Pat Macpherson, Xochitl, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly
(Thamesandhudson.com) Q&A with LA-based art historian Dr. Koudounaris, expert and author on European ossuaries and charnel houses for both
academic and popular journals. Now he is bringing
these saints out of the darkness for the first time.
Dr. Paul Koudounaris* signed Heavenly Bodies earlier this month at La Luz de Jesus art gallery. Koudounaris gained unprecedented access to the relics of Catholic "catacomb saints," a rare set of historical artifacts. They were hidden for over a century because Western attitudes
toward the worship of holy relics and death itself changed. Some of
the ornamented skeletons appear in publication in his book for the first
time (105 illustrations, 90 in color). Where did they come from?
 |
| Pope and boy (TIME) |
The 17th- and 18th-century jeweled skeletons photographed for Heavenly Bodies are the finest works of art in bone ever created -- with the exception of Tibetan bone works in Nepalese lamaseries. Unlike the anonymous bone piles photographed for The Empire of Death,
these holy skeletons are meant to have distinct identities -- as magnificently
glorified holy people. In each case, constructing them from skulls,
femurs, ribs, jewels, gold, and silver creating a kind of personality.
Sometimes these skeletons are touching and poignant, sometimes bizarre
and surreal, even grotesque.
- Science discovers new body part
- The Body in the Eyes of Science
- Science adores relics in "BodyWorld 2"
- Exposing Anti-Pope (Most Holy Family)
- Ariana Grande is in touch with demons
- Bodies? 46% more rapes in US military this year(Pauline Jelinek, Huff Post) Reports of sexual assaults in the military increased by an unprecedented 46 percent during the last fiscal year, the Pentagon said Thursday. It wasn’t possible to know whether the spike represented an increase in assaults, an increase in the percentage of people reporting them, or both. More
*Dr. Koudounaris explains: “The closest I can come to bringing the actual Heavenly Bodies to my
viewers and readers is this photo show, which presents them in up to
live-sized reproductions. This show also provides me with another
opportunity: a chance to cull my own personal favorites from among the
thousands of photos I took. These are not always the same images shown
in the book; rather, it is my own personal selection of what I consider
the finest and most expressive decorated skeletons.”
No comments:
Post a Comment