Violence And Art In The Media Age Analysis

In the article “The Return to Ritual: Violence and Art in the Media Age” by Jacob Siebers the world of violence through art and the cultural influence surrounding it is being examined. According to Siebers traumatic artworks have “something active in them that is more difficult to capture” (5). The art examples in the article are presented in the form of a bullet wound to the head and a half sliced pig suspended in formaldehyde. The subject of trauma art is not focused on a specific aspect, but rather what is disturbingly beautiful to the artist.
The works of trauma art are not always traumatic, however, it can still convey a powerful meaning. It poses a radical challenge to aesthetic explanation through impersonal and painful messages. These “messages” can convey something like suicide or self-harm in a simple form. Works like these offer a sample of unexpected culture change while staying modernly aesthetic. As it grows culture no longer accepts traditional artwork in its aesthetic form. New forms of

This means that a culture can be identified through violence and the violence displayed shows how the culture is disappearing. “The display of violence reads as an index of culture, while simultaneously announcing that culture is dying” (7). Siebers states that this view of culture is how the world views America. The United States as a society is recognized for holding a certain fascination with violence and this Americanized violence predicts the end of know cultures. For example, movies like “Selma” or “Suicide Squad” despite the general differences are both depictions of America’s views on violence. One is a historical representation of America’s past while the other is a fiction based source of entertainment. While this mentions America as the primary location for analyzing trauma in an aesthetic way this does not dismiss the growing violence in other