SwBratcher's Posts

Art After Death incorporates a part of your body into a work of art. In this manner you can live on for eternity as both a priceless heirloom and a provocative work of fine art.
This type of commissioned work is for the unique art lover; someone who can appreciate the historical significance of using the human body as an art form and who wishes to be remembered as an object of provocative beauty. The final artwork created is both respectful and dignified in memorializing the client.
Funereal Fine Art Commissions are now being accepted for Box Construction Wall Sculptures designed and constructed around the body part of your choice.

The Bone Machine
Click to learn more about this piece.

It is understandable that making art out of human bones may be morally offensive and disturbing to some. However, the use of human remains reworked into art or religious objects is not without historical precedent.
In Tibet, Buddhists make drums and trumpets out of human skulls, skin and thigh bones. This almost jocund familiarity with death is one of the first challenges a westerner faces when encountering Tibetan Buddhism. But to Buddhists, these artifacts are not just reminders of impermanence, of the illusory nature of life; they are power tools, keys to a higher consciousness. There is tantric magic in them.
Read more about the use of human remains in Tibetan Buddhism.
In Christianity, the remains of saints are turned into sacred relics. It is interesting to note that parts of the saint that were significant to that saint's life are more prized relics. For instance, King St. Stephen of Hungary's right forearm is especially important because of his status as a ruler. A famous theologian's head may be his most important relic. (The head of St. Thomas Aquinas was removed by the monks at the Cistercian abbey at Fossanova where he died). Logically, if a saint did a lot of traveling then the bones of his feet may be prized. Current Catholic teaching prohibits relics to be divided up into small, unrecognizable parts if they are to be used in liturgy (i.e., as in an altar; see the rubrics listed in Rite Of Dedication of a Church and an Altar).
Read more about history of Christian relics.