Field’s of Memory Semantics and Aesthetics Cover Image

Semantyka i estetyka Pola Pamięci
Field’s of Memory Semantics and Aesthetics

Author(s): Magdalena Gajewska
Subject(s): Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Aesthetics
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego

Summary/Abstract: A question regarding dead devotion often echoes in present tanathologists and anthropologists discussions. Some see it in the black shades, predicting the end of the Funeral Object in the shape we know it, others, those less pessimistic, like Józef Burszta, withstand precocious planctus which are sung for cemeteries and their traditional aesthetics, which I call here an aesthetics of Death. However, it is impossible to avoid questions arising round the new burial forms, like the anonymous dispersal of the ashes in the Field of Memory. It introduces new cultural meanings (aesthetic, among all) to the funeral practices. These phenomena demand deeper, multi-dimensional analysis, undoubtedly. This article is dedicated to the Field of Memory mentioned above, which became a significant element of some Polish cemeteries (Warszawa, Poznań, Katowice, Szczecin, Ruda Śląska, Bytom). The presence of new funeral practices draws the attention towards some ideological displacements, that gradually appear in Polish cemetery semantics and aesthetics, which basic figure has been a Funeral Object, so far.

  • Issue Year: 25/2012
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 45-65
  • Page Count: 21
  • Language: Polish