I've always been fascinated by the practice of post-mortem photography,among other traditionally taboo subjects. It's interesting to me how we in the US deal with and view death,and how we prefer to pretend it doesn't exist. Funeral homes arrange the deceased to make them appear as if they were sleeping, just as the photographers of the past did with their corpse models. Since photographs were reserved for those of status and wealth in those times, it was a huge deal to have photos in your home, whether they contained a corpse or not. What counted was that you cared enough about the relative that you had their picture taken. Nowadays, with photography available to everybody, post-mortem photography has been phased out and the process of death and dying seems to have been sterilized. It's been engrained into our heads that anything having to do with the dead and their remains needs to be hushed, that the dead can't look dead, but instead like they're sleeping.
Post-mortem photography is just one of the many interesting customs people have regarding death. While to us it's taboo to take the deceased's picture, other cultures have glorified the dead's image. (I'm looking at you, Ancient Egypt.) Other cultures burn their bodies and dump the ashes into a sacred river. Another Asian culture will exhume their dead loved ones after so many years, after which the family will have their bones cleaned, placed in an urn, and re-buried in the family pagoda with the rest of the ancestors.
1 comment:
I agree with the statement you said that in today's world people prefer to pretend that death doesn't exist. Photography is one way to keep their image and memory alive. It has been looked down upon in the U.S. for a long time and I believe that some people should be allowed to photograph the deceased if they please. Photography is means of artistic expression but also a way to preserve images of loved ones. I agree that other cultures worship the dead's image and it can be a large part of people's lives.
Post a Comment