Mike has been doing a lot of research about the Armenian Genocide, and one of his most recent sculptures is of an angel that will be used as a memorial for a gravesite. In the past few years I have lost many people I love, most recently a young, 20-year-old girl who I was very close to. It's been heartbreaking, and I decided to do this post on the Monmartre Cemetery in Paris because of the way we use art to help in our grieving process. I could've picked from several cemeteries, and though the Staglieno is my favorite, I'm saving that for another day when I can really put together a lot their most gorgeous pieces.
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| Tombs at the Monmartre Cemetery, picture from Ila Chateau |
The tombs alone in this place are amazing, building up a miniature city of the dead, clearly protecting the bodies and souls of those who've gone before. There are beautiful plants and flowers, well-kept and beautified out of respect.
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| Didsbury Monument, "Douleur" |
I can't express how much I love this sculpture. The sculpture was created by a mother who's 20 year old son died. Please read
Peter's Paris for more information about this sculpture - and the cemetery and other places in Paris. He's fascinating. This statue, even in it's dull-colored internet-photo form, is hard to look away from.
Although I couldn't find a name for this statue, it's one of those that's hard to look at and yet hard not to look it. It gives you an appropriate level of discomfort that also relates you to the person's death and all the people involved, the people who are suffering and grieving, those who sometimes feel there is no way out.
I don't know the name of this sculpture either, but I love the premise. A woman sits, obviously alone in her grief. She is half-draped, somewhat vulnerable, somewhat sheltered. Her face is low, but I don't think she's hiding it. I think she's mourning and watching herself put the wreath on top of a long lost loved one.
This is another sculpture that reminds me of a truly grieving woman. Perhaps she's fallen asleep on her husband's grave, or her child's. Or it could be the victim herself, finding rest both underground and in the sunlight. She's beautiful, and the aged patina gives her such an earth-connected feel.
This young girl might be the protector of this gravesite, the Barrias tomb where orientalist painter G.A. Guillaumet. It is an Algeria girl letting flowers fall over the site. The gesture and expression are both interesting and communicative. Louis-Ernest Barrias has done other fantastic public sculptures, including
The Oath of Spartacus.
Cemeteries are hallowed ground. I've always felt this way, and though I've seen photos of creepy cemeteries, all of the cemeteries and graveyards I've been to have a feeling of solemnity and sacredness. Some of them even hold feelings of peace. Sculpture and works of art are here intended to both memorialize and help others through the grieving process. I've seen people lose their children, their spouses, their parents and loved ones to death through both illness, tragedy, and the simple breaking down of the body. One way for us to deal with these things is the artwork and sculptures we find in cemeteries, and the hallowed ground we stand on there.
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