[Personal_archives] images of death

[Rodney Carter]

There has been a fair amount of work on post-mortem or funeral photography.
One of the best sources that I am aware of is

Jay Ruby, *Secure the Shadow: Death and Photography in America**,*(Cambridge,
Mass.: MIT Press, 1999)

More in a little while.
Rodney

On Wed, Oct 29, 2008 at 8:50 AM, Hobbs, Catherine <
catherine.hobbs at lac-bac.gc.ca> wrote:

> Judith's message brought to mind an interview with Joan Schwartz (no
> doubt some of you know the programme/new item I'm refering to, but I
> can't remember) where she discusses her study of 19thC portraits taken
> of dead children.  She discusses the way in which these portraits were
> taken by studio photographers shortly after the death and how they
> functioned as reminders to the Victorians who had a different sense of
> memorialization.
>
> If any of you know of an article on the topic we'll add it to the
> citations relating to the discussion.  (By the way, I've been meaning to
> mention that:  we'll be aiming to compile the citations for the
> discussion).
>
> Best,
>
> Catherine
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: personal_archives-bounces at mailman.yale.edu
> [mailto:personal_archives-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Judith
> Colwell
> Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2008 3:04 PM
> To: Archives; Personal_archives at mailman.yale.edu
> Subject: Re: [Personal_archives] personal archives
>
> The photos that we have in a church archvies, amid personal papers, are
> often taken to back up a report or to put a face on a church -- hence
> alumninum souvenir plates  and postcards showing the image of the
> minister and of the church exterior.  In some circles these would be art
> forms -- after all the engraving on the aluminum or tin took some skill.
> Then the question arises asking whether the church was as stern as the
> minister, or was the minister pushing an image that he thought the
> church wanted.
>
> As to pictures of funerals, etc. -- depends on the geographic area in
> question.  I have some photos of people laid out in their caskets which
> appear to be part of a culture.  And I vividly recall, from back in the
> late 1950's a schoolmate with her album of photos of her mother in
> casket and the funeral.  Creepy to me, but ....
>
> Judith Colwell
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Archives" <archives at trinity.utoronto.ca>
> To: <Personal_archives at mailman.yale.edu>
> Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2008 3:07 PM
> Subject: [Personal_archives] personal archives
>
>
> Hello all,
>
> Reading the articles I have been struck by the universality of the
> 'snapshot' experience, how we all know the rules of picture-taking and
> viewing. First we know that although the picture captures a real moment,
> it is also a projection of an idealized life. Secondly, we know that
> much is hidden - hence the sadness that Barthes refers to and which I
> would argue goes beyond the realization that the subject may be dead.
>
> Chambers refers to the feminine character of snapshot taking and album
> making, and points out that despite this female perspective there are no
> pictures of housework. Taking this one step further, there are also no
> pictures of screaming infants, two-year-olds having a tantrum, sullen
> teen-agers screaming "I hate you!". There are no pictures of sick-beds
> or funerals. The family album or photo collection presents a world
> without pain. Since most of us have personal experience with the
> phenomenon of family albums, we instinctively do not buy into this, and
> realize that the mythology created is unrealistic and to some extent,
> banal. Could the family album be seen as the visual equivalent of the
> Christmas letter?
>
> In an archival context, we find the pictures complemented and completed
> by other elements in a fonds: a file of condolence cards, doctor's
> bills, diaries recording private anguish, letters containing an
> outpouring of emotion. And they are certainly useful, as Catherine
> points out, for identification purposes.
>
> Martha asks the fundamental question: "is everyday photographic
> experience transferrable to art?" I'd argue that it is and that the
> artist has the same mandate as the archivist. The historic photograph on
> its own is nearly meaningless, and thus it requires either
> transformation (by an artist) or contextualization (by an archivist) to
> make it 'real'. It's function during the lifetime of its subjects, and
> perhaps for a generation after, is to follow a path that has been
> tacitly approved by its viewing public. After that, it's fair game for
> us!
>
> Thanks, Catherine, Martha et al. for making this happen.
>
> Sylvia
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Alison Nordstrom <anordstrom at geh.org>
> To: Personal_archives at mailman.yale.edu
> Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2008 9:40:51 AM
> Subject: [Personal_archives] (re-sent) first thoughts of the morning
>
> I'm curious about who's lurking here. I suspect we have archivists,
> curators and students who may do any number of things in the future.
> Strikes me that we might have very different notions and working
> definitions of "family photograph." Can we share?
>
> I tend to say various things like "a photograph used in the family as a
> metaphor for that family, an ideological device that defines family, a
> statement both internally directed and externally directed that
> manifests an ideal, a record of a family."
>
> How do these past uses cling to a photograph ( or group of photographs)
> as it/they moves away from original use?
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