Art Books with Skulls!

1/10/12 – Cleaning Bedroom

So it’s been a while since I have posted anything onto the blog, I have suddenly realised that I have only three weeks to submit my thesis eekkk! Time really is ticking away and today I decided to clean out my bedroom, I could have written more for my thesis, but Instead I cleaned my room. I usually store quite a lot of stuff that I don’t really need so I thought it was time to grab a plastic white bag and put all of the rubbish in the bin.

I’m not an overly messy person, I just like to keep everything relatively clean. Anyway I have realised that I have accumulated a collection of books in relation to the Mexican Day of the Dead Celebration and the skull in contemporary art. At the moment I have all of these books lying under the bed and I finally decided to put them away in my bookshelf!

All of the books have assisted with the research and my own written thesis, if your into skulls I would definitely recommend looking through these books.

Skull Face by Antoni Cadafalch

21/9/12 – Birthday Present

On the day before my birthday, one of my friends had bought me an amazing gift! An art book on skulls that I have been wanting to buy for at least seven to eight months. I was so excited when I had received the gift and the book, SkullFace by Antoni Cadafalch displays a range of artists who explore the skull in a contemporary context.

I had first recognised the publication in the Outre gallery in Melbourne although I had never bought the actual book. Now I can proudly say that I own a copy of Skull Face that is currently sitting on the top self of my bookcase.

If you have an interest for skulls especially in contemporary art and graphic design, I would definitely recommend buying a copy of this book. You will always have great ideas and inspiration in your very own bookshelf!!

http://www.qbd.com.au/product/9780955833601-Skullface_by_Antoni_Cadafalch_Yak_El-Droubie.htm

Front Cover: Great Book Jackets and Cover Design by Alan Power

26/8 –  27/8/12: Alan Power presents Artistic Illustrations of the Skull

The other day I received several images via email of an art book that contained illustrative representations of the skull. The Images were extracted from a book also known as “Front Cover: Great Book Jackets and Cover Design” by Alan Power. Some of the images do appear very art deco and the book may demonstrate the presence of the skull in contemporary art and popular culture.

Some of the works appear similar to advertisements or posters through the juxtaposition between image and text. Some of the images may relate to European Renaissance Art especially the ‘Moment Mori’ that reminded the viewer of their own existence. There are at least two works in particular that features a composition between the skull or the skeleton and the hour glass that is also symbolic of the Momento Mori.

William Sroyan, Inhale and Exhale, 1936

Robert Titler argues that the Momento Mori invited the spectator to consider the border between life and death. The Momento Mori confronted one with their own mortality and realisation that time is slowly running out. Titler quotes “Many other portraits of the era employ clocks, hourglass, wilted or withered foliage, skulls and even full skeletons to convey the same message”. Can the skull remind the living of their own mortality or existence?

In a way yes the skull may remind one of the person’s life or existence, on the other hand the appropriation of the skull may become another representation that no longer resonates a connection with death. One may say that an image all depends on the eye of the beholder.

Tittler, Robert, Portraits, Painters, and Publics in Provincial England, 1540-1640 (New York: Oxford University Press,2012) p.135