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Memento Mori Title Graphic

2017

05 Memento Mori - Title.pdf

Memento Mori

Skulls act as reminders to both the limits of life, and the farce permanence of bones. Bones are the last part of the body to decompose, often remaining in reliquaries or crypts for centuries after the deceased’s passing. A viewer confronted with a skull is compelled to Memento Mori, or “remember that [they] will die.” The motif of the skull often serves a contemplative role in western art. Skulls placed with fruit and other still-life materials compose the tradition of “Vanitas” paintings (a reminder of earthly vanity). Similarly, anatomical texts from the pre-modern period took artistic liberties with their skeletal “actors” to spin narratives of death as well as teach the inner workings of the human body. Trophies like Old Ephraim’s skull serve as a reminder that we all meet the same fate – even the mightiest grizzly.

Ephraim’s Skull, Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier
Library, Special Collections and Archives