10-14-09 Idea Post

I wanted to go back to my work at the beginning of the semester and even something I was interested in when creating "After I Die" a year and a half ago. The idea of the relic.

Wikipedia Definition:

A relic is an object or a personal item of religious significance, carefully preserved with an air of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Shamanism, and many other religions. The word relic comes from the Latin reliquiae, meaning "remains." A reliquary is a shrine that houses one or more relics.

It came to the forefront of my attention at the beginning of the semester when I watched the tv series "Out of Egypt." An entire episode was dedicated to the hallowed dead that had been preserved and worshiped universally throughout history as relics. These objects have been attributed with such incredible power and meaning that they influence entire religions. Even the every day dead have a certain power within our culture that requires a wake, funeral, headstone, and even annual visitations.

*****

The photograph to the right is a relic containing the humerus of St. Francis Xavier (a missionary born in 1506) in St. Joseph's church in Macao, China. The right forearm of Xavier that was used to bless and baptize his converts was detached long after his original burial and the humerus was sent to to Macau in a silver reliquary.


This is a photograph of the Shroud of Turin, or the Turin Shroud. It is a linen cloth thought to be the burial shroud of Jesus Christ that bears his crucifixion image. The left half of the image is the actual shroud and the right half of the image is a contrast heavy b&w negative of the image for easier viewing. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, Italy.

St. Bernadette Soubirous lies in a glass coffin at her convent in Nevers, France. She was exhumed 33 years after death and was found to be 'incorrupt' or preserved from decomposition. Two additional times she was exhumed and examined to be 'practically mummified' over a period of 49 years. A wax face and hands were molded from imprints and photos and Bernadette was placed in the Chapel of St. Bernadette in Nevers.

*****

I have also recently found out that VCU offers a death and burial class through their anthropology program. I want to take the class REALLY bad, but have only one already full semester left. I did find out you can continue to take classes at VCU after you graduate, but you are the last to register and have to pay part time tuition ($250 per credit hour). Graduate school is something that has crossed my mind, but can a photo student go to grad school for anthropology?

I feel like my work over the past two weeks (exploring materials in a 'real space' rather than 'non-space') has traveled in an opposite direction of the above research I have been doing lately and I am as confused as ever. I plan on showing four photos at the midterm critique (only 5 days away) that are so completely different. The only way I can relate them to each other is to explain my confusion and the new avenues of searching I have developed within my work.