Although they have been numerous antecedents of Vanitas and memento mori, in the vernacular, death symbols in artistic representations, they are said to have been invented by the Dutch painters in the early beginning of the seventeenth century. They have then spread as a new particular genre of still-life throughout Europe alongside the protestant reformation. The popularity of such death representation has been growing ever since, to become one of the most privileged theme in contemporary practise. Indeed, the purpose of vanitas is to invite us to meditate on our mortal condition, it is there to help us accept our ineluctable fate and by doing so, we are invited to chose life over death because it's our mortality that precisely gives meaning to our life. This research has lead me to this particular question; is art the ultimate solution to cope with the universal taboo of death ? Indeed, vanitas seem to have a cathartic aim: purge both the artist and the audience from thanatophobia. Moreover, while building up my analysis I came to realise that the power of creation, is the very essence of life, and that producing a work of art, was in fact an attempt to cheat death as art is meant for posterity, and therefore to live after the artists deaths. So art practise is both a therapy and a cure to the trauma that lies within death and loss.
In my future project, I would like to emphasise this aspect by experiencing my own catharsis via drawing, and perhaps achieve the “catharsis” of other people who have experienced Death and loss. By doing so, I will inevitably, evoke the “ vanitas theme” because “remembering death”(“memento mori”) is where the trauma lies and were the catharsis is needed. As for the methods, I will try and re-anchor the “Vanitas narration”in every day life, perhaps using newspaper material (everyday life material) as part of the final outcome, and create if possible, sufficiently eloquent and poetic compositions, (using both transfer and drawing on paper) so as to make the audience chose the parts in which they recognise their own experience, perhaps, make them participate to the elaboration of the narrative stimulating their own imagination, belief and memory. In order to built these complex narratives, I will research on death mythologies, representations, and semiology, and hopefully come up with my own vanitas lexical.
Although they have been numerous antecedents of Vanitas and memento mori, in the vernacular, death symbols in artistic representations, they are said to have been invented by the Dutch painters in the early beginning of the seventeenth century. They have then spread as a new particular genre of still-life throughout Europe alongside the protestant reformation. The popularity of such death representation has been growing ever since, to become one of the most privileged theme in contemporary practise. Indeed, the purpose of vanitas is to invite us to meditate on our mortal condition, it is there to help us accept our ineluctable fate and by doing so, we are invited to chose life over death because it's our mortality that precisely gives meaning to our life.
ReplyDeleteThis research has lead me to this particular question; is art the ultimate solution to cope with the universal taboo of death ?
Indeed, vanitas seem to have a cathartic aim: purge both the artist and the audience from thanatophobia.
Moreover, while building up my analysis I came to realise that the power of creation, is the very essence of life, and that producing a work of art, was in fact an attempt to cheat death as art is meant for posterity, and therefore to live after the artists deaths.
So art practise is both a therapy and a cure to the trauma that lies within death and loss.
In my future project, I would like to emphasise this aspect by experiencing my own catharsis via drawing, and perhaps achieve the “catharsis” of other people who have experienced Death and loss. By doing so, I will inevitably, evoke the “ vanitas theme” because “remembering death”(“memento mori”) is where the trauma lies and were the catharsis is needed. As for the methods, I will try and re-anchor the “Vanitas narration”in every day life, perhaps using newspaper material (everyday life material) as part of the final outcome, and create if possible, sufficiently eloquent and poetic compositions, (using both transfer and drawing on paper) so as to make the audience chose the parts in which they recognise their own experience, perhaps, make them participate to the elaboration of the narrative stimulating their own imagination, belief and memory. In order to built these complex narratives, I will research on death mythologies, representations, and semiology, and hopefully come up with my own vanitas lexical.
chloe belloin