Lady on her death-bed with a gentleman standing by, Jacob de Gheyn II, 1601; From The British Museum
An Illustrated Lecture By Halli Gomberg
Date: Thursday, February 20
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $8
Presented by Morbid Anatomy
Is the phenomenon of “Selfies At Funerals” a new manifestation of social media narcissism, or the last in a long line of older post mortem cultural practices? This talk will explore the complex attitudes towards death and photography over the course of American history, fom its precursors in painted deathbed portraiture, through Victorian postmortem and medical school dissection photographs and into newly emerging technologies. We will examine how society deals with our private and public mourning rituals, and why postmortem remembrance imagery can still be a cultural taboo.
Halli Gomberg is a User Experience designer who is fascinated by human interaction and the unexpected ways it can be applied to the world around us. In her free time she is a painter and a collector of an ever growing cabinet of curiosities including several examples of postmortem photography.