“Hear, Here: Where Real and Fictional Death Meet”

Artist Mel Keiser explains how her work became about death & why it matters.

Starting like a typical artist talk, multidisciplinary artist Mel Keiser introduces her worldbuilding, autotheoretical work, where she takes on the persona of many different people—who are all herself. Keiser talks about why she’s so many people (who are also the same), why many of these people (who are her) are dead, and how she’s grieving their (her) deaths.Keiser then pivots to show how her project about fictional self-death led her to found the Death Studies Research Group at Northwestern University. From here, her talk becomes more performative, as you see how her foray into death, dying, and grief her foray into death, dying, and grief research transforms from an arm’s-length study into a resistant act against the horror of death—finding the only salve to the grief of death is to stare unblinkingly into its very face.*Accessible accommodations include a ramp entrance and elevator. If you need additional accessibility options or wheelchair seating please contact us at info@imss.org.