Identity in death: Communication and reflection through funerary art of the New Kingdom and revolutionary Egypt

Abstract

We remember the deceased through images or of items that remind us of them. They are remembered as we uniquely remember them. Being remembered and how we are remembered questions our memory, humanity, the importance of our accomplishments or lack thereof, but most importantly, our identity. It reaffirms our need to be seen authentically, wholly. We carry in ourselves a comprehension that the world sees our identity in fragments; there could be endless perceptions of who we are based on our experiences and interactions with others. Art has been the connection between the past and the present as we continue to learn from the first and understand the cultures and people associated with it. However, funerary art has shown both idealized perceptions of individuals and hidden truths to who they were. Funerary art has allowed individuals to express their authentic identities either individually or collectively throughout history. This text expands the concept of funerary art as one’s true outward expression and interpretation of oneself rather than a means to an end, including the use of funerary art means of communication between the living and dead, perceived or actual, and the memory it evokes. This paper will provide such examples in Ancient Egyptian funerary art and contemporary from a western artistic perspective.