Artist Research: Alfredo Jaar

On April 6, 1994 one of the largest mass genocides in history began when a plane carrying the presidents of Burundi and Rwanda was gunned down, leading to a massacre which targeted the Tutsi population of the country. Alfredo Jaar’s “Rwanda Project” is a series of works that were created in response to the lack of aid given to Rwanda during this time when hundreds of thousands of murders were being committed daily. Some of these works were made for public spaces while others existed only in galleries. Jaar began this body of work with a series called “Signs of Life”, after discovering a collection of over 200 scenic postcards of Rwanda featuring zebras, eagles and beautiful mountain vistas. As Jaar met survivors he filled out each postcard with a different person’s name so they read “Jyamiya Muhawenimawa is still alive!” He then sent them out of the country to friends and people he knew. At the time of the massacres in Rwanda it was not always possible to tell the difference between a Tutsi and the rest of the population so the government created a death list with names of people who were to be killed. Writing down an affirmation of the survivors names on these postcards was a symbolic attempt of reversing this list. Then Jarr exhibited in a gallery setting the numerous covers of Newsweek and the stories being featured by this major national publication, corresponding with a brief explanation of what events had occurred daily in Rwanda. Newsweek continued to cover stories about vitamins, Kurt Cobain, O.J. Simpson, and the World Cup for months before any mention of the situation in Rwanda. In 1996 Jaar also photographed a woman named Gutete Emerita, a Tutsi refugee who had witnessed the death of her husband and two boys when a Hutu death squad slaughtered 400 Tutsi’s during a Sunday mass at their church. She survived with her daughter and they were living in the woods. Jar photographed the woman’s eyes and presents them as light boxes in a dark gallery with basic text telling her story. Jar also produced for this exhibit a light table, a loop and hundreds of slides of Gutete Emerita’s eyes, which were placed in a mound on top of the table.
I agree with Roland Barthes theory that we are unable to react with genuine compassion and emotion to a photograph because it is a mediated experience. The viewing of an actual course of events and an emotional response to those events has already been done for the viewer. People resent having to witness something terrible while simultaneously being detached from the emotion of that moment. They may become cynical or apathetic in order to cope with the feelings of helplessness or guilt they feel when faced with images of a bad situation that they can do nothing about. I have seen horrific pictures of war, torture and animal abuse. Initially, these images make me angry, then thinking about these situations later may make me cry, but the sadness that comes is never immediate. “The Eyes of Gutete Emerita” was the first still photo series that caused an instant emotional reaction in me. I remember seeing this work for the first time in class and trying to force back tears. Through the use of careful text and narrative sequence Jaar begins to bridge the gap between mediated experience and genuine feeling. I will continue to research Alfredo Jaars work as he is an inspiration to me both artistically and as a humanitarian.