Last summer while visiting Mady and Nate on the Cape, I went in search of an old gravestone I took a photo of many years ago, and while looking in the wrong burial ground, I took 2 pictures I liked a lot, (see posting...In search of Martha Holbrooke, 8/16). While researching the stones, I found out there is a whole school of study on the typology of old American gravestone etching art. I also found that for the most part, the illustrative photos in these postings were not particularly good (poorly lit, tilted, out of focus, etc.), which gave me the idea for my next project. Good gravestone photos. I had not done this for a long time for personal reasons related to age and personal ethical issues, but I now had a justifiable purpose, and since Jeff and I were heading up to Provincetown this week, it seemed like a good time to spend some time at the Old North Truro Cemetery to see what I came up with. Unfortunately, the first stone I was drawn to, of the winged head variety, quickly reminded me why I don't spend time in old cemeteries any more.
Abigail Adams, whose stone caught my eye, died in child birth at age 24 in 1774, while her husband Dr. Samuel Adams stood helplessly by. I felt badly about finding this tragic event as the basis for my artistic pursuit, and questioned myself about following through on the gravestone project, but as good hearted Jackie pointed out, I have probably spent more time thinking about Abigail Adams, her husband, and their suffering than anyone in a very long time, and isn't the purpose of the stone to keep people alive in someone's heart. And its true, I only photographed a few stones this day, but I have felt a connection.
Then there is Jemimah Atkins who died in 1778 at age 28. The winged skull and cross bones style here marks a transition from the last 3 stones posted expressing a sense of loss, hopelessness, despair, and possibly anger over the cruelty of the fates more clearly expressed than in the others.
The curious case of one Israel Gross was one that interested this Jewish observer. While the records do not directly indicate that Israel had Jewish roots, in fact the records list him as Methodist, but the first Gross to come over here in the early 1700's was a Simon Gross, Simon being a common Jewish name. At the time, there were no Jewish cemeteries, and the thought of making a new start in the new world may have led to leaving behind an identity that suffered the slings and arrows of great prejudice in Europe.
Took some more photos over the weekend, but need time to mentally process them and see if I want to go ahead with the project . There are a lot of mixed feelings now that I did get back and took a few more photos of the winged heads morphing into winged skulls variety. Maybe thats enough for me for now. But this does seem like a good place for another orphan picture taken at the Old Burial Ground in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Pablo
