This is meaningful to me as an anthropology major, for I have stumbled upon this concept a number of times through my studies. Historically, anthropology has had a vested interest in the"primitive," which has been a negative thing in many ways because in many instances it has turned into a colonial endeavor. Interest in the primitive people in anthropology is similar to Lippard's description of ancient art in the interest in the simplicity of the past.
I think I want to explore this idea of nostalgia a bit further, especially because I can relate it to my own field of study. This brought me to wonder: Would cemeteries and tombstones, if they are of natural stone, Earth Art? I would say so. Visiting a grave site is a nostalgic activity, whether you know the buried or not. In sites such as Hollywood Cemetery, there are many interactions between Earth, man, and nostalgia. This is also interesting because there are many ways to bury, burn or dispose of the dead throughout the world. I think I'll go to Hollywood to take pictures sometime during this class.
Ed Deasy, "Anonymous Grave," Maryland, http://eddeasy.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html
3 comments:
That's an interesting idea!
I wonder if there is someplace local that does natural burials?
Here's a link to the wikipedia entry on eco-cemetaries:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-cemetery
It seems like a normal burial in the U.S. (most modern, western societies maybe?) consists of adding so many unnatural processes that end up distancing us from nature.
(Gotta love Six Feet Under... I learn so much from that show haha.)
Also, this type of burial allows for the natural decomposition of the body, which goes along with the idea of decay in earth art.
i skimmed the wikipedia article about eco-cemetaries. I'd always though the idea of putting a coffin into the ground and taking up a little plot of space was weird. It's like you don't really "need" space anymore, but we have a custom of allowing people to buy these spaces, sometimes for their whole family.
I think people have an aversion to natural burials, more than the idea of worms and bugs crawling through you, because they don't want to be forgotten. You know how people say, "you can't take it with you when you go," we want to leave a physical mark of their existence. I think this is same reason you see names carved into wood; it'll outlast you.
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