Tuesday, January 29, 2008

240. Caricature Skull

Sculpted Clay (8in x 4.5in x 2.5in). I've been interested in moving beyond the standard realistic skull, so this was based on a loose sketch I made of a caricature of a skull. There's a bit of an optical illusion going on here as this is shot from the left side. Here's what is looks like from straight on...

And from the right side...

Here's the sketch I started with...


P.S. I am finally in the process of getting some of the previous clay pieces fired! Sadly the handle broke off the tea pot in the pre-fire, but I'll try to glue it back on.

11 comments:

Kim said...

That looks awesome! I kind of like the way it looks unfired, kind of like wet stone.

This really pleases the Tim Burton fan in me. :)

mirambo said...

that is sweet. whats next? maybe something inspired by Picasso?

Karen said...

That's beautiful. It looks like the skull of Nosferatu.

Charlie said...

you know, my birthday is only 10 months away.......

E. said...

I have to say how disappointed I've been lately—the visage of a human skull as a "memento mori" no longer means anything to almost everyone; it's just a cute symbol, like a spade or diamond. While this is overall probably a very healthy thing for our society (which is still recovering, in my opinion, from the 1950's and '80's' national trips into fantasy land), I feel that despite its propagation, many people fail to really, truly realize that it's INSIDE THEIR HEAD. Their skull, I mean, not some international conspiracy or their best friend or something. It seems to me that creating or wearing or using the image of a skull is a way for people to try to master the realism of their death, which does defeat the wisdom of the memento mori as an act of contemplation. I think my disappointment is also related to my corresponding disappointment in the mainstreaming of alternative subcultures and lifestyles, of which pseudo- offensive images such as the skull were symbols. In both, it's nothing recent; it's been over for twenty years.
Don't get me wrong, though, I love this blog! Symbolism or not, from a strictly pop-culture perspective, I feel like this project is the ultimate, final pinnacle in the exploration of this image, symbol, item, whatever. After you've done it, it's done, if you know what I mean. And as an artist, it's so interesting to see you just exploring different media and techniques, totally open to exploring the possibilities! Psychologically, it's been proven that humans see skulls everywhere around them, but you show them to everyone else! Seriously, how many people look at an orange and think, 'Hmmmm...It's empty gaze seems to penetrate me...' !
I don't know if anyone has yet recommended to you Andrew Bell's website? He's an artist active in vinyl toys and paintings, and for the past six years he has almost daily drawn a new creature doodle and posted them on his website: www.creaturesinmyhead.com
Also, I would like to let you know that your site was recommended to me by the Comtesse Despair of www.asylumeclectica.com via her Morbid Fact Du Jour newsletter.

MonkeyGurrrrrl said...

Very, very cool. Every time I think you've outdone yourself, you outdo it again!

Re: "disappointment in the mainstreaming of alternative subcultures and lifestyles, of which pseudo- offensive images such as the skull were symbols", well, that's pretty much what popular culture is. Nothing is ever really new, only re-discovered. I was around for the punk movement in the 70's, and even then it was seen as being, in some ways, derivative and cliched. Granted, while skull hoodies from Wally World are seen on nihilistic 7 year olds, and I (generally) scoff at the whole emo movement, I think your artistic bent is far more subversive and insightful than some folks may be able to appreciate. And your endeavor to post at least one skull per day, and provide examples of other folks' art/findings, is a unique twist as well.

Karen said...

I'm with monkeygurrrrrl (hope I got in all the "r"s). As someone who's been wearing skull jewelry and collecting skull symbols for, like, 30 years, I find the current craze a little johnny-come-lately-ish, but I love what this site is doing. And as someone who has studied anatomy and physiology, I am perfectly well aware that the skull is something that is actually in my head, and as someone who has advanced degrees in medieval history, I'm perfectly well aware of the concept of a memento mori, the ars moriendi, and transi tombs. But what on earth does that have to do with this site, where art is being made?

My mom gave me a newspaper cartoon that she found, in which two girls are standing in front of a store window filled with skull-themed clothing; one says to the other, "I used to find skulls creepy; now they're just annoying." I get that. Skull-themed onesies for your newborn are pretty annoying! But what does that have to do with "disappointment"??

Unknown said...

that makes me think of the skullmonkeys from the neverhood games...the first game was the greatest game.

katillac deVille said...

Thank you, MonkeyGurrrrrl, Karen, and of course, Noah. I've always liked skulls in all forms. The skull as a trend comes and goes with time. Some people do not care whether something is "in" or not. For me, the skull will always be cool. I only have me to impress.

b13 said...

Reminds me of a character from a game I used to play on Playstation called "Skullmonkeys." Also another game called "Medieval."

Noah said...

Thanks for the great comments (and compliments) everyone! I'm glad my project has sparked such impassioned discussion.