Dean of the ICP School Fred Ritchin speaks in the panel Theater of War With In Country.
Presentations and dialogue about the live-action reenactment of war, with Meredith Davenport, Jessica Catherine Lieberman, and Fred Ritchin.
Directors of In Country, Mike Attie and Meghan O'Hara will join the conversation remotely.
Americans have been bombarded by photographs and videos from battlefields far removed from the safety of our cities and towns. War stories come home through veterans' very personal experiences and images which influence popular video games and are rehearsed through the growing phenomenon of live-action military simulation and recreation. On Sunday evening, borrowing the focus of documentary photographer Meredith Davenport's new book we ask questions about the Theater of War. How do images of conflict perpetuate trauma? Can games or play using these representations help metabolize the violence? Have war photographs lost their meaning? Is there a new visual vocabulary that could be used to discuss war? Seeking answers and discussion, Meredith Davenport will present her photography alongside presentations from Jessica Catherin Lieberman and Fred Ritchin, both experts on the topic who have written essays for the book. Clips will be shown of the recently released feature In Country, which documents a community of men who gather each year to dutifully recreate battles from the Vietnam War. The directors of this fascinating film, Mike Attie and Meghan O'Hara will join in the conversation remotely.