Art exhibition,has kids re-enacting horrific events like 9/11 and Katrina..

A shocking Canadian photography exhibition features small children re-enacting tragic images that are pervasive in the media, like 9/11 or the torture of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib.While critics have blasted Jonathan Hobin's exhibition, The Playroom, as exploitative of children, the Ottawa artist argues that kids know more than we think they do, and it's time to look at how the media culture of violence and horror is affecting them.

“You can't escape these images and this is a reflection of our culture and how it's shaping the next generation,” Hobin told QMI Agency. “I felt it was a conversation that we needed to have.”

One image shows a child draped black cloth, standing on a box with electric wires clamped to his fingers, in a reference to one of many images of detainees being tortured at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq that surfaced in 2004. Halloween decorations are strewn about on the floor. Another shows a kid crashing a toy plane into Twin Towers built out of blocks, while another little boy dressed as a firefighter looks forlornly at the camera.Hurricane Katrina, the disappearance of teenager Natalie Holloway and former Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean eating a seal's heart are a few more media moments re-enacted for The Playroom.

...LINK TO ARTICLE

What do you guys think? Do you think its better to make sure our children know mor about these tragic events? And is the right way to go about doing this?

It would be better if we educate the children about these events. Trying to make the children react them would only scare them.

reply to post by FeraVerto


Imagine trying to educate kids about fear, double standards, and the state of the world a la "Leave it to Beaver"... it would almost be funny if it wasn't so sad. Someone will probably still do a skit. Might be me, but i've been pretty busy with something else as of late.

Also, I think that exhibits like this are what art is supposed to be, designed to address controversy by creating it at the same time. Surely people will say "You have no right...", "Those kids should be protected...", etc. But that will only continue to fuel the increasingly false standard of blissful ignorance. I hope these kids grow up feeling like they helped heal a wound, even if they didn't fully understand at the time (hint hint).

After 9/11 I had nightmares that it was the Comcast Tower that was hit, so I made a piece of art depicting just that, and the nightmares ended. Maybe that is happening here. We want to move on and wake up from the nightmare but we have to acknowledge it in ways those still asleep will not be comfortable with.

World Trade Center Jenga, anyone?

Airplanes sold separately.

There is much truth in the saying "From the mouths of babes". I believe the same truism could be applied to sayings like "From the hands and hearts and minds of babes".

Just don't force your views on them, would be the hard part. Like who did 9/11.

Art reflects the world around us in one way or another. This exhibition is telling us what kind of world we're living in and leaving for the generations to come.

Last night, I had the good fortune of the birth of a brand new nephew. Should he be sheltered from this harsh and conflict-ridden world or should he become knowledgeable of what's been going on? The parents of my generation were the survivors of WWII and we certainly didn't get hidden away from that sordid past. Nope... we learned from it, or, at least, I hope we did. Perhaps the slow rise of fascism is a signal that we didn't learn enough.

reply to post by masqua

The parents of my generation were the survivors of WWII and we certainly didn't get hidden away from that sordid past. Nope... we learned from it, or, at least, I hope we did. Perhaps the slow rise of fascism is a signal that we didn't learn enough.

Makes sense. Today's politicians are another half-generation removed from WWII. Remember all the war movies and TV shows about the war? How often do you see those kind about Korea, VietNam, Iraq, etc nowadays? Very rarely. And when you do, the theme is more likely to be the psychological readjustment back into society rather than the battles.