Pg. 00 Roberto Mighty (Cronin).qxp_AFD May BOOK 2/4/16 10:21 AM Page 18

Opposite page: photographer Roberto Mighty at work in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, History Massachusetts. This page, clockwise By Steve Cronin from top: A mausoleum at Mount Auburn Cemetery; Memorial stone for former slave Peter Byus; Triste statuary. (Photos courtesy of Roberto Mighty)

finding

at Mount Auburn

Multimedia Artist Enjoying Residency at Historic Cemetery

As a young courting couple, Roberto Mighty’s profiling.” Talk to Mighty and it’s clear the parents enjoyed going to the cemetery and artist has developed a heartfelt connec - tion with people he is memorializing. reading poetry to one another. Now, more than six “The essence of a cemetery is to art commemorate the dead. I like to decades later, their son is using a cemetery to think my project commemorates Mighty, 60, brings a lifetime of inspire a creative expression of his own. them in a different way, a new kind varied experiences to his project. of way,” the artist said. When he was younger, he built a Mount Auburn is an island of na - recording studio where he produced Since 2014, Mighty has been the There is Peter Byus, an escaped ture and solitude in one of Massa - radio commercials and radio theater. artist-in-residence at Mount Au- slave who found freedom and success chusetts’ most-heavily populated His career has also included produc - burn Cemetery in Cambridge, in Massachusetts; Frank Ernest areas. Much of Mighty’s Earth.Sky ing TV shows and commercials, as Massachusetts. James, a young boy who died in project celebrates the 185-year-old well as directing audiobooks. Actors Mighty combines film, music, spo - 1863 and whose monument is a stat - cemetery’s natural setting and the he worked with on the audiobooks One of those projects included the When the work was completed, ken word and photography to memo - ue of a child clutching a book; and tranquility found there. lend their voices to his films about restoration of a monument to Amos cemetery officials did not want to see rialize and celebrate the stories found Gerald R. Dagesse, a member of the “There is a tradition in my family the cemetery. Binney, co-founder of the Boston Mighty leave. among the cemetery’s more than Boston Gay Men’s Chorus and part of thinking of cemeteries as beautiful It is one of the people interred at Society of Natural History. Binney “We decided that it would be great 98,000 interments – and he doesn’t of one of the first legally married places, and Mount Auburn is one of the cemetery who is responsible, in a died in 1847. His monument, to have Roberto extend his work at just focus on the many famous people same-sex couples in the state. the most beautiful places I have ever way, for Mighty having his residency. carved by Thomas Crawford, is the cemetery,” Bree Harvey, vice buried at Mount Auburn. Dagesse died in 2008. been in,” Mighty said. “It’s extraor - Mount Auburn named Mighty its considered a national treasure. president of cemetery and visitor ser - The Boston artist tells the tales of To tell the personal stories he dinary. You think of yourself as artist in residence after receiving a Mighty was charged with docu - vices at Mount Auburn, said. “We everyday people interred at the finds so compelling, Mighty spends being in a city, then you walk $92,000 grant from the Institute for menting the restoration. (The Bin - wanted to give him more of a blank- cemetery – people with fascinating “countless hours in the cemetery, through a gate and suddenly you are Museum and Library Service to doc - ney monument was profiled in the slate opportunity to create his own stories that might otherwise be over - but even more hours researching in 175 acres of rolling landscape.” ument and restore about 30 of its sig - September 2015 issue of American series of videos that would encapsu - looked. the backgrounds of the people I am nificant monuments. Cemetery & Cremation.) late the spirit of Mount Auburn.”

Reprinted from American Cemetery & Cremation Magazine, February 2016, with permission of Kates-Boylston Publications. Reprinted from American Cemetery & Cremation Magazine, February 2016, with permission of Kates-Boylston Publications. To subscribe to American Cemetery & Cremation visit www.americancemetery.com. To subscribe to American Cemetery & Cremation visit www.americancemetery.com. Pg. 00 Roberto Mighty (Cronin).qxp_AFD May BOOK 2/4/16 10:21 AM Page 20

In August, the cemetery received long program featured 10 “digital said. “I have come face to face with a an additional $5,000 in grants, tone poems” that combined images coyote. That was pretty exciting. You allowing Mighty to extend his work. of the landscapes with readings and know you are not looking at Rover. Mighty is enjoying his time at recordings of ambient sounds from There is a sensation of great concern.” Notable Names at Rest Mount Auburn, the first garden the cemetery, including bird calls, He recalls an encounter with an cemetery in the nation. Opened in cricket chirps and lawn mower noise. owl, where he felt the bird “was Opening in 1831, Mount Auburn Cemetery was the first garden or rural cemetery in the United States. 1831 with help from the Massachu - The images were projected onto the communicating with me.” Over almost two centuries of existence, Mount Auburn has served as the final resting place for a host of setts Horticultural Society, Mount architectural surfaces of the chapel, “I’m not a birder, but that is the notable people. Here are some of the people interred at Mount Auburn: Auburn was intended to address the melding Mighty’s work with the very feeling I had,” he said. health concerns associated with over - bones of the cemetery building. Working alone at night among near - Edwin Booth (1833–1893), actor crowded city churchyards. Designed Mighty was hoping for an immer - ly 100,000 headstones, Mighty does Nathaniel Bowditch (1773–1838), founder of modern maritime navigation like a park, the cemetery includes sive experience for visitors, a goal he not feel spooked or afraid. He does, William Brewster (1851–1919), ornithologist horticultural displays, rolling hills thinks he accomplished. He plans on however, take seriously his obligation McGeorge Bundy (1919–1996), presidential Cabinet official and water features in addition to an doing a similar, but larger, program to the dead and to their loved ones Dorothea Dix (1802–1887), hospital reformer impressive assortment of grave mark - when his residency wraps up in May who visit the cemetery. ers and memorials. 2017. The Mount Auburn project “I am well aware when I am work - Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910), religious leader ing that there are all kinds of ideas of Edward Everett (1794–1865), speaker at dedication of national cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where you should step or not step,” he Fannie Farmer (1857–1915), cookbook author said. “It’s not that anyone is looking Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983), architect over my shoulder as I work, but I am Charles Dana Gibson (1867–1944), illustrator aware I am in a cemetery, and to the loved ones of the people who are Curt Gowdy (1919–2006), sportscaster buried there, it is sacred ground.” He Winslow Homer (1836–1910), artist added, “When I am working, I might Julia Ward Howe (1819–1910), author of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” see there is a spot I need to be at to get Henry Cabot Lodge (1850–1924), politician the best angle with a lens, but if it is a sensitive spot, I won’t stand there.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882), poet Working so much in the cemetery, Bernard Malamud (1914–1986), author Mighty has developed an affinity for Clement G. Morgan (1859-1929), founder of the NAACP the people he is profiling in his project. Francis Parkman (1823–1893), historian and author One of his deepest connections is B.F. Skinner (1904–1990), psychologist with Byus, the escaped slave whose monument features a man kneeling In addition to graves, the cemetery also has a memorial to Col. Robert Gould Shaw, commander of the amid his broken shackles. 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment, who was buried with his troops following their 1863 assault on After escaping from Virginia, Byus Fort Wagner in South Carolina. settled on Beacon Hill and became a tailor. When he died in 1867, Byus left money to finance a search for his The beauty of Mount Auburn isn’t the only thing Mighty is work - brother, who was still a slave, and to posed problems for Mighty, who did ing on. He was recently among the buy his sibling’s freedom. The search not want to merely duplicate the 11 artists the city of Boston selected was unsuccessful, and the remainder work of the hundreds of amateur and for an artist-in-residence program. of Byus’ estate went toward his wish professional photographers who have Mighty is a frequent visitor to the to support “the uplifting of the negro already found inspiration at the cemetery. He has his own key and race,” Mighty said. cemetery. prefers to visit in early mornings and Stories such as Byus’, or those of “There are so many photographers, late evenings, when he doesn’t have Dagesse or Edward T. Damon, a Har - filmmakers and people in general with to worry as much about any of the vard medical student who died in 1859 cameras who spend a lot of time tak - cemetery’s 200,000 annual visitors while caring for smallpox patients, ing photographs of beautiful things,” straying into his frame. show “a nobility in humanity that I Mighty said. When he shoots some - But even when he is the only find breathtaking,” Mighty said. thing with his camera, Mighty said, human walking the cemetery, Mighty “An escaped slave, a gay man, a he’s not as interested in capturing its knows he is not alone. The park-like deceased physician – they are all to - beauty as he is “interested in captur - setting attracts its share of wildlife, gether in this one place,” he said. ing the meaning behind it.” and the artist has had several late- “We are able to find the common That effort was on display in night and early-morning encounters. thread that is their humanity.” May, when Mighty had a prelimi - “I am well aware I have a variety of Mount Auburn officials have let nary exhibit of his project in the company from animals – coyotes, Mighty guide the project wherever his Opposite page: A hawk perches on a monument in Mout Auburn Cemetery. cemetery’s Story Chapel. The hour- wild turkeys, hawks and owls,” he inspiration took him, Harvey said. Above: Flowers amongst the gravestones. (Photos courtesy of Roberto Mighty)

Reprinted from American Cemetery & Cremation Magazine, February 2016, with permission of Kates-Boylston Publications. Reprinted from American Cemetery & Cremation Magazine, February 2016, with permission of Kates-Boylston Publications. To subscribe to American Cemetery & Cremation visit www.americancemetery.com. Pg. 00 Roberto Mighty (Cronin).qxp_AFD May BOOK 2/4/16 10:21 AM Page 22

While Mighty is not the first artist to be inspired by Mount Auburn – the place has been the subject of paintings, poems and photography since the day it opened – this is the first time cemetery operators have taken the proactive step of commis - sioning a piece of artwork about the site, Harvey said. The cemetery plans to show the work as a Web exhibit. It is also working to create a mobile app that would allow visitors to experience Mighty’s work while on site. “The bulk of our audience has a deep appreciation of this place. That is the exact audience that will find in - The artist at work. (Photo courtesy of Roberto Mighty) terest in Roberto’s work,” Harvey said. “Even casual visitors can cer - given the time they need to mourn time at Mount Auburn. But Mighty tainly appreciate and find beauty in over the deceased’s body before it is is already looking ahead to doing what Roberto has done.” “taken away and dealt with profes - similar projects in other cemeteries. Working in Mount Auburn has sionally.” He’s investigated cemeteries in gotten Mighty thinking about how If the project has changed Mighty, Japan, India and even Chernobyl in Americans handle death, both in it has made him more appreciative Ukraine. comparison to other nations as well of the artistic possibilities of ceme - “I want to do more of these. I as to other periods in time. He teries. want to spend a lot more time in a thinks modern Americans aren’t He is in no hurry to wrap up his lot more cemeteries,” he said. •

Reprinted from American Cemetery & Cremation Magazine, February 2016, with permission of Kates-Boylston Publications. To subscribe to American Cemetery & Cremation visit www.americancemetery.com.