By Amy Gibas
BAY CITY— From his dreams of becoming a mortician at age 12 to his high school job as a gravedigger, Michael Murphy had a lifelong fascination with the macabre. His series of graveyard photographs began in 2004 when he befriended the groundskeeper of a historic Philadelphia cemetery, and he spent the next fifteen years actively seeking and photographing cemeteries everywhere he visited.
Michael Murphy passed away in 2021 at the age of 61. He was a free spirit who, after graduating from Bay City Central High School in 1977, enrolled at Piney Point Merchant Marine Academy. Upon graduation, he spent some time sailing the Great Lakes, enjoying his youth, and collecting stories. His next adventure was a move to Texas, where he worked in the oil fields. After returning to Michigan, he became a registered nurse and spent twenty-eight years caring for patients in the emergency room and intensive care unit. He was dearly loved by his coworkers, patients, and many friends that he seemed to make wherever he went.
This exhibit of Michael’s photography features seventy images spanning cemeteries in five states and showcasing the monuments and memorials created to commemorate the deceased. The photographs in this exhibit reveal how trends and style have influenced how we have memorialized our loved ones through time. Although macabre, the show is also a tender and sentimental reflection on the passage of time through the loss of loved ones and the decay of their monuments. Informational labels in the exhibit include pieces of history, thoughtful observations, and background on materials and styles, making this exhibition of interest to artists, photographers, and historians alike.
The Beyond Photography exhibit is made possible by Murphy’s wife, Sara Urband-Murphy. While Murphy was fascinated by the dead and the rituals that the living employ to memorialize those that they loved, his contribution to the living was a far greater gift. Please contact the curator of exhibits, Amy Gibas, at agibas@studio23baycity.org for more information on “Beyond Photography… A Photo Exhibition Featuring the Work of Michael J Murphy.” Studio 23 gallery hours are Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
