Garage of Funeral Parlor, 1917 1935 - 1942

Editor: This is Perkins Harnly’s *Garage of Funeral Parlor, 1917,* probably created sometime between 1935 and 1942. The detail is astonishing; it really captures this…stark, yet bizarrely ornamental space. What's your read on this work? Curator: I see a space steeped in contradictions, and that, for me, is where the painting sparks a crucial dialogue about societal attitudes towards death. We see objects signifying mourning—wreaths, ornate coffins—juxtaposed with the clinical preparation room in the back. What does that tension evoke for you? Editor: I suppose it highlights the commercialization of death, even back then. Curator: Exactly. Consider the historical context: the rise of funeral homes coincided with urbanization and the increasing separation of death from the home. Harnly presents this industry not just as a business, but as a curated performance, especially concerning class and access. How does that performance then influence grieving processes and social expectations of loss? Editor: So, it’s not just about documenting a place, but about critiquing the way society deals with death? Curator: Precisely! And who gets to perform this grief appropriately based on socioeconomic standing? We should ask ourselves how this impacts contemporary practices of mourning. Do we see similar performative displays today? Editor: Definitely. I never thought of it that way, the whole business side... I focused on how unusual it was as a genre scene! Curator: And hopefully, that helps expand our understanding beyond the surface aesthetic into how the piece engages social and cultural anxieties around mortality and commodification of death. We need more of this open discourse.