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"An Ode To A Cemetery" is a distillation of images filmed over numerous years at Green-Wood Cemetery,
a National Historic Landmark in Brooklyn, NY.  Green-Wood is home to the grave sites of many notable people. This rural cemetery, designed in 1838 by David Bates Douglass was a move to create cemeteries away from the crowded cities and rampant 19th urbanization. It is unique for its varied topography, and while non-sectarian, the Victorian graveyard iconography is evident throughout.

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When the pandemic shut down New York City, Green-Wood became a refuge, a place to find solace, to escape the confinement and isolation of my apartment. During my many meditative walks, I photographed
the iconography of the statuary, the century old trees and rediscovered how important nature is to the human spirit. Attracted to the symbolism of the Christian statuary, the worn surfaces of the gravestones spoke to me. Time and the elements have left their markings, inscribing their own silent history, expressing a dimension that transcends their religious purpose.

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Death has been inescapable in both the news and our daily lives. The view of the cemetery from my apartment window, and the many walks through it, during varied seasons, inspired reflection -- including memories of loss and hope. I considered my own mortality, as I filtered the natural beauty and solitude in this contemplative work about the transience of life.

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