Witness to Global Conflict: 9/11 and Beyond
Fruitlands Museum is honored to host a new exhibit in the Art Gallery, opening in September 2011. Witness to Global Conflict: 9/11 and Beyond commemorates the 10th anniversary of 9/11 through images that bring a new perspective to global conflict.
Many men and women serving in the US military today do so because of the events of 9/11. The exhibit illustrates the lives of US combat soldiers serving overseas, particularly within the unique landscape of Afghanistan. In addition to fulfilling the museum’s mission of educating through art, the exhibit acknowledges founder Clara Endicott Sears’ commitment to soldiers at Fort Devens during World War 1.
Initally the museum developed an exhibition of war photography with photojournalist Tim Hetherington. A contributing photographer for Vanity Fair magazine, Hetherington was the winner of the World Press Photo of the Year 2008 for one of the images from his work in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan. He co-produced the critically acclaimed documentary Restrepo with Sebastian Junger. Tragically, Hetherington was killed while on assignment in Libya in April of 2011. After Hetherington’s death, his family, friends and colleagues continued to support the original concept for this project. Unfortunately, his photographs were no longer available. Therefore, the exhibit features similar work by Gary Knight, Teun Voeten, and Roger Leo, all of whom knew Hetherington and also worked with US armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Fruitlands Museum is honored to host this event on the tenth anniversary of September 11th to remember those who have lost their lives, and recognize those who are serving or have served our country in the line of duty and their families,” said Tim Firment, Fruitlands Museum CEO. “We are excited to unveil Witness to Global Conflict, which shows American soldiers interacting with local people overseas in ways other than violent conflict, and how this can help strengthen cross-cultural understanding and bridge existing divides.”
Gary Knight is Co-Founder of VII Photo Agency, Director of the Program for Narrative & Documentary Studies at the Institute for Global Leadership, and Chairman of the World Press Photo Award in 2008. His work has been featured in numerous publications and exhibits including Newsweek, Time, Die Welt, and National Geographic among others. In addition, Knight’s work has been exhibited at Tufts University, La Louvre and the International Centre of Photography. The exhibit will feature his series entitled “Afghan Landscapes”.
Teun Voeten is a photojournalist and author who has covered conflicts all over the world. His work has been published in Vanity Fair, Newsweek, The New Yorker and National Geographic and other publications. Voeten is also a contributing photographer for organizations such as the International Red Cross, Doctors without Borders, Human Rights Watch and the United Nations. In 1996, he published 'Tunnel People', an anthropological-journalistic account of 5 months spent living with an underground homeless community in New York, and the most recent translated and updated version was released in the U.S. in September 2010. Voeton’s 'A Ticket To', a collection of his hard- hitting war photography along with a much cited essay on war photography, was released in 1999; 'How de Body? Hope and Horror in Sierra Leone', a book about when Voeten was hunted down by child soldiers intent on killing him, was published in 2002.
Roger Leo, originally from New York City, lived much of his life in Princeton, MA. Photography consumed much of his life with increasingly more sophisticated technology. Leo embedded with 8th Cavalry in Baghdad in September 2004 and February 2005, with 3rd Marines in Afghanistan's Hindu Kush in May of 2005, and again with the 3rd Marines in Iraq's Anbar Province in May of 2006, and traveled in Afghanistan with Afghans veterinarians working for the Dutch Committee for Afghanistan in May of 2008. His articles ran in the Telegram& Gazette, the dailycaller.com, the Holden Landmark, and the New York Sun. His photos have appeared in the New York Times. He taught news writing, environment, international studies, and photography at Clark University, and both maintained and wrote for a variety of skiing websites. Roger Leo passed away on July 25th.
The opening event of the exhibit will take place on 9/11/11 from 1PM - 3PM, is free and open to the public, and will feature a military color guard from the 1st Battalion 25th Marines “New England’s Own,”, the 110th Mass National Guard and the Harvard ProMusica Choir. Speakers will include Brendan O'Byrne, a former soldier of the Army’s 173rd who was stationed in the Korengal Valley and now getting back into civilian life in Massachusetts and John Gerlaugh, who spent a year in Iraq as the Chief of Governance for the Al Anbar Provincial Reconstruction Team and ten months in Afghanistan as a Political Advisor in Helmand Province. Rose Annese, the Blue to Gold liaison for The Blue Star Mother’s of North Central Massachusetts will provide home front perspectives.
Printing and framing support for this exhibit generously provided by Digital Silver Imaging
Metrowest Daily News 9-4-11 Reviews this exhibit
Hornell Evening Tribune:
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