ElizabethTillson, Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1756 1963

Curator: Ann Parker's "Elizabeth Tillson, Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1756" presents a fascinating image suggestive of early American gravestone art. Editor: The stark contrast immediately grabs me. It's so graphic, almost unsettling, with those wing-like shapes and vacant eyes. Curator: Yes, the image adheres to a visual language that was functional within the socio-religious sphere of early colonial America. Mortality and the afterlife were very present. Editor: Crossed bones, wings, faces... these images were not randomly selected. The bones likely reference death, while the wings suggest the soul's journey. That face... is it a portrait, or more of a symbol? Curator: It's unlikely to be a literal portrait in our modern sense. It's stylized, acting as a signifier of the deceased's identity and spiritual state. Editor: It's a somber reflection on the transience of life—quite a powerful statement, given its historical context. Curator: Indeed, it invites us to contemplate the historical anxieties around death and salvation, so central to the early American experience.