Documentary art and war: the limits of violence

Abstract

This research analyses a limit to violence that should be recorded by documentary art dedicated to war crimes. Many analytics suspect that violence in art could be dangerous and seen as an affirmation of violence and a call for more atrocity. The results of the study showed that trying to establish a ban on violence in documentary photos and videos does not provide an opportunity to collect evidence for a war crimes trial, so violence cannot be banned. Violence in documentary art is conditioned and subordinated to the violence of real events, so arguments that art will promote and spread violence through the publication of documentary evidence (photos and videos) are not relevant. But in order to establish the limit of violence, it is necessary to first establish the purpose of demonstrating the object of documentary art and the circumstances of its release. If it is shown for beneficient purposes and with a warning about violence, then the viewer is making a conscious choice and that is an acceptable measure of violence. On the other hand, reposting and uncontrolled distribution of such materials in social networks is not useful – it can lead to significant retraumatization of people who experienced traumatic events during the war. The limit of acceptable and appropriate violence in documentary art is determined by the criterion – how much this publication can help stop atrocities. In the case of Ukrainians, the purpose of demonstrating the documentary violence of the war is to increase our resilience and stop Russian aggression. And for this, it is necessary to recognize (and documentary art is the best motivation in this) that the war kills and maims both civilians and soldiers – here and now, and the participation and help of everyone is needed to stop this war and drive out the occupiers.