Memento Mori, remember your mortality.
Morta Madonna will remind you that each day you are closer to death and to live each day as if tomorrow may never come.
Hand-painted, one of a kind.
Hand-carved, wood. 7" tall x 6" wide.
So what in HELL is a Memento Mori?
Memento Mori refers to a wide range of mediums in art with the purpose of reminding the viewer of their own eventual demise. Memento Mori may be the theme or an entire piece, or it may be a minor element, such as a skull hidden in the corner of a painting. Memento Mori is Latin meaning: "Remember your own mortality" or "Remember you are a mortal". Memento Mori, is also thought to convey: "Eat, Drink, Make Merry...for tomorrow you may die."
In European Christian Art, the popular message was the vanity of earth, glory and pleasure. Still paintings in this genre were called 'Vanitas', and included some form of Memento Mori such as skulls, a time-piece, snuffed candles, flowers, soured fruit, insects, etc. subtly hidden within the beauty of the still art piece.
Anything which conveys the passage of time, can be a Memento Mori. Another popular phrase you may find is 'Tempus Fugit' which means 'time flies' You may have seen clocks which have a grim reaper or a figure of death which strikes the bell to indicate the top of the hour. This serves as a reminder of the passing hours, and a reminder of your mortality. As each hour, minute, second, day, month, or year passes you are closer to death. It reminds us to live each day, as if the next will never come. Memento Mori's are important visual reminders to 'Carpe Diem' or 'seize the day'.
Memento Mori's are often seen as funerary art. Cemetery head stones may feature memorial art such as skeletons, skulls or angels of death. In Medieval Europe, tombs were often topped with an image of the deceased's decaying corpse rather than the living body. This reminds any person that gazes upon it: this could be you, so live your life to the fullest.
With the advent of photography, Memento Mori photography was popular in 19th century, and a minor foot-note in today's memorials. Photographing the dead was common, and displayed in the home among family photos. It was not uncommon for family members to call in a photographer, as loved ones took ill, in the event the illness took its toll. As a result, many photographers would advertise their specialty in post-mortem photography. These photographs surface from time to time in antique shops, and have become a hobby to many collectors. The haunting images, taunt the viewer into remembering their own mortality. Many consider the fascination with death morbid, but it's quite the contrary; you can love your life so much that you engage in an intimate romance with death.
To view these collections, I recommend the Dan Meinwald collection
(http://vv.arts.ucla.edu/terminals/main.html), and the Bright Byte Studio
collection (Brightbytes.com).
SIN JONES
The Poison Apple
www.the-poison-apple.com
