Eros and Thanatos at Milan's Cimetero Monumentale: "Dedizione: Don't Tell Anyone The Cause of my Death," Funerary Monument, Piero da Verona, 1914

On a recent trip to Italy with Evan Michelson--co-star of TV's "Oddities" and Morbid Anatomy Library scholar in residence--we paid an impromptu, jet-lagged visit to the wonderful Cimetero Monumentale in Milan. We were both struck by the over-the-top--and, for a cemetery, odd--sexiness of so many of its funeral monuments, particularly the one shown above. I was trying to get to the bottom of this peculiar phenomenon when I came across the following lengthy discussion of the very monument in the book Italian Memorial Sculpture 1820-1940: A Legacy of Love; As it is quite fascinating, I quote it here in its entirety here:

Milan has one of the most enigmatic of erotic monuments. Conceived by Piero da Verona ... for Maria Beruccinia in 1914, it is subtitled Dedizione and inscribed 'Non dire ad alcuno perché sona morta' ... Dedizione translates as "devotion' in English, but in Italian its earlier meaning was 'surrender' or 'submission' and, by extension, 'self sacrifice.' Our curiosity is further incited by the inscrutable inscription 'Don't tell anyone why I'm dead' or, more liberally, 'Don't tell anyone the cause of my death.' The particular kind of graceful femininity was preceded in the works of Canonica and of Domenico Trentacoste... Da Verona must also have been receptive to the sensuality of the 'Genoese Symbolist School"... while the pose may specifically reflect contemporary photography, ranging from artistic poses to soft pornography.... One's immediate reaction is to ask what on earth a sculpture like this is doing in a cemetery. Is there malice in its presence there or in the eye of the beholder?

Evan and I will be returning to Italy in mid-February to finish our project, so expect many more posts like this one. And please--if anyone knows of any must-see Italian Catholica or Anatomica that we should make sure to work into our itinerary, shoot me an email at morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com!

This book, and many other books like it, resides in The Morbid Anatomy Library. The library will be open to the public next Saturday from 2-6. Image is ©Joanna Ebenstein, 2012; click to see larger, more detailed version.

Apologies for Scant Blogging AND Seville, Spain: Packed with Tormented Souls in Purgatory, Mortally Wounded-Christs, Holy Week Processions and Madonna Dolorosas

Greetings, all. My apologies for being such a abysmal blogger this month. As many of you already know, I spent the entirety of last month in London, completing a residency at the fantastic Last Tuesday Society; I also took advantage of my geographical location to take a few mini trips to places like Berlin, Budapest, and Seville. Above are a few of my photos from wonderful souls in purgatory, wounded-Christ, holy week procession and Madonna Dolorosa-packed Seville. You can see the complete set by clicking here.

More to come soon, I promise!

"Morbid Curiosity: The Richard Harris Collection," Through July 8, Chicago Cultural Center: Exhibition Report

 

I collect images of  "Death" because I am a visual person who takes in information best visually. As I have gotten older the thought of my own demise has begun to enter my conscious thoughts. The universality of "Death," with the realization that we will all die, encouraged me to begin the conversation of my mortality visually rather than talking or reading about it. I believe that there is a larger audience who might also be more comfortable beginning that discussion in a visual way, which is why I always thought of my collection in terms of a public exhibition.

--Richard Harris, the collector whose works are featured in "Morbid Curiosity: The Richard Harris Collection,"in an interview with Morbid Anatomy

Whilst in Chicago a few weeks ago, I had the good fortune to be able to spend a good two hours or so with the works in the profoundly wonderful new exhibition "Morbid Curiosity: The Richard Harris Collection," on view through July 8 at the Chicago Cultural Center. This seriously (!!!) not-to-be-missed exhibition showcases nearly 1,000 works which range from 2000 B.C.E. to the present, from fine art to ephemera, and from Mexican to Japanese to Tibetan to European artist traditions, all drawn from the astounding death-related collection of Richard Harris.

Some of my favorite pieces--featured in the photos above--included Rudolfo Villena Hernandez "A Commemoration of the Bicentennial Proclamation of the Independence of Mexico" (third from bottom); Michel de Spiegelaere's "Macabre Scene," one of the better Frederik Ruysch tableaux recreations I have had the pleasure to see (8-10 from top); a collection of macabre book plates and postcards (4th and 5th from bottom); Roger Reutimann's "Death of Venus" (seventh down), a wonderful collection of 19th Century ceramic German Dance of Death Figures (second from bottom), a carved wooden memento mori figurine from the early 17th century (third from bottom), and Jodie Carie's "In the eyes of Others plaster-cast bone chandelier bringing to mind the wonders of the  Kutná Hora ossuary (fourth down). The installation itself--expertly staged by curator Lucas Cowan--is wonderful as well, evoking the beautiful clutter of the wunderkammer but utilizing clever groupings which draw the eye and invite close investigation rather than overwhelm.

You can see more photos from the exhibition--and find out more about the works seen above--by clicking here. You can find out more on this exhibition on this recent post, on the Chicago Cultural Center website, and on Richard Harris' website. You can watch a gallery walk through and interview with Richard Harris by clicking here.

The Body of San Giovanni Leonardi, Patron Saint of Pharmacists, Rome, Italy

Incorruptible? Effigy? There is definitely some wax involved. The caption next to this figure in his space age crystal coffin read:

Corpo di San Giovanni Leonardi (Diecimo-Lucca 1591-Roma 1609) Fondatore dell'Ordine della Madre di Dio Cofondatore del Collegio di Propaganda Fide, Patrono dei Framacisti." (Or, as translated by Google, "Body of St. John Leonardi (Diecimo Lucca-1591-Rome 1609) Founder of the Order of the Mother of God, co-founder of the College of Propaganda Fide, Patron of Pharmacists.)

As seen at--if I remember correctly--his shrine at Santa Maria of Campitelli church in Rome. More on this saint can be found here. More from Italy to come very soon.

Curious, Anatomical, Obscure or Delicious Korea: Seeking Suggestions

Dear Morbid Anatomy readers:

In just a few days, I am off to live for one month (!!!) in Seoul, South Korea as part of the fantastic Apex Art Outbound Residency Program. For those of you who are interested, I will be documenting my Korean adventures on a special blog for Apex Art; you can check that out by clicking here. I arrive in Seoul on September 16th, so blog entries should begin soon after.

But I have a more pressing question for you, dear readers: do any of you out there have any suggestions for suggested Korean sights, sounds, and tastes? Of particular interest, of course, are museums and collections--especially old natural history or anatomical/medical--but any suggestions, from foods to markets to restaurants to shops to national parks to amusement parks to folk art to fine art to curiosities of any kind, would be very much appreciated!

Suggestions will be gratefully received at morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com. Thank you very very much in advance!

Image: House Swallow from the Ehwa Womans University Natural History Museum, Korea.

"Pandora's Box: Curiosity and the Dangerous Pursuit of Knowledge," Exhibition, Grant Museum, London

Above Image: © Jane Wildgoose 2009; All else my own.

Knowledge is a dangerous and unstable pursuit. In history and fiction it carries a health warning: Pandora unleashed all the troubles of the world when she lifted the lid of a particularly intriguing box. But from Adam and Eve to Bluebeard’s Castle, Icarus to the Manhattan Project, the prohibition against curiosity has been ignored. Pandora’s Box invites the visitor to inquire within – come what may...

The Grant Museum of Zoology at University College London--one of my favorite natural history museums!--has a rather exciting looking exhibition coming up. One of the participants is none other than Jane Wildgoose, photographer and keeper of the fabulous Wildgoose Memorial Library (you can see one of her lovely photos, to be featured in the exhibition, above, top); the other is a lovely artist I met recently in London named Amanda Schiff, whose artwork--entitled "While Sleeping, Watch!"--is featured in Wildgoose's photo beneath the skeleton.

As you can see by the other photos--taken myself over a series of perfectly ordinary, everyday visits to the Grant--this cabinet-like museum is something of a wunderkammer even without the addition of an art installation, and promises to be a perfect setting for a project of this scope. Can't wait to see the final product!

Full details:

Pandora's Box: Curiosity and the Dangerous Pursuit of Knowledge
Box assemblages and cabinets of curiosities by Amanda Schiff
Photographs by Jane Wildgoose
February 15th- June 11th 2010

Like a twenty first century alchemist, artist, filmmaker and writer Amanda Schiff transforms abandoned and forgotten objects into intriguing and unsettling narratives.

In her new installation at the Grant Museum of Zoology, Schiff, who describes herself as an excavator of ephemera, explores her fascination with things that have survived ‘by chance or miracle.’ In Pandora's Box she takes these orphaned objects, whose makers are long dead and whose purpose is outworn or forgotten, saturates them with fictional narratives and arranges them in a series of boxes. The resulting assemblages, constructed with a filmmaker’s eye for detail and a writer’s love of tall tales, are beguiling, and on occasion, sinister. They inhabit the ambiguous world of fairytales: superficially playful, with an unsettling underscore of dark secrets and obsessive interests.

Knowledge is a dangerous and unstable pursuit. In history and fiction it carries a health warning: Pandora unleashed all the troubles of the world when she lifted the lid of a particularly intriguing box. But from Adam and Eve to Bluebeard’s Castle, Icarus to the Manhattan Project, the prohibition against curiosity has been ignored. Pandora’s Box invites the visitor to inquire within – come what may. A cast of characters emerges: some identified in accompanying short stories, others hinted at by the cabinets of curiosities that they have made of their lives. The viewer, it soon becomes clear, is the missing element; their imagination is being called upon to complete the picture and resurrect the stories.

There are also new site-specific works in the Museum, investigating the convergence of alchemy and natural philosophy with the sciences during the Renaissance. Jane Wildgoose’s atmospheric and beautiful photographs of the boxes, taken with natural light in intriguing locations, provide context and further layers to the stories and images.

Amanda Schiff is a film producer, writer and lecturer in screenwriting. Her first exhibition was We are Shadows: Metamorphosis, Curiosities, Dark Tales at Eleven Spitalfields in June 2009. Her long film industry career has included stints at Columbia Pictures, the NFDF, Goldcrest and an eight-year partnership with producer Barbara Broccoli at Astoria Pictures, where they produced Crime of The Century. She graduated with an MA in Creative writing from Birkbeck, University of London. She is currently writing a novel and co-writing screenplays. cabinet.curiosity@btintenet.com

Jane Wildgoose is a NESTA (National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts) Fellow, artist, photographer, broadcaster and writer with a background in stage and film design. Since 2003 she has been Keeper of the Wildgoose Memorial Library, and is currently developing projects with museums in the UK and the US. www.janewildgoose.co.uk

To find out more, click here. To visit the Grant Museum of Zoology at University College London website, click here. To find out more about Jane Wildgoose and her library, click here. Please click on images to see larger, more detailed versions; you can see more photos of the here. Also, thanks so much to friend and friend-of-the-blog Natasha McEnroe for allowing me to poke around the museum and stores with my camera, and for alerting me to this wonderful looking exhibition!

Images: Top image: a photo to be included in the exhibition, featuring an artwork by Amanda Schiff entitled "While Sleeping, Watch!," © Jane Wildgoose 2009; all other images taken by myself over various everyday visits to the Grant Museum.