If we understand death, will we understand life? Many artists have thought so, and in picturing death, they have given us insight into the meaning and value of life. Looking death in the face, artists from different epochs and cultures have produced extraordinary images that are sometimes troubling, sometimes healing; sometimes dispassionate, sometimes deeply moving.
This course explores the art of death, including funerary and memorial images of ancient cultures, images of war and revolution, images giving expression to our experience of AIDS and other catastrophes of the contemporary world. The course ranges from the funerary art of ancient cultures to the contemporary images of Aboriginal artists who express traditional spiritual values in modern forms and media.

Note/s: Lecture/tutorial/seminar. Paddington Campus.