Controversial Locations - Where do YOU draw the line?

In regard to graveyards. I would not photograph my doll at a graveyard. I personally would not be offended if someone did that to my grave or even if i went to visit the grave of a family member and saw someone doing it. I would assume the person did not mean any harm and it's not like they're defaming the deceased. They're using it in art and i wouldn't take it so personally. However it all depends on how important a person holds a grave site. To some they mean a lot more than a peaceful resting place for the dead. Some find graves very personal and hold the grave in as high importance as they did the person out of love and respect and they have every right to. So for that reason i wouldn't photograph my dolls at a grave site. Even though i didn't mean disrespect to someone i might and i'd rather just avoid a misunderstanding like that.

 

when I die, I want 1 last photo taken of my dolls, I want all of them around my tomb stone, having a celebration of my life and the years I was their master

 

sorry i only read the first page (34 HA! no way)

i disagree with graveyards being a place to draw the line, i actually think its kinda the opposite and shows some respect to the person, like HEY! i dont know you but your not forgotten, your headstones so beautiful to me i want to use it in photographs, in fact i went to a grave yard to take my senior pics, just because it was so beautiful to me, and i always kinda "talk" to the dead around me as im doing it. like dia de los muertos, they purposely go to graveyards and basically celebrate. as long as your not being disrepectful like taking a dump or knocking them over or anything else insulting, i mean come on people walk all over them everyday, thats more disrespectful than taking photos by them

on a related note the bjd group for my state had a meet in a cemetary just recently lol

 

For me it depends. I've always found graveyards beautiful. They have some of the best sculptures. Recently I went on a grave yard tour in Naples, Italy and let me tell you, they were breath taking. I would most likely pose my doll on a road, near a bench, tree, some place where I can capture the grave yard as a back drop. I MIGHT take a pic with a doll posing on an angel statue but I think that would be as far as I would go. I would first try to find a park or something that had the same type sculptures or a garden store before I'd go to a graveyard.

Many of the churches I've seen in the states are bland. I've seen a few nice ones here and there. I like older style churches vs modern ones. I moved over here to Italy and oh my gosh...........you wouldn't believe how amazing these churches look. So much gold leaf, marble, paintings and statues. I see churches as works of art. I've been to small churches here, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican. If I could take a pic in a church, the doll would be in the center aisle while I try to get the alter as a backdrop. They are tourist attractions here when not used for service and you aren't allowed to take pics of people in worship. I wouldn't pose my doll near Jesus, Marry or on a crypt. To me, that is distasteful.

Pics of Churches I've taken in Italy 1 2

While I don't have much issue with church pictures, they have to be tasteful. As said above, dressed modestly, posed respectfully and not covered in arcane symbols. As for churches being easy to replicate, if someone could reproduce the churches I've seen here in Italy, I don't know what I'd do aside from being amazed.




The only bad place I can think of is not really a place. I think taking pics of a doll near beer at some drunken party or near some weed stash as a no no. That would be just plain tacky.

 

omg that would be so wonderful, I'd love that as well!;o; would be so moving, liking having dolls at your wedding ^u^ I was watching some fictional show one day about some girl spirit bla bla basically buried with her doll (of course a different type and she was young but still) XD

anyway I think No places are innapropriate to take photos of dolls unless it's inappropriate to photograph people there too..like public restrooms...and strip bars hah XD

 

Personally, I think it's the context of the photo. I don't want to see anything that is either disgusting or too tasteless. Like Frozen said; I'll pass on public restrooms, stripbars (even though that might elicit a few chuckles), or next to dead people in a morgue. Just sayin'.

 

I agree that in a morgue next to dead people would definitely be a massive lapse in good taste; but how do people feel about other dead things? I'm thinking of a photoshoot that a girl put up in the gallery a couple of years ago in which she posed her doll on, around, touching and holding a dead bird. All issues of roadkill and hygiene aside, would you say that was a photoshoot too far?

 

It may not be exactly hygenic, but I don't think it's too far, persay. We eat dead things after all. A pic with sushi is a pic with a dead thing. A pic with a dead puppy? I'd say that'd be sad, disgusting. Pics with bones, say of roadkill or something, not so much. I know someone who collects roadkill bones to clean and turn into jewelry. I think most of it boils down to individual cultures, and what is considered taboo for that culture/subculture, and what is considered distasteful.

 

Taboo or controversy, I think, is just a matter of personal perspective, sometimes reinforced by our own cultures and upbringings.
In my case, I don't really think there's much I would draw a line at, in terms of photography locations. If its aesthetically pleasing to me, I'll photograph there.
Graveyards... I don't know why people have such a strange fixation on them. Those places are for the living, not the dead. Gravestones and statues and whatnot are meant to be stared at, that's why they exist. Sure they're for the family, but also to the world so that in 50+ years people will come back and know that once upon a time, you existed.
Churches and religious places as well, they're just places. So long as you're not doing anything outright disrespectful, why not take a picture of your doll knelt in prayer (if they're so inclined)? Whats the big deal with photographing a doll gazing up at a statue of the Virgin or of Christ? Nothing.
Heck, even on the public restroom angle - if no one were inconvenienced and if it were fit for the setting I wanted, sure I'd photograph there.
Art lends itself to controversy, as everyone's interpretations of what is or isn't beautiful are so drastically different.

 

I have posted photos of my boys in a male strip club, even though of course no strippers were showing-- you can't bring cameras back in there in the action zone!-- It was mostly in front of the signs, the neon, & the products on the sale-rack, the general ambience.

Actually the photoshow got wildly happy responses! People were tickled to get to see inside such a place, I think, and to get to see dolls in it. The club happens to be right down the road from my house, so it is part of my neighborhood, and the photoshow was part of a walking-tour of where I happen to live. I think one person's "controversial" may sometimes be another person's "educational".

 

I agree, it is very inappropriate i would hurt someone if there were fiddling with my loved one grave in that way.

 

IMO the more disrespectful thing would be to never visit any graveyard and to act as though death is not a part of life. To visit a graveyard in any capacity is to accept the human condition and the human condition is the subject for all great art.

Art ranges from flag burning, to Lady Gaga, to taxidermy, to Sharks in formaldehyde. You can put no cultural limitations on it for when art ceases to be able to touch the taboo it ceases to be a personal expression of those who live in that culture and face those taboos.

There is a huge statement in photographing an undying thing of decidedly human form among the monuments of humans who have died, and this comes from someone who's good friend died two weeks ago. Though, knowing him, I doubt he would have gotten the statement.

 

hehehe!
I also did not read the whole thread, but I did skim through and there are many interesting responses.
I'm with you on this one.

I have always liked going to graveyards, its' nice and quiet.
I also like taking photos of graves and in a grave yard. I haven't in a while, since I moved states but I might eventually take pictures of my doll in a graveyard, possibly on a grave. I don't find grave photography to be disrespectful at all.
Everyone can be insulting at some point, so I can understand that I might offend someone by doing this. And people who might be offended should understand that it's just part of being in the real world where everyone has different ideas and opinions.

Its not the greatest idea to go cemetery, find a funeral burial ceremony, put your doll on the coffin as its going down or something and take a picture... That's just wrong.
Or taking your doll into a church when a sermon is taking place, that might not be appropriate, especially if you bust out with a camera.
Or more insane, is to take pictures of your doll at like a crime scene near a dead person. I mean if you happen to have your doll when some crazyness goes down and someone ends up dead.. and you decided to take a picture...with your doll... that might be a lil creepy.

There are definitely some places where it's not appropriate to take your doll for pictures, but I don't think Graves are one of them.
I also find it hard to see a photo of a doll somewhere and be offended. IT's very easy not to be offended, all you have to do is turn away, click the back button, walk away and get on with life.

Wait wait.. I think I thought of one. IF I came across a picture of myself with someone's doll which portrayed some kind of perversion without my consent... I just might be offended but if you can manage that we are probably some kind of friends and it was all just for shits and giggles.

It's easy enough to spot someone trying to take up the skirt shots, (I've seen it alot at anime conventions. =/ ) So someone trying to sneak an up the skirt shot with a doll... lol yeah I'd see you. lol

Now I'm just rambling sorry for that...

 

Personally for me if it fits with a photo shoot idea then go for it but I don't find it disrespectful.

 

Well personally the debate is rather pointless to begin with. Whether it's a grave site or a church or ground zero there will be people who find it offensive and non offensive. The most littlest relation to any religion, sexual preference anything will lead to debate since everyone has their own extreme and non extreme view points. Does it bother me? no. will it bother the family? maybe, maybe not. If it's done with permission and a 3rd party is offended then whatever there's nothing you can do. Art to one is pointless to another you'll never find middle ground on opposing views so just go by this mind frame: if it offends you look away and don't go back to it no harm no foul, if you wanna make a big stink about it then grow up realize not everyone shares your view point and move on.

 

A little far away, but I have to agree the "pics next to a (real) dead guy" thing is just bad taste, period. I really have no idea how one could make it tasteful. I feel it would creep a lot of people out to see a dead body without all of the stuff they use to make it look real at a funeral. It would certainly creep me out, as well as question this person's sanity. Especially if this person is not a relative, or anyone I personally knew. Even if it was, I think you really would have to understand that not everyone is going to be fine with you taking pictures of an open casket, or something. Not everyone is going to think you're showing respect by posing your SD next to grandpa. At least with gravestones and such, there's a larger possibility no one will see you do it.

I think that's disrespectful, and I also feel that's taking advantage of a person (even though they're dead). Maybe in life they didn't want to have pictures taken with an equally-inanimate doll? Now they have no choice; they're pretty much held captive. At least a tombstone is not an actual human, but a decorative memorial. And sure, you may point out that my logic would deem taking pictures of our dolls with animals is equally bad because they can't protest, either. Only thing is, animals can move. If my cat doesn't want to sit with my doll, she can get up and walk away. And no matter how much I might go and put her back, she can walk away all those times. Dead people don't move (at least we hope they don't, lol).

Plus, there's just kind of gross places, overall, that I'd never put my doll near - like public bathrooms, toilets, or generally dirty places. I think it's really hard to make a not-so-clean toilet look stylized and decorative.

 

Plus it may also be illegal, depending on where you are; here in the UK, it would be deemed "interfering with a corpse" which is a serious offense carrying a prison term of 1-5 years - and you'd be handily providing the prosecution with photographic evidence of your criminal act. I don't know how the law stands in the US regarding such an act, but I can't imagine it's viewed at all favourably.

 

Other dead things in photos creep me out, too. If I can't tell it's actually dead, then I'm not as freaked out. But if it looks far too impossible for the animal to sit still at all, and then you tell me it's dead... I think dead things are a no-go all around in my opinion.

 

Meh = old tomb stones no worries.

Newer ones = not cool. Not so much for respecting the dead, but respecting the living families of the recently dead.

Not that I've been to a graveyard for a while. My family get cremated and then we are supposed to scatter them. Only my mum can't really let go of her parents I guess so they're in our study still. I'd take a picture of my dolls with their urn, I don't think my grandparents would mind, probably stoked to be included in fact. However:

a) My mum may mind, and even if she didn't I don't want to ask to find out she thinks i'm nuts enough as it is and

b) Who'd really want to see that anyways?

Edit: Just saw this a few posts up: Someone on my facebook once posted a picture of two hunting G.I. Joes with a foot each on a dead squirrel. Didn't know weather to laugh at the thought of two G.I Joes hunting a squirrel or be completely grossed out. Was a very mixed reaction.

 

I don't think I really have a line. It all depends on the context of the photo. I was thinking that places like Auschwitz would be way too far, but I think in a few scenario's you could get wonderful and respectful pictures. Personally I wouldn't do it, because my dolls would just look stupid there.
I also wouldn't take pictures in newer graveyards, but in old ones, where there has been no sign of family visiting for a while. And then of course tasteful, and not on top of the stone with arms spread like "Hey here I am!"
I think most controversial places are in general a no no, because I know very few people that could take pictures in odd places without it looking stupid, distasteful and disrespectful. But I think it can be done by few.