Robert Richfield “Embellishments of Memory”

Alan Klotz Gallery

poster for Robert Richfield “Embellishments of Memory”

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The harvest is in and the darkness descends on us sooner every day. Early dusks bring on dark thoughts as well as dark skies. Halloween, All Hallows Eve, a day for remembering dead saints, only half-heartedly scares us these days, with fears of a breach opening in the membrane that separates the living from the dead, while spirits of varying degrees of malevolence are abroad upon the land, and a whiff of brimstone is in the air. We used to be afraid to walk alone on that night…As a kid I was even willing to put up with my sister’s company, because she was almost four years my elder, there to protect me while trick-or-treating. Now the biggest fear on Halloween is over the number of cavities caused by all the sugar in our kids’ candy, not fear of our immortal souls being sucked out of us by some devil, lurking just around the corner.

Next day, All Souls Day, is the day for remembering the more common dead, those of us not hallowed as saints. The ‘angelitos’, the deceased children is celebrated on the following day, November 2nd. In Mexico it is more simply referred to as El Día de los Muertos…The Day of the Dead. Mexicans tend not to avoid death, and those to whom it has happened, as much as their neighbors to the north, who generally try their best to avoid any thoughts about death. In Mexico, though dead, the departed are still part of the lives of the living, and on this day of national celebration, they are honored… actually lured back, and heartily welcomed by their loved ones. Altars are built with offerings (ofrendas) to attract them. Their favorite foods are cooked and set out, along with displays of special scented flowers. Candles are lit, and pictures of the departed are displayed so the dead will know where they’re supposed to go. And the family gathers by the grave, which they clean and generally spruce up… they tell stories about the life of the dead, sometimes complete with funny anecdotes, and they partake of a meal that they hope the departed will draw sustenance from, and know that he or she is still loved by those still among the living. Skulls made of sugar and decorated with the names of the still-living are set out on this rather crowded altar along with the other Ofrendas. The day is a combination of a show of respect, and an outpouring of affection that is far from somber.

Robert Richfield has been photographing mementi mori in many countries, for many years…perhaps he is an honorary Mexican. These displays fascinate this son of a Cincinnati pathologist, who grew up with the aura of death in his house. He is a serious fellow, but one with a finely honed sense of humor. He can enjoy the touching nature of these graveside displays, while appreciating their cartoonic zaniness. They are a folk art, dependent as much on vernacular enthusiasm as they are on conscious intent, and that’s the way he sees them. His carefully selected subject-to-camera distance skews our understanding of the space in which they are contained, and his particular choice of the color palette with which he chooses to represent the displays, gives them a unique color flavor. They are mostly unmanipulated records of what he finds in the cemeteries he visits, and yet the finished results are purely Robert’s vision as a photographer, not as an Anthropologist.

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from October 24, 2013 to November 29, 2013

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