Learning to dance with death
Posted by Vale I was reading the vision statement for the Dying Matters Coalition recently (as you do) and stubbed my toe on their ambition to address death, dying and bereavement in a way that: ’will involve a fundamental change in society in which dying, death and bereavement will be seen and accepted as the […]
The Art of Portrait Sculpture
“Death Mask Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1769-1830” Can be seen at Presence: The Art of Portrait Sculpture With portraits by artists from Giacometti to Ron Mueck, Presence is a terrific gathering of people carved, cast, modelled in clay or turned to stone. The Observer’s Laura Cumming takes a look at some of the works on show Presence: […]
Tibetan Carved Skull
Evelyn noticed this masterpiece rolling round the web yesterday – on Imgur and Order of the Good Death more pictures here
Dead Dad
Brian Appleyard writes: Mueck exhibited only one piece at the Sensation show: Dead Dad, a hyper-realistic sculpture of the corpse of his father. The first shock was that it was little more than half life-size. The second shock was — well, I’ll come back to that. Some years later, Craig Raine, the poet and critic, […]
Habeas corpse
An email flies in from a consumer advocacy org in the US. It’s about a British funeral consumer, let’s call him Jim, who has asked them for help. Jim has been told by his funeral director that there will be no funeral until he pays most of the bill upfront. Jim can manage much of […]
Alexander McQueen: a commentary on death and decay
Phoebe Hoare, who’s put some really good things our way, suggests it’s time we did something on Alexander McQueen, the fashion designer. She’s quite right. It’s not as if his work does not dwell and brood on death, dying, mortality and moral blackness. Before becoming a student at Central St Martin’s, McQueen cut his teeth […]
Absence makes the art grow fonder
Are you a graveyard rabbit? Are you a photographer? If your answer to both of the above is yes, you can enrich yourself to the tune of £1,000 by indulging your two favourite fads and entering MAB’s Dead Art? Then and Now competition, details of which follow: Last year was the second success of the Memorial […]
Mischief or Masterpiece?
For centuries, artists of all kinds – from Michelangelo to Martin Scorsese, Salvador Dali to Damien Hirst and Andrew Lloyd Webber to Monty Python – have attempted to convey the meaning of the crucifixion through their work. For many it has been a deeply
Cherry blossoms
Posted by Vale Blossom bursting from bare wood, old hearts crack open spring sunshine. There is something unlooked for in the pleasures of spring: light, warmth and the flush of blossom; a sudden generosity beyond expectation. Japan marks this annual marvel by holding blossom viewing parties. It’s part of a culture which reverences nature by […]
Thy fibres net the dreamless head
Old Yew, which graspest at the stones That name the under-lying dead, Thy fibres net the dreamless head, Thy roots are wrapt about the bones. The seasons bring the flower again, And bring the firstling to the flock; &; in the dusk of thee, the clock Beats out the little lives of men. O, not […]
