Andrew Logan

Love

Click......http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/11/mind-blowing-hyperrealistic-sculptures/

Ron Mueck

Came across Ron Mueck whilst researching! His work is truly amazing, really want to see one of his exhibitions!

Grecian Theatre Masks

Venetian Masks

Death Masks

Geng Jianyi

Yue Minjin

Contemporary Terracotta Warriors- Yue Minjun

Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991) Masque Rouge

Library

I've just visited the library again and found loads of books. Books on the Gods of Ancient Egypt, Pyramids and Tombs, Celtic Mysteries, Indian Mythology, Irish Medieval Sculpture, The Tibetan Book of The Dead and Masks of the Spirit.

There have been so many images that I've been attracted too and I've found it difficult trying to follow one defined route. However I did come across one painting by Rufino Tamayo and I think its been a major turning point for me. I am now really intrigued by the idea of a mask.

Mask to cover our identity
Death mask
Mask to make us younger to prolong our life
Mask of your past
We carry a mask of our parents
We are carrying a mask of death
A mask of fear
A mask of the unknown


I need to start actually making now. I'm not sure what but I really think theres a lot in this area that relates to my subject.

Hindu Mythology

Incarnations

The ten avatars of Vishnu, (Clockwise, from Left upper corner) Matsya, Kurma, Varaha,Vamana, Krishna, Kalki, Buddha, Parshurama,Rama and Narasimha, (in centre) Krishna

Several gods are believed to have had incarnations (Avatars). As the protector of life, one of the duties of Vishnu is to appear on the earth whenever a firm hand is required to set things right. The epic Bhagavatha Purana is the chronology of Vishnu's ten major incarnations (there are in total twenty six incarnations): Matsya (fish), Kurma (turtle), Varaha (boar), Narasimha (lion-faced human), Vamana (an ascetic in the form of a midget), Parasurama (a militant Brahmin), Rama, Krishna, Gautam Buddha(later buddhists separated themselves from Hindus), Kalki (a predicted warrior on a white horse who would come in this yuga ) whose appearance also signals the beginning of the end of the epoch.

Bali Hinduism

Balinese Hinduism is widely divergent from the Indian Hindu orthodoxy. As such, most practices of the Indian Hindu "mainstream" are ignored and abandoned, especially regarding the use of butter. Balinese Hindu dead are generally buried for a period of time, which may exceed one month or more, so that the cremation ceremony (Ngaben) can occur on an auspicious day in the Balinese-Javanese Calendar system ("Saka"). Additionally, if the departed was a court servant, member of the court or minor noble, the cremation can be postponed up to several years to coincide with the cremation of their Prince. Balinese funerals are very expensive and the body may be interred until the family can afford it or until there is a group funeral planned by the village or family when costs will be less. The purpose of burying the corpse is for the decay process to consume the fluids of the corpse, which allows for an easier, more rapid and more complete cremation. 

Indian Burial

The Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism, mandate cremation. In these religions, the body is seen as an instrument to carry the soul. As an example, the Bhagavad Gita. According to Hindu philosophy the human body is a combination of five basic natural elements; namely agni (fire), jala (water), vayu (air), prithvi (earth) and akasha (space/ether). When one dies, fire (agni tattva) ceases, and that living form is sent to its original state of creation. Fire (in the form of cremation) is used to complete the fifth element.

According to Hindu traditions, the reasons for preferring to destroy the corpse by fire, over burying it into ground, is to induce a feeling of detachment into the freshly disembodied spirit, which will be helpful to encourage it into passing to "the other world" (the ultimate destination of the dead). Hindus have 16 rituals (Sanskars); i.e. A Hindu undergoes 16 rituals during his lifetime, like Naming ceremony, Thread ceremony: beginning of student life, Marriage, etc., and the last being cremation. Cremation is referred to as antim-samskara, literally meaning "the last rites." At the time of the cremation or "last rites," a "Puja" (ritual worship) is performed. Hindus believe that the cremation ceremony is not just a disposal of the dead body, but the union of Atma (Soul) with the Paramatma (The universal spirit). The holy text of Rigveda, one of the oldest Hindu scriptures, has many Ruchas (small poems) related to cremation, which state that Lord Agni (God of Fire) will purify the dead body, also known as the Parthiv. Therefore, the Parthiv is given over to him.

My friend went to India to live for a quite a while and she explained how in some parts of India you would be walking down the main street and you would see a body burning at the side of the road. I found this horrifying but once you begin to learn why and the strong beliefs they have you begin to understand the ritual. 

Celtic Paganism

A reconstructed Celtic burial mound located near Hochdorf in Germany. Such burials were reserved for the influential and wealthy in Celtic society.

Celtic burial practices, which included burying food, weapons, and ornaments with the dead, suggest a belief in life after death.

The druids, the Celtic learned class which included members of the clergy, were said by Caesar to have believed in reincarnation and transmigration of the soul along with astronomy and the nature and power of the gods.

A common factor in later mythologies from Christianised Celtic nations was the otherworld.This was the realm of the fairy folk and other supernatural beings, who would entice humans into their realm. Sometimes this otherworld was claimed to exist underground, whilst at other times it was said to lie far to the west. Several scholars have suggested that the otherworld was the pagan Celtic afterlife, though there is no direct evidence to prove this.

The Other Hand by Chris Cleave

I'm reading this book at the moment and there has been a very poignant scene in it. A little boy aged four is discovering death for the first time in his life.

Mummy, why did those Bruce Wayne men putted that box down in the hole? 


Lets not think about that now, darling.
I'd spent so many hours explaining heaven to Charlie that week- every room and book shelf and sandpit of it- that I'd never really dealt with the issue of Andrew's physical body at all. I thought it would be too much to ask of my son, at four, to understand the separation between the body and soul. 


Charlie then asks later...Is that box Heaven? 

I think its so incredible how much we can learn from children and how sometimes their views on life seem so wonderful and simple that sometimes you wish you could live in their world. The scene in this book is horrific but the book itself is amazing and I strongly suggest it to anyone who hasn't read it before. It got me thinking about Children's views on death. Even though at first they do not understand it, it will soon become something that will ultimately effect how they see the world. Or am I just talking crap?

Clem So

" I am portraying my ancestors, but also through my genealogy, they are also are portraying themselves. Portraying my ancestors and questioning my Chinese identity are not separate. By portraying my ancestors, I am questioning the very core of how I came about. I use the notion of Chinese ink as a metaphor for my forever changing state, the expansive possibility of being and for something ancient, before my time that courses through my veins now, but reflecting like a mirror to my inseparable environment.

Tracing the intangible is a sensation, a yearning, seeking, a sense that I can feel, but cannot touch.”

Akroterion of the grave monument of Timotheos and Nikon, ca. 350–325 B.C Source: Marble Akroterion [Greek, Attic] (07.286.107) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Greeks believed that at the moment of death the psyche, or spirit of the dead, left the body as a little breath or puff of wind. The deceased was then prepared for burial according to the time-honored rituals.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dbag/hd_dbag.htm

Egyptian Afterlife Ceremony

Ancient Egyptian civilization was based on religion; their belief in the rebirth after death became their driving force behind their funeral practices. Death was simply a temporary interruption, rather than complete cessation of life, and that eternal life could be ensured by means like piety to the gods, preservation of the physical form through Mummification, and the provision of statuary and other funerary equipment. Each human consisted of the physical body, the 'ka', the 'ba', and the 'akh'. The Name and Shadow were also living entities. To enjoy the afterlife, all these elements had to be sustained and protected from harm.

The Garden of Earthly Delights