Date/Time
Date(s) - 10/27/2016
7:00 pm
Location
Flintridge Bookstore
Category(ies)
A Panel on the Culture of Death with Paul Koudounaris, Pam Bacich & Richard Carradine.
Coming from varying disciplines and perspectives, Koudounaris, Bacich and Carradine all have rich experiences and insights to share regarding their encounters with death and its rituals.
Paul Koudounaris approaches death as a border and considers the way places associated with death have always represented liminal spaces. His most recent book, Memento Mori; The Dead Among Us, is the astonishing story of how the dead live on in memorials and traditions across the globe, from Ethiopia and Nepal to Cambodia and Rwanda, told through arresting images and captivating narration.
Pam Bacich has been traveling to Mexico since 2002 to take part in Day of the Dead in villages and cities and in cemeteries large and small. Graveyard gatherings and quiet moments of reflection, plus all of the events leading up to the holiday are captured in her photography book Day of the Dead – Día de los Muertos. While customs vary from village to village, the holiday is centered on the belief that the spirits of the dead will come back each year to visit their loved ones. Text, in English and Spanish, provides understanding of this spiritual family holiday that embraces life and death and honors the memory of loved ones who have passed.
Richard Carradine has researched ghosts all over the world and throughout the United States. In California alone, he has explored hundreds of haunted locations, but his favorite haunted hunting ground is the “City of Angels.” His approach to each case is academic. Proving or disproving the spiritual activity of a certain spot isn’t what motivates him. Instead, he is more interested in collecting stories and eyewitness accounts and archiving them for the future. He has two books. The Park After Dark: An Unauthorized Guide to the Happiest (Most Haunted) Place on Earth is a collection of ghost stories and strange folklore gathered from Cast Members and Imagineers at Disneyland. SPIRITS with SPIRITS is a lighthearted look at 13 of Los Angeles’ haunted bars. It is based on the exploits of a local group of ghost enthusiasts organized by Carradine who meet up at different historic bars to drink and talk about each tavern’s spooky history.
Paul Koudounaris received his Ph.D. in Art History from University of California, Los Angeles. His publications in the field of charnel house and ossuary research have made him a well-known figure in the field of macabre art and art history. He lives in Los Angeles.
Pam Bacich lives in Newport Beach, but spends five months a year on a boat traveling between Zihautenia, Mexico and Glacier Bay, Alaska. Her award winning photographs and articles have been featured in numerous magazines, and her work has been included in exhibitions throughout California.
Richard Carradine is the founder and president of GHOULA (Ghost Hunters of Urban Los Angeles), a social club dedicated to the preservation of LA’s rich haunted history.
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