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Showing posts with label skull images. Show all posts
Showing posts with label skull images. Show all posts

Seeing Skulls. James Hopkins' Vanitas.



above: James Hopkins, Decadence and Demise, 2006 (image courtesy of hamburger-kunsthalle)

Skulls, skulls, skulls. They are everywhere these days. But Artist James Hopkins at least has a diference take on them. He has a series of mixed media pieces called Vanitas in which random objects and furniture are composed to create the image or illusion of human skulls.

The term "Vanitas" (sometimes the term "Momento Mori" is used in its place) comes from a practice in which Dutch painters put symbolic imagery of death into their still lives during the 17th century.


above: Last Chord, James Hopkins

Hopkins has created a contemporary version of the practice and is quoted in a Wallpaper Magazine interview in 2006 as saying: ‘I think of vanity when I see my image in the mirror, of knowledge when I read a book, and of indulgence when I drink wine or play music; but all of these things are lost in acknowledgment of seeing the skull reveal itself.’

Black Still Life, 2007 and Consumption & Consequence, 2006:

Design for Life, 2006 and Prosperity & Decay, 2006:

Wasted Youth, 2006 and Shelf Life, 2006:


However, says Hopkins, ‘I don’t want people to think of these works as being negative or morbid — in fact, they should be read as a celebration of life.’

In addition to this work, John Hopkins has many wonderful pieces. See more of his work here.


Another collection inspired by the Dutch "Vanitas", if you have not yet seen it, is the chair, ottoman and lamp by Vladi Rapoport:

In Honor Of Halloween, Some Spooky Skull Shoes & Boots From Martin Margiela (+ 100 more things)




Martin Margiela's leather skull boot and canvas skull sneaker (or trainer) are frightfully scary to some but may be eerily attractive to others. Either way, they're the perfect kicks for All Hallows' Eve.

The hand-painted leather boots (limited edition):





The hand-painted sneaker:




The skull print sneaker or trainer is available for purchase here.
Or here.
Or here.


The hand spray painted limited edition skull leather boots can be found here.

To see over 100 purchasable items I've chosen with skulls or skull-related imagery and design, check out my "Death Becomes You" list here. Or simply use the left and right scroll arrows on the widget below to see them all.


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