The Empire of Death
Photo Exhibit Opening Tonight:
Photos from The Empire of Death by Paul Koudounaris
Saturday, June 2, 2012 from 8-10 p.m.
Articulated Gallery/Loved To Death
1681 Haight St., San Francisco (415)551-1036
Named one of the ten best books of 2011 by London’s Evening Standard, The Empire of Death by Dr. Paul Koudounaris was a ground-breaking historic study and photo documentary of a lost chapter in sepulchral culture, the decoration of churches and other religious sanctuaries with human bone. The author spent five years uncovering this forgotten past to produce a masterpiece of macabre art in its own right, with hundreds of sumptuous images of many sites which had never before been photographed or opened to the public.
Articulated Gallery/Loved to Death will present the first ever show in the San Francisco area of the original, oversized images from the book. The author will be on hand at the opening to sign copies of this fascinating book, and discuss his study of funerary culture. He has generously contributed two framed, gallery-quality photographic prints to be given away in a free raffle that night.
These exceptional images transcend their very morbidity, and force the viewer to assess the borders at which life and death, and beauty and the macabre intersect.
For more information, contact: info@lovedtodeath.net or info@empiredelamort.com.
My review of The Empire of Death.
Those of you outside of San Francisco can order your copy from Amazon here: The Empire of Death: A Cultural History of Ossuaries and Charnel Houses
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