In a message dated 01-08-20 16:45:02 EDT, you write:

<< You've raised a very interesting question, here, Michael.  I can't accept
 the images from Vietnam you mention as art, because I know they are not
 harmless, reflective disquisitions on the nature of human suffering, they
 are authentic pictures of real people dying.  I find that shocking, iconic,
 but not in the least artistic.  However, if I saw an artist's depiction of
 the Buddhist's self-immolation (like seeing a depiction of the crucifixion)
 I would feel that much more distanced from it; I would know what it referred
 to, and reflect on that, but not feel that sense of sickness in my stomach.
 No-one is actually suffering before my eyes.  >>
 
art ought to terrify and shock.
Michael