Photography and Death

     Photography and Death- what an interesting photo assignment. I have always seen photography as an infinite effort to capture the life which exists in a fleeting moment, yet there is still history and information that can be photographed within a cemetery. This afternoon I spent hours wandering around the Cemetery of Piere-Lachaise, in awe of how beautiful it actually was. I did get lost by myself most of the time searching for the tombstone of Felix Nadar as he was one of the founding fathers of photography, but had no luck. This cemetery is so much bigger and lovelier than I could have ever fathomed, with light moss accenting the tombstones of literally hundreds of people along endless cobblestone pathways. I could not help but wonder about the lives each of these people had led before finding their final resting place here. There is a particularly wonderful scene in the film "Paris, Je'Taime" where an American mailwoman from Denver visits the Cemetery of Piere-Lachaise and in endearingly horrible French reflects on visiting the tombstone of a Mexican dictator. She sat in front of it for quite some time, thinking about how this man had once held so much power, but now he could not move or talk as she could. It was a haunting thought, but touching as it reminded me to never take for granted even the basic functions life affords me. There was so much rich history within that one cemetery as there are famous artists, intellects, and political figures all around.
    

I regret not taking the time to visit Jim Morrison. the American songwriter, poet, and lead singer of The Doors. The Doors are frequently revered as one of the top rock bands of all time, and Jim Morrison is an icon in the world of classic rock. Born in Melbourne, Florida, he had an interesting childhood frequently moving, and seeing a traumatic car accident at the age of four which he frequently mentioned in his work. His long-term partner was a woman named Pamela Courson, with whom he had an open-relationship that resulted in numerous fights. They met before he became rich and famous, and after both of their deaths the court decided they had a common-law marriage. Morrison and Courson moved to Paris in March 1971, where he passed away a few months later in July under mysterious circumstances.
    

I also wish I had been able to see Gertrude Stein, as my friend Leah was so excited to see her. Stein was an American writer as well as art collector with notable acquaintances such as Picasso, Henri Rousseau, and Ernest Hemingway (she was his son's godmother). Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1874, Stein moved to Paris in 1903, where she stayed for the rest of her life. Stein is credited with writing one of the earliest coming out stories, and her partner was a woman by the name of Alice B. Toklas.
    

I did get to spend a little bit of time with Oscar Wilde, which was fantastic. Wilde was an Irish poet and writer, best known for his works such as The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray. Born in Dublin in 1854, he attended both Trinity College in Dublin and Oxford. He moved permanently to England in 1878, joining the high social circles of London. In 1884 he married and had two sons with Constace Lloyd. Wilde's alleged first male lover was a Canadian journalist by the name of Robert Ross, who eventually became his literary executor. Wilde was imprisoned in 1895 on charges of homosexuality, and sent into exile in 1897. He passed away in November 1900 from cerebral meningitis, and he is now buried alongside the ashes of Robert Ross.