Graveyard Corsetry

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This set of photos from Melisa made me wonder, how would someone who died in 1886 feel about body modification and the way people choose (and are relatively free) to express themselves these days? It’s probably a rather pointless question as we’ll never know, at least not in my lifetime anyway.

Also, I’ve often thought how amazing it would to be thrown into a time totally alien to you, or to know how it feels to see a light bulb/Wii for the first time in your life! One thing I think is lacking these days is the joy of discovery, you can basically go through your entire life not having to really work anything out for yourself. Even employment comes with an instruction manual, that’s not necessarily a bad thing but there are limits..

If you need to do something invariably you will buy a product that will do it for you, if you can’t fathom out how to use what you’ve bought there are instructions, it’s all handed to us on a plate and it makes me a little sad.

Anyway sorry for rambling, my point is I’m sure people from the past would have much less trouble adapting to life in 2008 than we would if we were whisked to the 1980′s, even. We’ve got it pretty good, eh.

By Lisa Avilla (pictured after the break, on the left), Studio 13, Salinas, CA.

96 thoughts on “Graveyard Corsetry”

  3. Roo, you should ramble like that way more often 🙂
    and maybe that’s why so many of us are into body modification – an opportunity to discover something about us and the world without any manuals and in not that easy a way.

    well, I’m not digging these pictures much but your post is kind of cool on its own

  6. I think the real question is how would someone who died in 1886 feel about someone posing naked on their grave.

  7. I love Meli!
    I knew it wouldn’t be long before she ended up on modblog.

  9. Haha, I love your rambling Roo, cause I came to BME to procrastinate about a really shitty philosophy essay I’m supposed to be writing 🙂 That’ll teach me! Anyway, the questions that have no answers are usually the most important and interesting not the most pointless, imho :p
    As for the pics- photos taken in graveyards never really sit right with me, bit the piercings are stunning and I love this girl for getting completely nekked outside 😀

  10. To the people mentioning respect, I understand what you mean (well, not personally but I can see where you’re coming from).

    But really graveyards should be places people can express themselves, more than anywhere. Again I’m saying this personally but I certainly don’t think they should be treated as hallowed ground. If I was buried (which I’m not going to be), but if I was and could look about the place, I’d love to see someone enjoying themselves.

    I don’t know. I just think people have a kneejerk reaction to seeing photos of a graveyard where something else other than mourning is pictured.

  13. i like your rambling, roo. please don’t quit it 😀
    @6: how do you think they would feel? most likely the only naked thing this person has seen since 1886 is bugs. i’d get a heartattack if something naked suddenly showed up on my grave. oh shit, that’s too late!

  14. i don’t know, i’d feel pretty damn happy about having a beautiful naked woman standing on my grave

  15. I wouldn’t want anyone standing naked on my grave…but that all depends on the opinion of the person who’s buried there (not that you’d be able to ask…)

  19. I mean, yeah its beautiful and all that but it is a bit disrespectful towards the dead.

    Cemeteries are places for the dead to rest, not a place to take sweet pix.

  21. @13, well that went right over your head, didn’t it?
    How about this then, how would someone feel going to a cemetary to mourn their loved ones, and they see a naked chick posing for pictures over the grave. I’d be pretty damn pissed. If you feel the need to trot off to a cemetary for some naked fun, do it on someone from your own family’s grave.

  22. The dead don’t really need peace, quiet and non-nudity to rest do they? I mean, they’re dead. I would imagine they don’t mind. She and her piercings are gorgeous, the scenery is nice too. I think the graveyard is a nice touch, you don’t expect naked people in graveyards.

  23. Wow. She is incredibly hot, and the graveyard just seems to add to the eroticism

  24. Though annabella makes a good point. While the dead probably don’t mind, their families might.

  25. thats my meli!!! and if i died i would be HONORED to have her trot around my grave! =]

  26. Cemeteries are about remembrance of loved ones who have past…And its hard to say how one who’s dead would feel…Perhaps there are many buried there who don’t really want people to “be having an amusing fun time”…Perhaps there are others buried there who DID want people to go there and have a good time in their name,etc.

    The question is this…Does the nude girl in this picture even KNOW the individuals in the grave-sites she’s strutting around on? Probably not. It shouldn’t matter if the person died in 1650 or 2008, personally I think its not cool for anyone to just do whatever they want one certain peoples final piece of property/land….Now if it was a family member, well whatever its a family member but you should still abide by how THEY would want you to behave…If that means tits and ass out for all to see, rock it like never before…But if the person was a bit more conservative then that, then you should respect that.

    Lord knows if I was dead and buried and some chick decided to get corset piercings all over her body and get naked…I’d turn into a zombie right quick and break a piece off…Now that could be taken TWO ways perverted and something else…I’ll leave that for people to mentally picture and decide.

    But I’m glad I don’t plan to be buried in a cemetery…Right now my choices are:

    1) Be cremated and compressed into a Diamond
    2) Be sent to a taxidermist and made into a life-sized talking doll (with pull string voice box and all)
    3) Put into a time capsule and blasted into outer space.

  28. “it’s all handed to us on a plate and it makes me a little sad.” Say that after you’re grandmother has speant 2 hours trying to install her DVD player and won’t just let you give her the instructions or do it for her 😉

  30. I think we all went through this graveyard issue before, with those shirt ad pictures a while ago… that said, I also agree with those saying it’s disrespectful (unless in the very odd chance that it’s her relative, which I suppose is different).

  31. I love pictures of hot naked women.

    I love pictures of cemeteries.

    I don’t love them together, I too think it’s disrespectful.

  32. The photos (from an artistic pov) are fantastic. The grave part.. I’m on the fence about that one. The grammatical errors in the description bothered me more than the “disrespect” to the deceased.

  33. I buried my Mum a few days ago, so the thought of someone standing naked over her grave, be it tomorrow or in 200 years time, really hits me in the guts.

  36. Sunday morning, 5AM, out of the way graveyard, really quick on a holiday. It’s not that difficult to get graveyard photos without offending relatives or being arrested. I believe that the dead can’t think or feel.

    If the choice of location offends, shocks or creeps out a majority of the population, then the majority of the population deserves to be offended, shocked and creeped out and get over that a young women decided to use a cliche location for her photoshoot.

    Like everyone here, I’ve been there when relatives were being buried. I would easily shoot a photoshoot in the same cemetery. Death does not bother me.

    Regarding the photos, my curiousity revolves around how long she kept the corsets.

  37. Why would it matter if it was her mum? Surely the one person we should be comfortable being naked around would be our mothers? Not everyone is..Obviously, but it wouldn’t shock me at all if it was her mother.

  40. i think the girl, and the pictures, are both beautifull.
    i look at it this way, cemetaries, just like funerals, are for those still living, a dead person is just that, dead, why the hell would they care? they cant!
    besides, i think the obviouse contrast in these photos between death and life make them all the more beautifull.

  42. Beautiful figure, and nice piercings.

    The only problem I would see here has nothing to do necessarily with respecting the dead, but rather, respecting their families. Most people don’t spend the money on graves and markers for their loved ones intending for complete strangers to go traipsing about on them for a fancy photograph.

    I don’t particularly find this as offensive as some of the things I have seen done in graveyards though.

    I myself want to be cremated and spread across my favorite looking point. So, if my family respects my wishes, they won’t have to worry about anyone disrespecting their plot.

  43. it’s not like shes peeeing on the graves; she’s just taking pictures. the people in the graves had bodies tooo.

  45. I have to admit that if I knew somebody was posing naked on top of my grandmother’s grave, I’d be a little angry about it. Death doesn’t bother me, nudity doesn’t bother me – good job to her for having the guts to pose nude, outside. But people don’t shell out thousands of dollars on grave and a casket, tombstone and funeral to come back in a few months and hear that some girl was taking naked photos on it. Even if that exact family doesn’t come back and catch her at it, it still strikes as disrespectful.

  46. And what I meant by “catching her at it” was that it’s comparable to talking behind your best friend’s back, or a crime, or something like that. If you never had a chance of getting caught, does that make it okay?

  47. seriously, do people still visit the graves of someone who died in 1870 something?

    i guess i just dont get it….i guess some people are a little more uncomfortable with the human body then they would like to let on…if people being naked doesnt bother you, why would it matter were they do it?

  48. it’s kinda funny to discuss what humus soil would say about a naked girl…but maybe there are some very prudish worms around.

  49. Anyone from Charleston, SC?

    I was on a ghost tour there once. The guide, as we were walking to a cemetery, pointed out that the street we were walking on had graves underneath it.

    A cemetery is as good as any place to take artistic nude photos.

  53. I’m really not a fan of the whole graveyard thing because it’s just weird in my mind but the last picture is so hot I can barely comprehend it.

  54. i like the idea of the photo. if it were me or my loved ones that were buried and photographed for the world to see, i bet we would be proud to celebrate the natural beauty of the human body.

    more so i like the comment after. some of us learn in books some learn by doing. i happen to be from the generation that opens it, tries it and reads the instructions later. if i were shot into the future 30 years from now (if i am still alive)when organic information storage has been invented i suppose i would do the same. try to figure out how it works, use it and the details i couldn’t figure out i would look up.

  55. I find these a bit prosaic, really.

    @ kat777. “seriously, do people still visit the graves of someone who died in 1870 something?”

    Me. I do. 1870 was not a long time ago.

  57. What’s a matter with you ?
    I wasn’t warned “nudity” was disrespectful.

  58. People saying “They’re dead, they can’t care!” are ridiculous, does this mean it’s not disrespectful to put your fingers up to a blind person? I mean, they can’t see, why should they care?

  59. Oy, touchy subject.

    A few years ago, I had no one close to me actually buried, so I’m sure my opinion would have been different.
    But because I know how a tombstone can represent the loved one, this is most certainly disrespectful. Tombstones are often adorned with flowers, notes, teddy bears… anything that might relate to the deceased. Most of the time they are immaculately cared for simply because the tombstone IS the deceased… its what is left to mark the life they’ve lived.

    So I don’t think its about disrespect for the dead, but rather disrespect for the living. I would be upset if I saw my friend’s grave marker used in this way. Personally, it’s almost comparable to slander towards the deceased.

  60. OH

    I wanted to say though, also, that the woman is beautiful, the corsets are amazing and the photographer did a great job.

    The fact that it is in a cemetery has nothing to do with quality, so I’ll give em that, for sure.

  61. I find this horrible
    My father died 7 years ago, if I saw someone posing over his final resting place, and place of rememberance for his family and me Id phone the police
    I love body modification, but posing over somebodys grave is disgusting
    Imagine if the relatives came to visit the grave, and saw a naked woman having pictures taken over the grave.
    Or if somebody was being burried in that graveyard on that day, and had to see what that woman was doing, how would they feel? whilst mourning thier relatives or friends.

    So anyone who says “Well thier dead, they cant feel anything” FUCK YOU, thier relatives can still feel the pain of that persons death, Id fucking know. And so would a friend of mine, who is also deeply disgusted, both of her parents have died, how would she feel if she saw this girl posing over her parents final resting place?

    Think about it

  64. This is disgusing, I’m sure the person in this grave deserves more respect than to find someone taking pictures over it.
    It’s disrespectful.

  65. oh please people, it’s just a graveyard. It’s a beautiful place. It’s not disrespectful to get naked and take awesome pictures. I wouldn’t care if she was standing on a grave of one of my family members, I’d want to see the pictures! My dad, both grandpas, a grandma, and 3 uncles are all dead and buried. And it’s not like they’re hanging around a graveyard when there’s all of the afterlife to entertain them! They’re more likely to see what’s happening in your bedroom than in some random outdoor place where their mortal body is rotting. The stone is not them, they are in your heart and your memories. Don’t put so much feeling into an inanimate object like a headstone.

  67. She’s a lovely girl, but I still think that graveyard poses are tacky, ill-conceived, and cliched as hell. You can “LOL dead people don’t care” all you want, but graveyards aren’t for the dead. They’re for the living, as a place to memorialize and show respect for the deceased. They are meant to be places of quiet reflection for the living.

    Surely there were at least a dozen better locations for this photo. Not just because it’s tasteless and disrespectful, but also because every hack since Poe thinks that hanging out in cemeteries is edgy and unique.

  69. Maybe this is her way of communing and paying respects to those that she has lost…. If you don’t like it and it’s not hurting anyone, don’t look and get over yourselves. If she were straddling a fresh grave and being overtly disrespectful to the interred or their families I’m sure I would feel a little different. But she’s not. She’s beautiful in a beautiful setting, and I’d guess just by looking at the composition of the photos that they gave at least a cursory glance around to make sure not to disturb the living.

  72. your ramblings are interesting, but I feel inclined to point out that the wii being a fairly recent invention I, and a great number of other people know what its like to see one for the first time 🙂

  73. Rich – Haha, good point! Although I was thinking more along the lines of never having seen something powered by electricity, with moving images, that sort of thing.

    I’d probably wet myself.

  74. ‘But really graveyards should be places people can express themselves, more than anywhere. Again I’m saying this personally but I certainly don’t think they should be treated as hallowed ground.’

    This is a typical kneejerk comment that makes no sense at all. Why should you express yourself artistically or sexually in a graveyard? You don’t think they should be TREATED as hallowed ground? They ARE hallowed ground!

    Why doesn’t she stick a dildo up there, call it porn and be done with it, everyone associated with this picture should be ashamed.

  75. Sarah – I was a little tired (and sick) when I wrote that, not that I’m backpedaling but what I meant was that I don’t think graveyards should be thought of as a place where only mourning takes place.

    It’s the reason I don’t want to be buried, I want people to feel happy when they think of me and not feel they should visit my graveside and leave flowers. I was raised Christian and remember how strange I felt visiting passed relatives. If I’d have seen the girl above I would have been a bit confused (at any age), but I certainly would be mad at her, and as a few people have said I’m sure they made sure there was nobody about that would be offended.

  76. americans…. 🙁
    I wish some pretty (hot ?) girl will pose nude next my graveyard.
    There’s definitly something wrong in your vision of life (I duno understand how people living in a so big country are so little minded).

  77. to another person in another culture or era this could be considered immoral. but, none of us can speak for them. if it offends you, you have the right to voice your opinion. however you can’t change anyone elses.

    imagine, in 30 years nudity could be legal anywhere and everywhere for anyone to photograph….

    i have irish heritage and when a loved one passes on we celebrate their life by getting stupid drunk.

  79. there is no “the dead”

    there is only you and you’re finite.

    its all dirt and stones, dance where you wish, especially when you’re a sexy, pierced bitch!

  80. I see everyones point, I understand your anger/concern, but personally… call me cold, like the dead, but I don’t really care.

    Maybe I’m desensitized to every single thing… maybe it’s just my family…

    My grandfather told our family to have a party when he dies. Not to spend money on stupid shit like coffins or gravestones… spend it on booze. He also told me, that if my family gets all sentimental on him after he can’t do anything about it… That I better have sex on his gravestone, just so someone can make some use out of it.

    I guess it’s just my family. My friends dream when he dies is to be cremated, then be pressed into a dildo.

    sorry if I offended anyone, but yeah. touchy subject. Also just because I would have sex on my grandfathers grave,(if he gets one) doesnt mean I disrespect the dead or would do it on someone elses grave. I really enjoy graveyards for the quiet atmosphere, go by myself and read, or lay down and watch stars.

  81. so if I was fucking a chick on my grandfathers gravestone(by his wish)… would I be respecting him… but disrespecting others?

    what if the family with a relatives grave next to my grandfathers happened to come by during this? would they be disrespecting me and my grandfathers wishes? or would I be disrespecting them?

    I don’t think anyones gonna be in my favor… I better make my grandfather write it down in his will… just so I have something for the cops. I don’t disrespect the dead, so how could I go against my grandfathers wishs?

    Maybe you think I’m poking fun at a touchy subject… but my grandfathers wish is true.

  82. Gross… I think posing naked in pubic is great, I think body mods are awesome… But this is just disrespectful. I’d go on a rant but everything I’d be ranting about has already been said

  83. Well this picture is sexy… and quite frankly, I think cemeteries are there solely for those who are left behind. My thought is that if there is any kind of after life, the part of the person who would care if sexy naked people were taking pictures on their grave is probably long gone. But that’s just me 🙂

  84. meli is an amazing young lady and by no means meant to offend anyone, hell she didnt even pick the site for the photos. disrespectful or not all i can say is i was honored to have helped with this whole event and commend her. the piercings and pictures turned out great and SHE above all people envolved had an amazing experience.

  85. I wish people wouldn’t wait until others were dead to champion respecting them. Seems like a lot of respect should be given to one another as living beings as well…which during our lifetimes is sorely missing on a daily basis.

    After you die, that respect is pretty moot and a bit too late.

  86. what I’m curious to know is this.

    For all those that are saying its not disrespectful…How many of them are even religious/spiritual in faith and actually practice it?

    I wouldn’t be surprised if many are non-practicing within the religious aspect…and to that, sure you have a right to state your opinion, however your view is biased on the fact that you do not associate yourself in any way to practicing religion,etc.

    I agree with you HereKittyKitty, but that’s mostly because I tend to respect an individuals life, while they live as well as when they die….or at least I do my best to do so in both cases….But that’s just me personally, as you said not everyone thinks that way.

    bevelsNbreakdwns: That’s the thing I believe…She didn’t feel it was disrespectful,etc because chances are it was not fully thought out…Perhaps it was more of a: “I got a great idea! lets do this corset and get you naked in a cemetery! THAT’D BE HOT!” and then everyone confirmed and whammo photoshoot is done. Not saying it was the girls fault or even the photographer, because perhaps they don’t VIEW cemeteries in the same way as others…So I don’t think they’re evil incarnate…I just think of it as being a bit of a “bad choice” made. *shrugs*

  87. I dont know someone might have already said it, but if I was going to put flowers on my mothers headstone and saw some naked chick on it, i would flip.

  88. I wasn’t going to say anything, but HereKittyKitty just put it perfectly.

  89. I’ve tried really hard, but I just can’t find anything offensive about a naked woman. Therefore, I am completely unable to be offended by pictures of one in a graveyard.

    The “respect for the dead” line is just a bullshit knee-jerk reaction; one of those lines that people throw around without ever analysing why they’re saying it.

    Oh, Warren, you have things completely the wrong way round when you say this:

    “… your view is biased on the fact that you do not associate yourself in any way to practicing religion.”

    It makes far more sense to suggest that practising theists are the ones who are biased. A dead body in the ground has no intrinsic meaning; it is assigned a subjective meaning due to cultural conditioning.

  90. I think it’s a beautiful photo set, and as far as the (evolved) question of how someone about this woman walking naked on their grave would feel: if it were my grandfathers, they’d be happier than the easter bunny. On the other hand, if I saw this lady on said grandfathers’ graves, she’d catch a hurtin because to me, it has less to do with respect for the dead, and more to do with respect for those living who might be visiting the dead.

    was that too many commas?

  91. But a tree-lined avenue, or a motel bedroom, aren’t more apt to do your usual job ? Do you think to get more money in a cemetery ?

  92. I know each person has their favorite features and preferences, but this, to me is absolutely stunning. I find tattoo’s attractive as with piercings and other creativity but the corset weave sends those same feelings to my head of the first kiss or the first lay. That endorphin fueled rush that makes your skin flush. And that’s just seeing it in pictures. Mabye someday I can convince the wife… if only for a day.

  93. Everybody has the right to feel the way they do, whether you agree or disagree with these pics…
    I myself am a Christian and lost my father 5 years ago, but these pics don’t offend me at all, I think they were very nicely done, very artistic and in good taste as long as they did not offend anybody at the other graves. But I do believe they would have made sure of privacy before they did the shoot.
    So from my point of view very nicely done. I can understand though that other people can have objections about it.

  94. nothing here is disrespectful! dead people people dont care! but when I die please someone, do a naked photoshoot on my grave.

  95. Gorgeous girl. Amazing photographs.

    I don’t think its even mildly wrong to embrace the beauty of a graveyard as long as no ones harming anything and being fully respectful of the dead and any visiting loved ones to the graves, then its entirely acceptable.

    In fact most graveyards are often sad and lonely and you see people mourning loved ones more often than you think to embrace a cemetary as enjoying the beauty of life.

    She’s not harming the site in any way she’s simply standing there posing for a beautiful picture. We come into this world naked, sometimes we die naked as well. Nudity isn’t the worst thing in the world. Again its finding the beauty in life while you have it and appreciating lifetimes of the ones passed.

  96. although the girl in the pic wasn’t meaning any disrespect – I’d have
    to say that it still manages to be disrespecful. I mean it’s a graveyard,
    not a studio. One of many reasons why I want to be cremated!

    Cheers,The Doctor ; )

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