Abstract
Embodied ritual performances play an important role in addressing the grief of a society suffering from deep loss of a family or community member, offering hope of something beyond the current condition of death and decay. Depictions of such rituals figure large in the canon of art history, especially among the artworks of ancient societies. This paper analyzes the art of grief and mourning through an analysis of three commonly taught artworks from the ancient Mediterranean world that span the Bronze Age through the Classical period. Moving beyond scholarly analyses that focus on form, style, and the role of such artworks in identity construction, especially social status, I focus on the emotional aspects of these works. Specifically, I analyze the sensorial experiences of participants in and viewers of embodied performances of ritual mourning in order to highlight their role in alleviating social distress caused by the loss of a loved one. Given our shared experience with grief, which has been even more pronounced in recent years due to the global pandemic, I argue that more intentional discussions of the ritual and emotional elements of such artworks in the art history classroom that take into account the psychology of grief and mourning could offer sustaining pathways to healing and community connection.
Presenters
Cynthia ColburnProfessor of Art History and Women's and Gender Studies, Art History Department, Pepperdine University, California, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Art of Grief, Art of Mourning, Art History Pedagogy
