Cenotaph

What do these 3 seemingly disparate images have in common? Cenotaphs. A cenotaph is a memorial - often in a cemetery - that does not mark a grave. The word comes from the Greek kenotaphion, an empty tomb. The 1st is a watercolor drawing by French architect Etienne-Louis Boullee (1728-1799) of a cenotaph that was never built. Intended to memorialize English mathematician and physicist Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), it was designed to be a giant perfect sphere with a dark interior illuminated only by holes in the walls that would simulate the stars to represent the night sky. "The confines of the space would disappear and the visitor would be engulfed by the vastness of the universe." While researching cenotaphs, I learned that there are many in India because they are a basic component of Hindu architecture. Called chhatris [canopies], they may consist only of a dome atop 4 pillars or several domes over a basement with several rooms. Hence the 2nd image, which shows a boy jumping into the Betwa River in Orchaa, an Indian town known for its chhatris (there is one in the background). The 3rd image shows the many cenotaphs placed in Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C., to honor 120 members of congress who died in office. These cenotaphs were designed by British-born American architect Benjamin Latrobe (1764-1820), who also designed the U.S. Capitol. From the photograph, it's easy to see why cemeteries are sometimes called silent "cities of stone." And with 50 senators and 435 representatives in office at any one time, it's easy to see why the practice of erecting cenotaphs didn't continue.

Jack Kerouac's house

The house where American writer Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) lived when On the Road was published and while he wrote The Dharma Bums is right here in Florida - at 1418 Clouser Avenue in the College Park section of Orlando. It is now the location of a writers-in-residence program and the interior has been restored to a 1950s condition. Along with novelist William S. Boroughs (1914-1997) and poet Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997), Kerouac led the Beat Generation, a group of counterculture writers and artists who paved the way for the hippies who followed. Kerouac died 40 years ago this Fall of causes related to his alcoholism. He was faulted for his hard-drinking lifestyle, but has become a legend for his writing. (I went through a Beat phase and read all of Kerouac's books in high school, then took a publishing course in college by his biographer Ann Charters.) Of Kerouac, Beat poet Gary Snyder remembers, "His prose is outstandingly fresh, and it carried people along....He was lyrical in conversation....He just breathed life into words." You can listen here.

Knitting with hair

A few years ago, my friend Cris's dog groomer saved the trimmings so she could give each client a clear Christmas tree ornament containing the fur of the appropriate pet. Cris and I found that to be a bit creepy (and she has donated the ornament to my Museum). Last night, my Mom and I were talking about the "Furminator," a grooming tool (click on 2nd photo), and I remembered reading years ago about a woman who knit a sweater from the fur of her golden retriever. Well, the craft has since blossomed - "Who knew Cruella de Vil was such a craft nerd?" asks one knitter. I found portraits of people posing in their "canine couture" (click on 1st photo), DIY instructions for knitting a dog hair sweater ("Watch for puckering because dog hair is heavy and nonelastic."), and a network of knitters willing to spin and knit that "custom cardigan" for you.

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But what's creepier than recycling the trimmings from the coat of your dog or cat to make a coat of your own? That would be wearing "woolly jumpers" made from the fur of your dead pet - in this case, a pedigreed white Samoyed named "Kara," who died 12 years ago, and a Swedish lapphund named "Penny," who died in 2002. "People are surprised when they find out we're wearing dog wool clothes. Some think it's disgusting and ask how we can do it, but it seems very normal to us," says Mrs. Willis.

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And what's even creepier than that? Making clothes from human hair! Ioana Cioanca, a 71-year-old Romanian woman, grew her hair out to a length of 40" so that she could weave it into a hat, shawl, skirt, blouse, raincoat, two bags, and a pair of gloves. I'm sure the get-up rivaled the human hair dresses on the catwalk in England and Croatia. Artist Chrystl Rijkeboer (3rd photo)works with human hair because it has such symbolic significance (beauty, strength, health, etc.)and may have said it best: "The moment it is separated from the human, all these factors turn around, hair is considered dirty, unsavoury and dead." Sheep's wool? Ok. Pet hair? Questionable. Human hair? I think not.

Bird Girl

The "Bird Girl" is the eerie sculpture featured on the cover of the novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which was then dramatized. The 50" bronze statue was commissioned by a Massachusetts family and created by Illinois artist Sylvia Shaw Judson (1897-1978) in 1936. Judson cast four of the statues from the original plaster cast, one of which was purchased by Lucy Boyd Trosdal, who had it placed on the family plot in Savannah, Georgia's Bonaventure Cemetery. After the book became a bestseller, the sculpture drew so many tourists to the cemetery that the Trosdal Family removed it and loaned it to the Telfair Museum of Art, so that it can be seen (and safe). I am torn about leaving cemetery monuments in situ (and at risk of vandalism and deterioration) and removing them to museums, where they are conserved, but lose some mystique when they lose their context. I find this especially true of grave markers which thereby no longer mark the grave.

Jan Karski statue

Georgetown University didn't open until noon today, because of snow, so I took advantage of the "liberal leave" policy also in effect and stayed home. My friend Cheryl cleaned off the car, so I'll be ready for tomorrow. I checked my e-mail just now and was distressed to learn that the statue of Jan Karski (1914-2000) on campus has been vandalized. This from the Office of Student Affairs to the members of the University community:

Today we were notified that the Copley Lawn statue of former professor Jan Karski was vandalized with paint. The statue remembers a scholar, teacher and human rights advocate who was part of our community for 40 years. As you may know, Professor Karski risked his life escaping communist Poland during World War II and went on to provide information to the Allied powers about the Holocaust. This statue symbolizes many of the values central to our community, including commitments to academic excellence, interreligious understanding and justice and human rights.

We write today to underscore that acts of vandalism and intolerance such as this have no place in our campus community and to encourage that anyone who may have information related to this incident please contact the Department of Public Safety at (202) 687-4343. While we do not know the motivation of the person or persons who painted the statue, nor whether or not they are members of the University community, we recognize the importance of statues and sacred spaces on campus and hope that all such symbols and places are appropriately respected.Despite today's inclement weather, the Office of Facilities Management has worked promptly to remove most of the paint and restore the statue to its proper state. As always, the chaplains of Campus Ministry are available to speak with any concerned persons.

Life-sized statues of Dr. Karski were installed at Georgetown University (in 2002) and at the Polish Embassy in New York City (in 2007). The identical sculptures depict him playing chess - he was an accomplished player and died at the age of 86 while playing a match against a young Polish diplomat. I have been meaning to blog about the statue for several weeks because I think it is a great way to commemorate a great man. I say Jan Karski's name aloud every time I pass by it.