"Knifed to Death Part I & II" are inclusions in Andres Serrano's "Morgue" series. Appropriately stated at an MCA exhibit, Mr. Serrano successfully "reveals a tension between the power of an image to attract and the power of the subject matter to repel".
The emphasis on this exact moment in this body's existence brought on by the stark contrasting backdrop neither overwhelms you with gory facts and back-story, nor does it limit the depth of analysis you would choose to go. It invites and allows the viewer to look and stare at an otherwise taboo subject matter.
My initial reaction was both curious and repulsive. But as my eyes and mind continued to roam about these pictures, I found the detailed hands-which were capable of doing so much damage- to be peaceful, subdued, even while carrying these horrendous gashes. Once I accepted the body as uninhabited, I found the glossy fingerprint ink to be more alive than the hands themselves. At the same time, singling out these hands may ignore the fact that this person's will to live was literally overpowered by their own heart and mind. This also brings up vulnerability and the sense that we are possibly overstepping our bounds, intruding on not just a corpse, but a real person.
Even without a face, name or body, we feel a sense of connection: flesh, blood, human. But perhaps the most intimate being the solemn connection with death, which is a guarantee and certainty we will all experience. It lays out a blatant truth and it draws you in and makes you think for yourself your reactions, thoughts and emotions. Without cultural propaganda, this piece allows its viewers to contemplate within themselves their ideas and comfort in their own mortality.
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