Changes

Perhaps it is a practice many of us find strange today, but post-mortem photography, whether publically displayed or shown mostly to family and loved ones, was very common in the 19th century. It was a time of rapid technological change that brought new traditions to families while also forcing people to reconcile with the fact that early or unexpected death occurred frequently. In photography, people found a new medium to grieve. The style of that grieving changed over time and in different cultures. Some chose to show the dead as if they are resting, while others tried to make it look like they were still livingand actively participating in life scenes. These traditions have not entirely disappeared, as some cultures and sub-cultures within the West still practice this tradition. In the West, we are still fascinated by leaked photographs of dead celebrities or famous people. While this may seem oddThis, in a way, at one point it was is similar or reminds us of our more common display of the standard to show your recently departed diseased in a clear medium like photographyin the past.