November and Death: Between Folklore and Photography

An article explores the cultural and artistic representations of death, focusing on the month of November as a liminal period when, according to folklore, the dead return. It traces post-mortem photography from Victorian times to contemporary artists like Joel-Peter Witkin (b. 1939, New York) and Andres Serrano (b. 1950, New York), whose works depict decomposed bodies and autopsy details with a baroque, theatrical intensity. The text also examines the anthropological photography of Josef Koudelka (b. 1938, Boskovice), Franco Pinna (1925–1978, La Maddalena), and Francesco Faeta, who documented funeral rituals in southern Italy. Nan Goldin (b. 1953, Washington) is noted for her intimate series capturing friends with HIV, including gallerist Gills. Federico Carpani (b. 1986, Bologna) is mentioned for his project MAA, photographing death ceremonies in Varanasi, India. The article references the Mexican Day of the Dead and Halloween as modern remnants of ancient rites, citing Susan Sontag on photography as memento mori and Benedetto Croce on forgetting the dead.