Binh Danh Exhibit

After visiting the Bihn Dahn exhibit at the Light Work Gallery, I must say that I found the "One Week's Dead" collection to be completely fascinating. The faint faces of the dead soldiers ingrained in the plants, grass, and leaves were, on the surface, kinda creepy. However, after looking at the pieces for a little bit longer, I realized that it all made perfect sense; the plants, grass, and leaves resemble the terrain upon which, the soldiers fought and died during the Vietnam War. Regarding our current times, the photos of the soldiers killed during the Vietnam War are eerily similar to the photos of the soldiers that have died in Iraq; they are mostly young men who were taken way to prematurely. Therefore, Dahn's works will always have significance in society because they "Remind us that wars may end, but they are never over" (Laura Guth, Assistant Director Light Work). Susan Sontag would probably agree with my impression of Binh Danh's exhibit because she states, "Photographic images are pieces of evidence in an ongoing biography or history." Meaning, as long as there are wars, there will always be photos and works like those of Binh Danh. What's more, Sontag states that, "The camera makes exotic things near, intamate." This is definitely true regarding Dahn's work becuase no matter how "exotic" or unkown the dead soldiers in the pieces are to viewers, intimacy and emotion just jump out at you while looking at Dahn's works of art.