the skull of human head, death's head

the skull of human head, death's head, it was only a matter of time before skull iconography was everywhere .............................................................

......................... shop .................. competitions .............. education ................ interviews ................... snapshots ................... history .......... contemporary

---

death's head symbol

there is a definite seriousness to the human skull.
bound by mortality, death’s head has long been the
mark we associate with secret societies, toxic
substances and black-flagged pirate ships serving
most commonly as a warning to those who fear
putting their lives at risk.
dangerous and horrific, this image certainly doesn’t
seem like an obvious icon for fashionable living.
which is why it’s surprising that not only does this
mark turn up on this days tattoos, t-shirts, trucker hats,
but also must-have designer toys, so what’s the deal?
is the human skull still the same signifier it once was,
from ancient iconography to its appearance alongside
a history of alienated youth culture - or is it placed in the
running for some kind of image makeover?

---
meaning
quite few objects have no traditional and symbolic meaning.
‘nihil est in rebus inane’ (there is nothing senseless in things)
was already proclaimed by roemer visscher in his book of
emblems, 1614...
today the skull has been re-made conceptually (at least
aesthetically) but no nonsense can fatally destroy the
memory of meaning.

---
lugubrious emblem of human mortality
victory of death over life: commonly the skull is a symbol
of death, (or some romantic notion of immortality - as the
befief that a spiritual part of a person survives death).

---
vanitas
think of the scene from shakespeare's hamlet where the
prince holds a skull of yorick, a former servant, bemoaning
the pointlessness and temporary nature of worldly matters.
certain themes characteristic of a specific philosophy
have been commonly represented during an era,
and an iconography has been developed to express them.
an example is the still life vanitas vanitatum of the middle
ages, a reminder of the transitory quality of earthly pleasure
symbolized by a skull. pictorial arrangements are dealing
with the vanity of the intellectual world (globe, books), and
of the 'vita voluptaria' (musical instruments, smoking implements).
often painters continued the old tradition of including appropriate
captions or texts on their pictures. the favourite was the
admonition from ecclesiastes I: ‘vanity of vanities; all is vanity'.
the transience of human existence is often brought out
also by other symbols like the candle and the hourglass.

---
transcendence of temporal existence
the inclusion of the skull makes explicit the essential
finiteness of man and the limitation of human knowledge.
a metaphor for understanding, to that of GOD.
(human vision and knowledge is necessarily limited by
time and place, while GOD can see and know all things
at all times). in hans holbein’s painting ‘the ambassadors’
the anamorphic skull can be connected to the contrast
between discursive reason and intellectual vision as
different stages of human knowledge.
the stable, balanced, serene coposition is interrupted
only by a long gray shape that rises diagonally from the
floor. when viewed from the proper angle, this shape
is recognized as a skull in reflecting holbein's interest
in symbolism and radical perspectives.
the skull disrupts our trust in the cartesian perspective
center in the same way, our trust in our own reality
(belief systems) becomes distabilised.
it is thought that this might have been holbein's favorite
painting, because it is the only one he signed with
his full name.

---
magical protection charm
the skull has been given strong religious connotations
in several cultures. among the people of india and
neighboring regions, the skull necklace is an iconographic
‘memento mori’ (meaning ‘remember that you must die’)
worn by certain gods and goddesses, most notably siva
in his ascetic form and kali in her wrathful form.
skull necklaces are also worn by the wrathful aspects
of allied tibetan and nepalese deities such as kurukulla
- and necklaces and prayer beads carved from animal
or human bones in the form of skulls are popular with
their devotees.

---
the death-resurrection cycle
the skull and crossbone symbol is also used in initiation
rituals as a symbol of rebirth. it may also symbolize the
‘sephirah daath’ on the kabbalistic tree of life, the gateway
to the higher realms of understanding only achievable
through spiritual death and rebirth. a skull did not inspire
horror, on the contrary, it symbolised the promise of a new life.

---
good luck
the age-old links between religion, protection, and luck.
in pre - columbian america, the skull was given an
honoured place in the religious iconography of the aztecs
and related tribes of mexico. their descendents, both
indians and people of mixed european and native
american heritage, continue to venerate the skull and
the skeleton during the national ‘day of the dead’ ceremonies,
when skulls made of sugar are eaten and offerings are
placed on the graves of deceased relatives and friends.
mexicans looked upon death as one more misfortune to
contend with, but they also regarded it as the ultimate
liberation. it was one of the most popular forms of ancient
mexican ornament and in modern mexico the skull is still used
in humorous drawing, in toys and candy.

---
christianity
the skull as an emblem occurs frequently in christianity,
inspired by golgotha, the place of the skull, where christ was crucified.
it was the burial place where adam's skull lay directly under the
cross so the blood of jesus could drip on it, thus washing away
the original sin (there was no mention of eve -
official theology was always vague about whether jesus' death
had really washed away original sin or not).
the christian concept of christ there dying on the cross would
explain the crossed bones (?).
skulls are associated with such penitent saints as st francis of
assisi, st jerome and st mary magdalene. when included in
depictions of them the skull may have a cross placed nearby.

---
reverse bad luck
hard-core gamblers have also adopted the ‘reverse bad luck’
of the skull for iconograhic purposes. in this context
the skull, along with dice rolling sevens and black cats,
symbolizes luck in adversity.

---
danger signal
the recognised symbol for danger is the skull and
crossbones or for poisonous substances, especially
visible on containers of cleaning solutions.
displayed on a black cloth back ground make up the
pirate's flag commonly known as the jolly roger.
it was certainly a most intimidating symbol for the
carribean pirate who attacked and looted ships.
(the pirate flag were to symbolise that death awaited
those whom the pirates encountered).

---
masonry
the skull and crossbones or a crossed hoe and sceptre
(symbols of sovereignty) and a skull above them,
are important emblems in masonry, where it symbolizes
the hierarchic structure and the transience of the material
world. US presidents bill clinton and george w. bush
both are members of the ‘skull and bones’ society...

---
symbol of hate
the death’s head was the symbol of the ‘SS-totenkopf
verband’ (one of the original three branches of the SS,
along with the allgemeine SS and the waffen SS),
whose purpose was to guard the concentration camps.
most of the original members of this organization were
later transferred into and became the core of a waffen
SS division, the death’s head division.
the symbol is most often seen in tattoos.

---
machismo
bikers and low-riders, as well as some members of the
military, utilize the skull as a significator of reckless
machismo barely protected from disaster or of doomed
bravery that accepts its fate.

---
why teenagers twigged at the potential of skull icons
one of the greatest challenges facing adolescence
has always been, ‘are we being taken seriously?’
according to subculture mythology the skull is a symbol
of defiance. death defiance, initially, though as the
popularity of the skull image started to spread amongst
teenagers during the early 80s it became, for parent
culture, a symbol of nightmarish youth: teen violence,
drug abuse, sexual promiscuity and other behaviors
expressed as self-defeating.

---
heavy metal merchandise
too self-defeating and of course too melancholy for the
middle of the road paying public, well, too melancholy
until heavy metal broke through. the skull toting style
of heavy metal that most of us remember is in no way
threatening or as charged with class warfare as say punk.
in fact, at its peak heavy metal was pop and was able to
perfectly recast the great equalizer, death, in all together
a much brighter light. taking the lead with loud guitars,
theatrical make-up, and narratives surrounding adolescent
male sexual fantasies, heavy metal created a merchandise
empire out of badges, t-shirts, flags, and promo videos that
consistently displayed the popular skull-garnished mascots
of each band. metal heads were able to render the skull
‘public property and profitable merchandise’. (hebdige)

---
scary fun
the skull at halloween is a very popular item
in haunted houses and a favorite design theme for
masks, costumes, lanterns, candies and halloween
decorations...... defiantly scary!

---
fear
in particular the fear of things out of our control like cold war
paranoia or fast forward to more recent times, millennial shut
downs and the uncertainty of biological warfare.
all the cult elements - dissent, angst, and misunderstanding -
are firmly attached to skull iconography.
skull T-shirts? if nothing else, donning an image of a skull
infers that the wearer has made some effort to overcome
our imposed culture of fear.

---
discrimination
robert mapplethorpe attached his own face to a skull adorned
walking stick – like a dead end for his journey.
without disturbing details, the skull underlines the suffering on
his face. probably he knew at that time about his fatal illness
- the absolute certainty of AIDS. it was the unknown death,
not a disease to live with as it might be considered now.
in mapplethorpes’ work the skull is more than a death symbol,
it’s a symbol for all the aids phobia and the discrimination era
that took place in the 1980’s.

---
new age
crystals have been regarded as magical talismans since
the middle ages and are today the sine qua non of the
new age movement. ... possibly brought before from other planets,
crystal skulls of apparently ancient origin have been found
in parts of mexico, central america and south america.

---
commerce driven co-opt of youth culture
or expression of your inner pirate?
the skull with two crossed bones are often displayed
on rings , necklaces, tatoos, jacket patches, decals
and T-shirts of those making a statement they feel is
best expressed by displaying a skull symbol.

--
interesting reading (and credits):

skull control by jason evans
http://theblowup.com/07/Projects/Skull/index.html

historical pirate flags
http://www.kipar.org/society/author/pirates-history/pirate-flags.html

a reference, searchable by description, of thousands of symbols.
http://www.symbols.net

masonry exposed
http://www.trosch.org/bks/msnc/masonic-pres-our-ctry-l.jpg

---