It Is Just In Your Head: The Image Of The Skull In Contemporary Art

The skull of Homo sapiens is an image that has been reflected in numerous ways in the art of completely different eras. For many centuries, the bony part of the head has symbolized danger, death and aggression. But most importantly, it is a symbol of the inevitability of death. Therefore, artists continue to depict skulls in their works. Let us examine how to interpret the ‘skull theme’ in the most famous, cult or interesting works of the 20th century and some more modern examples.

Salvador Dali: In Voluptas Mors

Salvador Dali: In Voluptas Mors / Via wikiart.org

In 1951, the great painter together with the founder of surrealism in photography, Philippe Halsman, created his picture In Voluptas Mors, which can be translated from Latin as ‘Death in Pleasure’. It depicts a skull made up of seven Nudes.

Interestingly, the picture, which was created in just three hours, was inspired by the genre of Baroque painting called vanitas. The still-life pictures of this movement all share a desire to show the transience of life, the inevitability of death and the uselessness of pleasure. The skull is the main image in these pictures. What makes In Voluptas Mors so unusual is its effort to convey the same idea through female nudity - the combination of sex and death in one image. We should also not forget that the picture shows not only a skull but also Dali himself in a kind of opposition between the masculine and the feminine.

By the way, take a closer look at the butterfly on the poster of the film The Silence of the Lambs

David Datuna: Life is Beautiful

David Datuna. Life is Beautiful / Via Instagram: @david_datuna

Life is Beautiful is the youngest work presented here. Behind it lies the personal history of David Datuna. The artist was once diagnosed with cancer and the doctors predicted that he had no more than six months to live. According to Datuna, he then ‘absorbed the seconds and enjoyed every moment where life is on the edge of a sword’. The disease passed, and the experience resulted in Life is Beautiful.

The huge bright skull is made of eyeglass lenses, each of which is engraved with Life is Beautiful. The work symbolizes the impulse of creative energy, which can happen only at a moment of absolute fear of death. When the end is near, life feels sweeter. Moreover, you need to be able to feel the beauty at any time, before it is too late.

Andy Warhol: Skulls

Andy Warhol. Skulls / Via pinterest.com

In 1968, Andy Warhol survived three gunshots from the famous radical feminist Valerie Solans. The artist suffered a clinical death and spent a long time recovering after the incident. Naturally, the attack greatly influenced the future work of the pop art icon, who has repeatedly addressed the theme of death.

This work dating from 1976 depicts six skulls with backgrounds of different colors, from bright to gray. Perhaps the artist was trying to show different variations of human death. The only thing that does not vary in all six skulls is the absolutely dark and macabre hollow eye sockets.

One interesting detail: the shadow of the skulls resembles the profile of a small toddler. It is not known whether this is intentional or just beautiful speculation, but it gives rise to a beautiful metaphor — birth and death are integral parts of our existence.

Damien Hirst: For the Love of God

Damien Hirst. For the Love of God / Via artinvestment.ru

Worth $100 million, this is the most expensive work by a living artist. It consists of a platinum copy of the skull of a European who lived between 1720 and 1810, inlaid with 8,601 diamonds. The work is crowned by a huge pink diamond in the forehead of the skull.

Damien Hirst leaves the viewer to make up his own mind about this rather shocking and kitsch work. One of the interpretations is that man decays, whereas diamonds are much more durable. For the Love of God is a symbol of hope for eternal life and an attempt to immortalize God's creation. Though you must decide for yourself.

Takashi Murakami: Blue Flowers and Skulls

Takashi Murakami. Blue Flowers and Skulls / Via gagosian.com

This 2012 work and the exhibition of the same name by, without exaggeration, the most sensuous and seductive Japanese artist is a study of the contrast between joy and horror, transmitted through smiling flowers and grotesque shards. In fact, the picture compares not only life and death but also the conflict between Eastern and Western culture and even between Japan's roots and modern existence.

Like many of Murakami's works, it is very difficult to take your eyes off the picture as you want to take in all the details. However, at the same time, you experience a curious discomfort because of the sheer abundance of everything and the generally depressing image.

Gerhard Richter: Skull with Candle

Gerhard Richter. Skull with Candle / Via gerhard-richter.com

The famous German artist Gerhard Richter produced a very wide range of art. At different times he created minimalistic works, followed by incredibly photorealistic portraits and landscapes and then abstract and avant-garde works. But for the moment we shall focus on his Skull with Candle (Schädel mit Kerze).

In the early 1908s, Richter created a series of minimalist candle still-life pictures. By the way, fans of the album Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth know that the cover of the album features a fragment of one of those pictures. The artist made a similar series with skulls, before combining the two images to create Skull with Candle. Associations with the vanitas genre come to mind. The still life combines the image of death and Pasternak's candle as a symbol of life, creativity and hope.

Jean-Michel Basquiat: Skull

Jean-Michel Basquiat. Skull / Via wikiart.org

Street art lovers are well acquainted with Basquiat. The legend of New York graffiti, and later the famous neo-expressionist, managed to work and make friends even with Warhol. We are interested in his works Skull and Unnamed, created in 1981 and 1982, respectively.

Skull is interesting because the shape of the head in the picture is very similar to a skull, but with eyes, lips, hair, nose and something resembling ears. The bright interior of the head resemble an attic or slum corner. The work produces an interesting effect: the more you look at it, the more its details cease to resemble real objects. The picture can be perceived as a reaction by Basquiat to the situation of African Americans in the United States at that time.

Basquiat’s work Unnamed is much more like a skull and closer to the tradition of American graffiti. In 2017, the picture was sold to a Japanese businessman for $110.5 million - a record for Basquiat. Unfortunately, the artist did not live to enjoy this absolute success, as he died from a drug overdose in 1988.

Subodh Gupta: A Very Hungry God

Subodh Gupta. A Very Hungry God / Via ru.wikipedia.org

Subodh loves to refer to his Indian roots in his sculptures. Perhaps his most famous work is A Very Hungry God, made in 2006. This is a giant skull consisting entirely of containers, pots, pans and other kitchen utensils.

Indian meal culture includes the concept of ‘tiffin’, which is like a light breakfast or an afternoon snack. Traders transport tiffins around Indian cities all day long, delivering small stainless-steel lunch boxes with food to anyone. In the evening, families eat more from the tiffin for dinner.

On the one hand, A Very Hungry God is a tribute to native culture, while on the other, it is a great metaphor of the human community. All cultures have ‘tiffin’ - we all have the same innards, we are all mortal, and we all ‘feed’ one God. Ten years have passed but interest in this has not subsided, and the artwork is a actively displayed in European exhibitions.