In “Tradition, Modernity, & Postmodernity in Symbolism of Death”, Abby Collier argues that the symbolic representation of death has been redirected to a individualized representation of the deceased from a traditional representation, influenced by the social and cultural ways of dealing with death. The article discusses the evolution of the cemetery as social records, community and a postindustrial record, focusing on the transformation of the gravestones and memorialization of individuals through symbolic imagery. Collier insists that over the three distinct eras traditional, modern and postmodern, the symbols remain the same, while size, material and finish of gravestones differ.
The cemetery is believed to be a reflection of life, symbolic of social structures or a replica of a living community. The sense of community in burial practices varies depending on inscriptions or markers, which experienced changes from the movement to industrial from to romantic era (Collier 729). Memorialization provides an insight to cultural trends, cultural pluralism in war memorials, and individual identification, by way of change in symbols over time. Collier finds that history is not relatable to individuals today, for the two perspectives regarding funerary art divide between postmodern with extreme change and one that prevails all eras. She suggests that, “the lack of cultural traditional guidelines leaves some individuals isolated and alienated” however, this notion holds a bias towards institutional funerary practices (Collier 730).
The article focuses on the 150-year-old public cemetery, Stone Mountain, to map out the transition of gravestones over the years. The gravestones were categorized based on their symbolism, which was divided i...
... middle of paper ...
...ent. While the use of commemorative objects are minimal, with only a few flowers, Christmas refs and festive ornaments.
The argument Collier regarding the symbolism and formal characteristics of the gravestones is consistent with those found in Camp Hill cemetery, with the exception of particular styles which she did not mention. The distinction between the eras is evident, but it must be noted that cultural influence assists in the changes and desired aesthetic of the gravestone. Overall Collier’s findings are cohesive and provide a standard guideline for interpreting the difference between gravestones from previous eras, the sense of community in burial practices and the progression of personalized symbolism.
Works Cited
Collier, C. D. Abby. "Tradition, Modernity, And Postmodernity In Symbolism Of Death." The Sociological Quarterly 44.4 (2003): 727-49. Print.
Sylvia Grider. “Public Grief and the Politics of Memorial.” Anthropology Today (London), June 2007, 3-7. Print.
In the essay “On the Fear of Death” Elisabeth Kubler-Ross focuses on dying and the effects it has on children as well as those who are dying, while in Jessica Mitford’s “Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain” focuses more on the after fact when the deceased is being prepared of their last appearance. Both authors, point out that the current attitude toward death is to simply cover it up. A successful funeral is when the deceased looks “Lyf Lyk” in Mitford’s Essay, but in Kubler-Ross’ it is dying at a peace with oneself, no IVs attached. Both authors feel that the current views of death is dehumanizing. Mitford points this out with the allusion that the funeral parlors are a theatrical play, while Kubler-Ross comments “I think there are many reasons
Ever take a midnight train to Georgia? No, well ever drive through Georgia? When driving through Georgia on State Road 49, there is a little town called Andersonville that is very easy to miss. To many it is just another town. Yet this town has its own trail. The Andersonville Trail is a small brown dirt road that leads visitors to the Andersonville National Historic Site (Roberts xi). This National Historic Site looks like a “well- tended” national cemetery. On closer examination, this cemetery is nothing like Arlington (Roberts xi). “In this national cemetery, the marble headstones are so close together, they almost touch. The markers appear to be one long head...
In Natasha Trethewey’s poetry collection “Native Guard”, the reader is exposed to the story of Trethewey’s growing up in the southern United States and the tragedy which she encountered during her younger years, in addition to her experiences with prejudice. Throughout this work, Trethewey often refers to graves and provides compelling imagery regarding the burial of the dead. Within Trethewey’s work, the recurring imagery surrounding graves evolves from the graves simply serving as a personal reminder of the past to a statement on the collective memory of society and comments on what society chooses to remember and that which it chooses to let go of.
There are an average of thirty funerals a day, and more than four million people pay their respects to the fallen each year. One of those things is the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A young soldier with a face as solid as steel, hands as strong as iron takes twenty-one steps as he crosses in front of the white tomb. The words etched into the tomb are “Here Rests in Honored Glory An American Soldier But Known To God.”
Thousands of headstones in the far distance create magnificent mazes against the horizon. The immense land has very little room to spare as it is overflowing with graves of heroic soldiers. The white marble graves are like oversized dominos stacked precisely in the thick wind ruffled grass. It is almost inconceivable to imagine each tomb is the physical eternal home to a once courageous and patriotic warrior of our homeland. As the fireball in the heavens slowly descends, it creates a glorious silhouette of the infinite number of tombstones.
"Taboos and Social Stigma - Rituals, Body, Life, History, Time, Person, Human, Traditional Views of Death Give Way to New Perceptions." Encyclopedia of Death and Dying. Web. 31 Jan. 2011. .
Transcribed on the entrance of the Parisian Catacombs are the words, “Arrete! C’est ici l’empire de la Mort.” Translated to English, this means, “Stop! This is the empire of the Dead”(Gup). Past this interesting transcription lies the largest ossuary in the world (Geisweiller). Containing six million bodies and bones, this is more massive than the largest cemetery on Earth, the Wadi Al-Salaam, which contains over five million bodies (Wright). Some people go into Paris for the sole purpose of venturing into these Catacombs, some more devoted than others. While catacombs can easily be connected to cemeteries, their complex histories, structures, and audiences are harder to explain.
The Marble Grave Stele is a horizontal piece that was embedded in a larger piece of marble. The inscriptions of the names of who died have long been lost. Thus, we must interpret for ourselves what the full meaning of the piece is. The artist of the piece is unknown, but it was constructed in Greece in around 360 B.C. during the Classical Era and stands at 171.1 centimeters in height. Its original location, as its name suggests, was at a gravesite; currently, it is located in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Stele was carved from marble. Overall, it is in good condition; however, the body of the woman on the left is missing with only her head surviving. Its stone frame in which it was set is also missing. This frame more than lik...
Fifty-five million people die each year and yet the number of people who get a grand memorial can be virtually counted on a few dozens of hands. An article in the New York Times made me wonder if memorials are not, perhaps, taken too literary and if, maybe, a memorial can be more than just a work of art or a bench “in the name of someone”.
De Spelder and Strickland (1983) say that the understanding of death is communicated through the process of socialization by which children learn the concepts and conversations that have value in modern society (p.64). Geoffrey Goer believes that there is evidence to suggest that death has become a taboo and has replaced sex as the unspoken subject of today’s society. Goer says children “are initiated in their early years to love (the concept of sex); But they no longer see their grandfather and express astonishment, they are told that he is resting in a beautiful garden among the flowers” (Walter, p.92-3, 1991). In this essay I will discuss whether death is what Geoffrey Goer suggests, a ‘taboo’ subject within Western Society. Firstly, I will outline what I mean by the terms ‘death’ and ‘taboo’, after which I will place reasons why academics find death to be tabooed and why some argue why death is not tabooed subject. Finally from the analysis of these arguments, I will propose from the evidence, whether in fact death is actually ‘tabooed’.
In their article on the subject of memorialisation, historians Gavin Hughes and Jonathan Trigg state the purpose of memorials as being a ‘potent and powerful symbol precisely because of its simplicity and instant familiarity.’ This is true for most of Britain as the First World War was the first time they had experienced loss of this scale and for the country as a whole it was crucial that there be a way for the millions of families affected to show their respect and to grieve. In 1916, the government forbade families to exhume bodies and bring them back to Britain, depriving them of any solid means of closure or acceptance. It was therefore the rise of memorials in their many shapes and forms that gave them the chance to grieve and to pay their respects to the thousands of dead. These memorials have changed in
As the database will be used for research as well as town-planning by a wide variety of people, including historians, local councils, genealogists, sociologists and epidemiologists, it is anticipated that it will include not only information about the graveyards themselves, but also the buildings, individual gravestones and the records of people buried there. [Emphasis added]
The suspected architect and sculptor, Skopas of Paros, reflected the Late Classical movement of humanization with his trademark being intense emotionalism. The grave stele to which I am referring, displays a deep, concentrated psychological tension. The stele reflects an earlier work, but Skopas’s stele echoes a noticeable change in mood. This work does not focus purely on the deceased. Instead, much of the emotion stems from the survival of those surrounding the
Death: it is something that has touched, or will touch, every single human being in the world. It is something that connects all living things to one another and helps humans relate experiences, and one person’s death may affect many. Through the usage visual elements such as color and symbolism along with her words, Joanna Sakellion’s “Intersecting Lives” shows how a woman’s death connected three individuals.