Lucia Yandoli
(University of Cambridge)
Falling Men: Cruel Spectacle in Post 9/11 Culture
This paper explores art that confronted and mimicked the cruel reality and spectacle of the events of September 11, 2001, from Richard Drew's famous photograph 'Falling Man' to the performance artist Kerry Skarbakka who simulated 'falls' from various buildings around New York City in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. It suggests first that pain in performance is part of a mourning process: a means towards re-living the missed encounter of the traumatic event, and secondly, that these artistic works were responding indirectly to the way that the terrorist's actions threatened, or even mocked, Western values.
Lucia Yandoli is a graduate student at the University of Cambridge studying for an MPhil in Screen Media and Cultures. She has also worked for the British Film Institute and the London Film Festival.
