Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends of Mount Auburn Mount Auburn as a Muse | Page 9

and a Modern Day Muse
Left:
Lawrence Lot
Whole-plate daguerreotype, c. 1853
Southworth and Hawes,
Below:
Winchester Family Tomb 
Whole-plate daguerreotype, c. 1853
Southworth and Hawes
Images Courtesy of the Eastman House
Consecration Dell At Mount Auburn Cemetery (2006), covering all
four seasons and shooting the flora and amphibia.”
During his impressive career, Cheek has photographed many
of the iconic buildings and landscapes throughout New England
and the country. When not behind the lens, he spends his
time collecting historic books and ephemera and serving as
editor of Historic New England’s visual history series. His
current project, a photographic portrait of Mount Auburn
Cemetery, will be Cheek’s fifteenth publication. The book,
due to be published in 2012, will present an idealized all-
color vision of Mount Auburn, conveying the moods and
spirits of the place and celebrating the glories and subtleties
of its artistic and horticultural heritage. “Rather than impose
images on the visitor that they could never see for themselves,
it has been my intent to capture climatic or seasonal moments
in time that people can experience on their own, if they can
slow down and open their eyes to the colors, textures, and
forms that surround them on every side, lie beneath their
feet, or rise above their heads. Sounds and smells are there,
too, deepening their sensory experience, but my photographs
can only help them sharpen their visual focus. The influence
these physical perceptions may then have upon thought
and emotion is part of the wonder and mystery of walking
slowly through Mount Auburn.”
Though publishing a book of his photographs might seem
to be the final chapter on Cheek’s relationship with Mount
Auburn, it’s clear that he will always be drawn back to the
Cemetery by the moments and monuments he has yet to
encounter. “I’ve always wanted to create an image that can
stand for everything Mount Auburn represents, which can
capture the essence of the place in a single view. It may not
be possible.”
C onclusion
Grant Romer, “‘A High Reputation with All True Artists and Connoisseurs’: The Daguer-
reian Careers of A. S. Southworth and J. J. Hawes,” in Young America: The Daguerreotypes
of Southworth and Hawes, eds. Grant Romer and Brian Wallis (Rochester and New York:
George Eastman House and International Center of Photography, 2005), 38-39.
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Oliver Wendell Holmes, “The Stereoscope and the Stereograph,” Soundings from the
Atlantic (Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1864), 148.
There is much at Mount Auburn to awaken the creative
impulse: an inscription on a weathered marble monument, a
sweeping vista bathed in the perfect light, the sight of a bird
taking off in flight. From the kindergartener who draws a
simple sketch of Auburn Lake in his or her nature journal to
the prize-winning poet who writes a poem after a walk, few
people are unaffected by what they discover while exploring
the grounds. Come and get lost in the landscape, and see
for yourself. Try your own hand at a poem, a sketch, or a
photograph and join the long list of others who have done
the same.
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Jacob Bigelow, The Useful Arts: Considered in Connexion with the Applications of Science,
Volume 1 (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1853), 182. The author of Elements of Technol-
ogy, Bigelow defined technology as “the principle, processes, and nomenclatures of the
more conspicuous arts, particularly those which involve application of science.”
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Albert S. Southworth, “An Address to the National Photographic Association, ” 1870,
vol. VIII, no. 94 (October 1871).
Visit www.jmmds.com to learn about Julie Messervy’s firm
and view the iPhone app she created called Home Outside Design.
View Amy Clarkson’s portfolio, including several beautiful paintings
of Mount Auburn at www.amyschuylerclarkson.com. Join us
next spring for poetry workshops led by Jessie Brown, and stay tuned
for details about the publication of Richard Cheek’s photographic essay
of Mount Auburn.
Fall/Winter 2011 | 7