Soul in the Stone: Cemetery Art from American's HeartlandJohn Gary Brown's richly evocative photographs remind us that cemeteries-shadowy markers of death and grief-also shine forth with life and art. By turns starkly sobering, nostalgic, provocative, and quirkily humorous, his photos capture the human spirit preserved in all of its amazing diversity. Celebrating master stone sculptors as well as grassroots and ethnic folk artists, Brown's striking images document the rich traditions of cemetery art as found throughout Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico. The art itself manifests a great many idiosyncratic forms and subjects including an Egyptian sphinx, a gigantic baseball, a salesman's suitcase, a rolltop desk, a car-engine shrine, plexiglass-enclosed dolls, life-size limestone statuary, hovering marble angels, elaborate wrought-iron crosses, along with more modest traditional motifs in etched-grantie and concrete. Brown's own artistry and insights illuminate the ways in which these works embody or reflect personal grief, family relationships, religious and ethnic values, social status, occupations, avocations, aesthetics, as well as unrealized hopes and dreams. Both informative and entertaining, his book provides a haunting tribute to this neglected art form. |
Common terms and phrases
America's Heartland American angel artistic Aspen Bellefontaine Cemetery beneath bringing to mind buried Calvary Cemetery carved Catholic Celtic cross ceme Cemetery in St Chicago Chilili Christian church Colorado concrete dead death deceased decorative Denver's Fairmount Cemetery depicts detailed died Dinsmoor Egyptian Revival epitaph erected expression faith family plot father flowers funerary Garden Graceland Cemetery granite grave markers gravestones grief headstone Heartland cemeteries heaven Hill Cemetery Hispanic Horace McAfee imagery images immigrants Indiana inscribed inscription iron crosses Italian Italy Jewish John Kansas Liebenthal limestone lived look Louis Luyties marble mausoleum memorial ment metal Mexico Missouri monu monument mortality motif Mount Mora Cemetery nearby Nebraska City numbers photograph pioneer plaque Protestant remembered rest ritual Rose Hill sculpted portrait sculptor small cemetery Star of David stone surrogate mourners symbol tablets tery tomb tombstone traditional tree twentieth century visitor Wichita wife William wooden World Wyuka Cemetery