I am going to quote myself here--
"Just because you play with dead bodies doesn't mean you are ok with death" -- In this cause I am reacting to Heartney's interpretation of Joel-Peter Witkin's work.
I make the argument that he is exploiting the disturbing nature of death to make a name for himself.
Granted -- what makes death so disturbing? Which is what Heartney was talking about in this particular chapter from "Postmodern Heretics"-- Legitimate Point --
He says that he prays over the bodies but in these still-lives does he respect the vessel that once held a human. Is he really questioning our ideals of beauty?
I don't think so -- they are surreal and dark and disturbing
I think this incident from his childhood with the tragic car accident where he recalls seeing the little girl's head roll towards him has a MAJOR thing to do with his fascination with the morbid.
Does a fascination and obsession on death lead to something healthy?
I sure hope so--
Where am I going with this? I am not sure rants really go anywhere, but in the end I try
Still not sure if I succeeded.
well, now that I have vented -- I can say -- it was just his way of dealing with death and his experiences but if you havent seen his work you should check it out -- I don't like to look at it--but that's just me
there is something about the body -- even if it isn't being inhabited anymore -- I still feel that it is necessary to treat it with respect-- to show respect to the person who once lived -- is that as silly as respecting a book ...
Saturday, February 27, 2010
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