12/23/2023 0 Comments Heavenly bodies paul koudounarisIt can be universal rather than Western, since we're not confined to a specific narrative." "The subject matter here is obviously similar, but the approach makes it a very different book, and also much more inclusive, since we were able to include all this wonderful material from Asia, South America, etc. "Memento Mori," in turn, is a photo book with text. Koudounaris says that while "Empire of Death" and "Heavenly Bodies" became famous for their photos, they were really history books. Mummified priests in Gangi, Sicily | Photo by Paul Koudounaris As I myself evolved that became reversed and I now consider myself more a photographer who does art history." "I started out doing this stuff over a decade ago, and at that time I considered myself an art historian who also took photos. But he says his approach has changed over time. With a PhD in 17th Century Art History from UCLA, Koudounaris has always been able to give images of skulls and bones a scholarly context, bringing a rare kind of reverence and academic treatment to a subject that would otherwise seem simply ghoulish. "Memento Mori" investigates humankind's attitude towards mortality through both public and private relationships with death, and raises the question: why has death become synonymous with finality, when in reality, it is really life that is final and death that is eternal? ![]() ![]() In conjunction with the book, the author is bringing 20 images to La Luz de Jesus for a gallery show April 3 - April 26, and while his previous books and exhibits often gave us images of skeletons in painstakingly beaded attire wearing lavish jewelry, "Memento Mori" shows how the dead function in more secular spaces such as the caves of Indonesia and Bolivia's yearly Fiesta de las Ã?atitas, when people take beloved skulls, enshrined and decorated especially for the occasion, to a local cemetery for a celebration. Now, the final installment of his trilogy, "Memento Mori: The Dead Among Us" goes beyond the glamor and investigates how the living interacted with the everyday dead, and in some places, continue to today. His first two books, "The Empire of Death: A Cultural History of Ossuaries and Charnel Houses" (2011) and "Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures and Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs" (2013) gained popularity for their rare images of fantastic ossuaries and jeweled skeletons in Europe, mostly belonging to Catholic religious figures. ![]() Paul Koudounaris has been taking photos of dead people for over a decade.
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