Wherever I am, the macabre seems to follow. However, it’s not due to any underlying desire to scare or shock anyone. I don’t have homicidal or suicidal tendencies nor do I have adoration for necrophilia. As far as I am told, I am a well adjusted individual. My fascination (and dread) with death and the dead started when I was four or five. It was the same day that I discovered that my preconceptions of life after old age and “re-youth” didn’t really exist and that people actually died. Having never been to a funeral at that age, it was hard to imagine what death and dying was all about.
My project for the semester will delve into the use of death and the dead in art culture. I will attempt to look into different cultures and the way they view and treat their dead. My own culture and beliefs about death that I grew up with will be incorporated in my research.
If anyone has any knowledge of articles and/or books that I should look into, please let me know.
1 comment:
Let's touch base on some references -- Utne reader did a special issue on death and politics. There is a book on memorial photography. Cemeteries and public space might be an interesting focus. --CB
Post a Comment