to seek aesthetic pleasure in a rendering of pain? And if so, why? These essays, composed by scholars in fields as diverse as art history and political science, are perfect complements to the powerful images of suffering that probe some of the most pressing issues we face today.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The authors of Beautiful Suffering: Photography and the Traffic in Pain place in historical and critical context the production and reception of images of suffering, adding precision and clarity to a divisive debate of visual culture. . . . [The book] offers a larger audience a reasoned approach to an emotionally charged subject. Five essays, along with reproductions of all works exhibited, provide a significant contribution to an excruciating subject."—Kathleen MacQueen, Art Book

(Kathleen MacQueen The Art Book )

About the Author

Mark Reinhardt is professor of political science, Holly Edwards is a lecturer in Islamic art, and Erina Duganne is a Mellon post-doctoral fellow in the history of photography, all at Williams College.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; First Edition edition (January 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226709507
• ISBN-13: 978-0226709505
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #667,216 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Food for thought, April 6, 2008

By 

R. P. Brown "mystic" (Snellville, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beautiful Suffering: Photography and the Traffic in Pain (Paperback)

Although some of the images presented are not photographs in the purest sense, they and the accompanying text should,I feel, give any photographer who has done or attempted this type "photography" pause. Certainly a person can create finely crafted prints of images of ANY subject and I don't think there should be any laws against it. That being said,I,as a photograher,think we should carefully examine our motives when we start to present this type of subject matter.
To get back to the book--it's well thought-out, well printed and I would definitely recommend it to a friend.

0 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Service and Value, February 17, 2008

By 

K. Powell "Kp" (Charlottesville, VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beautiful Suffering: Photography and the Traffic in Pain (Paperback)

Thanks for the great and quick service. The book was in great condition as promised!