"Drawing on works from photojournalism, advertising, and contemporary art, Beautiful Suffering features reproductions of all the pieces in the Williams College Museum of Art exhibition of the same name. These images include portrayals of Abu Ghraib prisoners, refugees, and casualties of war, as well as damaged landscapes, assorted forms of self-portraiture, and even suffering that has been digitally fabricated or staged in the artist's studio. This diverse collection is framed by five critical essays that engage the works themselves as well as the larger questions the exhibition confronted."--BOOK JACKET.

"This book is issued in conjunction with the exhibition Beautiful suffering : photography and the traffic in pain, held at the Williams College Museum of Art, January 28-April 30, 2006"--T.p. verso.

Includes bibliographical references.

Traffic in pain / Mark Reinhardt and Holly Edwards Picturing violence : aesthetics and the anxiety of critique / Mark Reinhardt A genealogy of orthodox documentary / John Stomberg Photography after the fact / Erina Duganne

Cover to cover : the life cycle of an image in contemporary visual culture / Holly Edwards The pain of images / Mieke Bal Plates.