Decay you say? (part 2)
In my last post, I started my academic research report around my concept decay, covering the ...as visual inspiration portion of my research. This post is a continuation of where we left off in part 1, so please go back if you missed it! That being said, none of this really matters nor is it leading anywhere groundbreaking that you need to follow SO closely, so if you're the type who likes to skip ahead to the ending of books and TV series, you've come to the right post.
Anyways...
Decay as symbolism
Although decay can feel yucky and morbid, in many ways decay symbolizes life and growth. Nothing emphasizes that more than a closer look at what decay leaves behind. Soil below a decaying animal body reaps the chemical rewards, becoming a world of lush growth for the next few years. For example, a decomposed "bison can affect the structure of plant communities for at least five years" (source). As Knute Nadelhoffer, an ecologist at the University of Michigan, so eloquently puts it: “Life would end without rot...Decomposition releases the chemicals that are critical for life.” (source). What Nadelhoffer is referring to are phosphate, nitrogen, and most importantly the element carbon. "This chemical element is the physical basis of all life on Earth. After death, decomposition releases carbon into the air, soil and water. Living things capture this liberated carbon to build new life. It’s all part of what scientists call the carbon cycle" (source). Decay is such a vital process to life itself and our way of living (decomposition aids farmers, preserves forest health, and helps creates biofeuls to name a few), that scientists are feverishly studying how climate change may affect the process of decay (because climate change alters things like moisture and temperature which decay relies on).
On a more personal level, I do believe this is where my connection to decay lies; In this idea of decay as renewal. Understanding the necessity of decay, and the transient nature of physical life (the vulnerability of the body), has been a way for me to accept my own physical aging and physical limitations. In a perhaps more specific sense, the theme of decay as renewal connects closely to my experience with infertility and the birth of my son. My body was deeply affected by those events, and I felt very aged by the whole process (perhaps because you lose a decade worth of sleep). But also simultaneously reborn. Not to mention I created literal life through the wear-n-tear (arguably 'breakdown') of my own body. Seeing decay as the essence of life, the single most important process for the existence of life, is truly liberating, empowering, and healing for me. It gives aging and death both a logical and spiritual purpose. Which actually leads nicely to what I am going to touch on in decay as a philosophy, so I will stop right there!
One last thing, here is a beautiful example of art work using decay as symbolism, by Anya Gallaccio called Preserve Beauty. Gallaccion's installation has been self-described as "theatrical", a kind of performance due to the fact that the audience is witness to the active decaying of the flowers. She does not believe herself to be the sole creator of her work, instead describing it as a "temporary collaboration between her and the viewer that invite reflection on the themes of 'place, time, decay, death, beauty and renewal" (source). The flower that is used in the Preserve Beauty installation is a hybrid between gerbera and a daisy, known by the name 'beauty'.
1991 - 2003
Decay as a philosophy
Decay as a philosophy and decay as symbolism have quite a bit of overlap, and may even be considered the same thing (at the very least connected). I wanted to separate these two ideas, however, simply because I wanted to reflect the difference between something being a symbol, and something inciting behaviour. Decay as a philosophy is much more about using what decay represents to inspire certain lifestyle attitudes. For example, while Dieter Roth was inspired by the visual aspects of decay (as noted in part 1), his explorations into decay were also about allowing chance, as a shaping element, to be a part of the creation process (source).
Another really wonderful example of decay as a philosophy, is the Japanese art form kusôzu . This art form (examples below) were paintings and drawings that depicted the different stages of human decay, inspired by the traditional Buddhist teachings around "mindfulness of death". In these teachings, Buddhists would use visuals like this (or sometimes even an actual decaying corpse left out in the open called 'sky burials') to contemplate on and meditate about death and our physical existence. The philosophy behind this method (as Buddha himself put it) was that"death is the greatest of all teachers, for it teaches us to be humble, destroys vanity and pride, and crumbles all the barriers of caste, creed and race that divide humans, for all living beings are inescapably destined to die" (source). Again, this touches on the notion that by deeply understanding the transient nature of the body, we are more able to accept aging and death, and more able to value life. I really connect to this philosophy and way of living. Instead of our culture fearing these inevitably life stages and running away from them (only causing more tension and anxiety), I believe we should use confrontation through education and understanding as way to soothe and accept. By no means am I saying I want to look at decaying human cadavers, or even drawings of them, to be cool with growing old. I'm just saying, I think there is value in re-evaluating our society's relationship to aging, death and decay, and I think to do that we have to bring more personal awareness to death and decay, especially in understanding our own physical connection to the earth and life on this earth.
6/9
This research deep dive into decay has given me lots to ponder on and I am feeling more inspired by my concept than before. I still need to ruminate on some of these findings to better grasp how they will inform my work moving forward, but I am very confident I have all the information I need to keep moving forward, and I am very happy for that.
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