Emma Hogren
Funerary art
Terracotta funerary urn, Chiusine production, Farewell scene, once Accademia dei Fisiocritici collection; said to be from Sien, via del Porrione, c. end of 2nd century B.C., Santa Maria della Scala
Statement
Studying three different disciplines, I wanted to involve all of my areas of study in my Senior Inquiry project. Through my Biology major, I have been working in funeral service for the past three years, which has led to an increased interest in funerary art throughout art history. After working countless funeral services and burials, I began to question the nature of museums' display of art from tombs and graves; shouldn’t these objects be left in their original place? Bringing in my interest in Philosophy from my minor, I have decided to investigate the ethics of displaying funerary art in museums.
Emma Hogren is a senior from Port Byron, Ill., majoring in art history and biology and minoring in philosophy.
For the sake of research, I will be primarily focusing on the display of Egyptian funerary art and Native American funerary art. There is extensive literature about the ethics of displaying human remains in museums, but little literature about displaying the objects associated with these remains. I had the privilege of studying for two weeks in Siena, Italy during J-Term, where I was able to visit several museum displays showcasing objects from tombs. Utilizing my experiences in these exhibitions, my experience in funeral service, and pre-existing literature on the display of human remains, I will be comparing and contrasting ways that museums should go about displaying funerary art. My goal is to start conversations around the nature of museum displays and how museum displays can dictate the way museum-goers interact with art.