review by Mike Templeton
3/10/17
Stop and observe. This project is a
true work of art. The artwork conveys
feelings of loss and mourning. The art conveys isolation. The art conveys
shared pain. One particular piece in
Doris Salcedo's The Materiality of Mourning on display at The Harvard
Art Museums encompasses all of these elements in one room of one exhibit
in one museum. Upon entering the room,
the viewer sees a multitude of chairs in different places across the room. Some chairs are alone, and some are in
clusters together. What is the purpose of this arrangement? Why are all the
chairs mangled or irreparably damaged on purpose? It is the mangled chairs which appear in
different formations across the room which represent the cost and the toll of
excessive violence and incarceration. Each chair is a person who as a result of
violence has been harmed or injured both emotionally or physically in some
way. The placement of the chairs in the
room are representative of how some people cope with this immense pain. Some
people mourn with their wounds alone and some mourn with others. Perhaps the
groupings of chairs in the room are families who have been emotionally scarred
and the chairs which stand alone are the people who must live their lives with
this pain in isolation and torment without anybody else in their lives for
support. The purpose of this artwork is to evoke questions and to educate the
viewer on the catastrophic effects of the senseless carnage in our world.
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