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The skull tattoo age-old genre has come to signify at the point where Art, Death and Identity intersect—an awful lot of responsibility, now that you come to think about it, for half a dozen square inches of colored cutis. The figure possesses both the attributes of a universal symbol and of a personal one, according to the environment of its possessor. In all ages, in every civilization, by everybody which wears it the skull is interpreted differently. Once a rude symbol of mortality, it now expresses frequently great power, change and, (which is the exquisitely tantalizing point) the celebration of Life itself. The skull has travelled through a mile of history from the primitive rites to the modern tattooing establishment ( where harmless sterilization in the autoclaves has taken the place of rather dubious methods) until its significance has become a universal one. This paper will interpret the art and culture of the skull tattoos, its history, its significance and reference for the present. So be seated, maybe with a tumbler of something warm, and we’ll go on this rather gloomy, but fascinating journey together.
Origins of the Skull Motif in Art and Culture
Ancient and Indigenous Uses of Skull Imagery
Long before this modern tattoo machine did its sinistrous stuff of clicking its maker’s gun in the late 1800s by virtue of the adaptation of Samuel O’Reilly of Thomas Edison’s electric pen. (By the by if you want to find out just what the tattoo machine is, embody the latter name in those Earnest Passions.) The brain roots exist very heavily in the abridgè tome. But the picturization of skull facts was too intensely riveting in the arts and ceremonials of the ranine races from the very beginning, from the Mexican Aztecs in the eternal Tenochtitlan; there too the brain skeletons in the temples and masks were in honor of the end of life and were also a charm of a different sort, which said Mexicans too built tzompantli, or skull-racks, which, we would ask you, even if the concept were rejected, occur in somebody’s home with a skeleton appeal which a mere enthusiast could even attempt to interpret!
Not habendas that these were otherwise examined than for ornament, mind you! They were a temple of sent holy import in connection with that standpoint of all sides the fact that this skull and not tattooing were a means of religious promulgation. It indeed, does exist, that in connection with the temple of Mictlantecuhtli, the Ruler of the Underworld are not reckoned the mere idols of the thousands of bretternity but are explained in these volumious details and positions with infra pictures which would naturally give a reasonable clue as to their existence.
Cruciatus In Celtic thought the skull was held to contain the spirit and power of the dead. The Celts believed, which I say is more than reasonable, that the head was the seat of the soul, which makes us wonder what they thought of those of such a particularly empty-headed nature. They worshipped the skulls, sometimes covering them with gold, sometimes putting them into shrines, regarding them not with horror, but with veneration. To the early Buddhists the skull figured anicca – impermanency – that all things, including Life, are as fleeting as is the promise of a politician or a perfect soufflé. The kapala or skull cup, used in Tibetan Buddhist ceremonies, turns the macabre into the meditative, and serves as a reminder to disciples that even that which we call ourselves and which with seeming solidity walk the earth are only temporary arrangements of atoms.
The “Memento Mori” Tradition and Western Art
With the primitive people of North and South America and Asia the skull symbolism is usually a form of protection, warriors wearing divisions of bones or skulls as attributes of bravery – very much after the manner of an individual’s curriculum vitae written on himself, but far more frighteningly. The shamans made use of them to show spiritual power, there being a visual and spiritual language of the sacred and of the dangerous, in which words are unnecessary. Gold-pieces tradition, The skull became popular in Europe during the Renaissance by the means of the memento mori cult – to which memento mori means “Remember that you must die” – Latin which is not what we can call especially cheerful, but much more poetical than “You are going to die sometime or other.”
Artists like Hans Holbein the Younger made use in their work of the anamorphic skull – that of The ambassadors painted by him in 1533 contains a skull, which can only be seen when viewed from a certain angle – most clever, that. Such meditations were not morbid things, but the philosophical position assumed, i.e., that the skull is usually shown about with the symbols of worldly riches, power, and beauty to show the beholders that no one of these earthly pleasures shall accompany them beyond the tomb. It is a memoria mortis art work, and it gave birth to the charming atmospheric vanitas paintings belonging to still life which are profuse arrangements of flowers, symbols, jewels, and instruments of music, presided over by a grinning skull, suggesting that, well, all this is temporary anyway, is it not? And in the tattooing in the sailors of the marine community of Europe (in the time of the explorations) the sailor and explorers took it up as a defiance to Fate and danger. These fellows of the sea had to contend with drowning, scurvy, and a hostile reception (now and then) in foreign ports—therefore the tattoos of the skull, which served them as a talisman of luck and a two-fingered salute to Death. This habit of tattooing is carried on to-day in the tattoo circles, sans scurvy.
Symbolism Behind Skull Tattoos
The skull tattoo is for some a reminder of mortality—a reminder—so to speak—of the inevitable, like a library fine or the fact that glasses will have to be employed as time rolls on. For others it means change and re-birth; and it is spoken into existence for the purpose of expression of the fact of individuality, not on account of the ease of obtaining a skull and what it represents. Like the phoenix from the ashes (or (less colourfully) the change of one’s mobile), meaning the skull is the evidence of the sacrifice of the old life or individuality. It is a personal totem of the survival and growth and acceptance. A contemporary wearer frequently looks upon the skull not as an aesthetic concern but as a proof of continuity—a statement that life and death co-exist in what philosophy terms a dialectical relationship, and what the rest of us might simply state is the way things are. There is something rather magnificent in wearing one’s mortality so honestly, don’t you think it is? It is honest in a way that advertisements for anti-aging creams decidedly are not.
Cultural stories: e.g., Día de Muertos and The Sugar Skull
Communities have invested the skull with diverse significances and thus have handed over to man a kind of global lexicon of death which is both universal and yet charmingly particular. In Mexico the calavera, or sugar skull, commemorates the dead at the Día de Muertos, that curious feast celebrated on November 1 and 2. The brilliant patterns and floral form of treatment are ways of celebrating life rather than bewailing death, making of cemeteries fairgrounds, and of death an affair of some sort of fiesta. It is a conception which takes into account dying and yet refuses to be engulfed in it, rather noble to be sure.
Similarly in Japan from where the skull figures in ukiyo-e (floating-world) prints and Irezumi or tattoos as emblems of the life, death and rebirth, the great wheel of Samasa of which the Buddhists speak. So much care and artistry did artists like Utagawa Kuniyoshi devote to skeleton figures that they seemingly felt death worthy of the same aesthetic quality as that which life receives. In western biker culture, that improbable phenomenon which began just following World War II in America, the skull tattoo became a symbol of defiance and of independence, a visual salute to suburban conformity and a declaration of freedom, even though sometimes that freedom to ride implies certain cramped positions in long rides. Each of these interpretations has a common training ground of recognizing mortality as a part of the truth of human life, that most democratic of all conditions.
Diverse Styles and Design Trends
Classic skull tattoos owe their inspiration to our American traditional or to the neo traditional designs, with their thick line work, their strongly apparent shading, their limited color scheme that would make a color theorist weep with joy. These tattoos possess attributes of strength and defiance, born of the mid-20th-century tattoo heritage at such time as artists like Sailor Jerry Collins and Don Ed Hardy were changing tattooing from a somewhat disreputable practice to a fine art. The heavy black outlines assure that the design will not lose in sharpness in time—a factor rather important when you are dealing with what is after all a permanent transaction.
Contemporary Interpretations
The modern tattooists have expanded the skull’s visual symbols in ways that would astonish our nautical fathers. Geometric skulls utilize symmetry and pattern, combining nature with man and provide designs at once useful both to Euclid and M.C. Escher. The realistic black and gray portraits of skulls have anatomical accuracy worthy of Gray’s Anatomy (the medical text and not the television soap opera) and fill in perfectly every suture, every foramen with scientific accuracy. Minimalist outlines reduce the symbol to its fundamentals—clean, sharp and eternal. These designs revolve around negative space and line work; and they show us that at times it is the quiet statements which are the most powerful. It is the visual equivalent of a haiku; maximising meaning for minimum effort.
Culturally hybrid styles are totally in vogue, joining Day of the Dead motifs with Nordic runes, with mandalas or Japanese wave designs. These designs tend to be more about the personal meaning than the tradition in a world that is more globalised, but still maintain the aesthetic of respect for the cultural heritage from which it derives, something like a visual esperanto of mortality.
Cultural Considerations and Ethical Dimensions
Right. Here we get into some somewhat dodgy ethical questions. The blending of artistic traditions gives rise to some uncomfortable queries which sit in the stomach like a thistle in one’s smallclothes. At what point does cultural appreciation turn into appropriation?
A sugar skull tattoo for example, takes on sacred meaning in Mexican culture regarding certain religious and cultural rituals and behaviours which reach back into pre-Columbian times. And to wear one without this understanding of the context is to misunderstand to the extent of misappropriating cultural celebrations for mere ornamentalisation, the taking of the cultural celebration and making it into a pretty design is a little like wearing a military medal which you have not earned, or treating sacred symbolism as pieces of financial decoration; it may make an attractive effect, but its ethical baggage is something to be considered carefully.
How Cultural Awareness Influences Design Choices
There is a mark of a thoughtful tattoo artist (and client) about such designs, and more as the practice gets more sophisticated. If it is to be done there should be an attitude of respect for the same, and dare I suggest it, a little homework. The imagery should be known, its meaning understood and its cultural origins considered by those who are involved. And thus, what will keep the tattoo as a sign of reverence and not exploitation, gratitude instead of appropriation, is this awareness.
Tattooing is more and more viewed as global storytelling, a visual story which goes around language. As symbols move and change, they join humans. A skull tattoo derived from many sources, may indicate unity, shared experience of human life, death and being, which is above nation and tradition.
But, the ethics of tattooing, like many things, means talk. Artists and seekers should talk about meanings openly, without false modesty give their sources, and lend the idea of their inspiration. In this is involved the idea of talking instead of monologue. In this way, tattooing is made a bridge instead of a battleground among cultures, which is, when one thinks of it, in its way a beautiful result.
Choosing Your Skull Tattoo: Tips for Meaning and Style
The matter of corresponding as to design to individual stories, etc.
Before proceeding further, I would like to urge the reader to get a clear idea of what a skull tattoo means to him. Is it memorial of some lost friend? Is it to indicate a certain growth that has come about in oneself through a hard and long period? Is it to signify the acceptance of mortality? Or is it possibly aesthetics, in which there is nothing reprehensible; not all art must carry deep meaning.
Your interpretation will lay out the design you want, which may be of a traditional character, full of a rich and vivid symbolism, or of a minimalistic outline and character. The skull tattoo which is well reasoned out has in it an adherence to certain points of glamour in symbolism, of emotion. Make your secrets known to the artist who will be tattooing you because good tattooing needs collaboration. The true artist is part psychologist and part translator, the nebulous feeling, about which we have talked, is made a subject of visual statement that is permanent. Collaboration produces designs both genuine and timeless–as authentic as a well-fitted suit, or a properly made martini.
Placement, Size and Color
Placement greatly affects the character and effect of the tattoo. Forearms and calves speak of exposure–these are tattoos meant to be seen and talked about, one presumes, at cocktail parties. Ribs or backs mean intimacy, visible only to those who have permission to invade your private geography. Large works mean intricacy–floral skulls, dual heads, or surreal things that make that body a canvas. Smaller tattoos mean simplicity and can be very nice in their simplicity.
Color also affects the meaning. Black and grey denote solemnity and are the traditional colors for memento mori. Red indicates life, emotion, or danger–the color of blood, roses and danger signals. Bright colors indicate gaiety and can turn what would otherwise be grimity into gaiety. See how the Day of the Dead aesthetic works, logically enough, in electric blue, bright marigold orange and flaming pink in order to indicate gaiety rather than grief.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a skull tattoo always mean death?
No, not at all–thank heaven it doesn’t, or every hell rider and heavy metal devotee would be making a rather grim manifestation every day. While always indicative of death in a sense, the skull tattoo today recalls strength, change, and protection. It all depends on individual references and cultural background. You practically make your own definition.
Are skull tattoos disapproved of in certain communities?
Yes, certain uptight communities still believe that skull symbolism is an indication of taboo or rebellion, however rebellious naturally is a somewhat ready one. What is rebellious in Surrey is à la mode in Seattle. There is a vast amount of difference in context. There are cultural awarenesses that it is valuable to learn about to avoid misunderstandings, particularly if you travel or work in places where visible tattoos may hearth eyebrows or worse, close doors.
What style does best explain cultural symbolism?
It depends on what culture you wish to demonstrate. For Mexican symbolism calaveras with the marigolds and bright colors is the ideal illustration of Day of the Dead symbolism. For Japanese symbolism skulls made in intricate combinations with local flora or waves in the irezumi manner, appear. For European memento mori consider black and grey realism and smooth classical symbolism. The whole thing resolves itself in research and consultation with those artists who specialize in the work, of course.
Conclusion: Remembering Art, Life and Culture
The skull tattoo certainly endures, because it brings to mind a universal and fundamental truth: our consciousness of death and our wish, so strictly human, to make something of it. Whether this is done in the simple lines of the modern tattoos, or in the bright colours of our more conventional designs, the skull appeals because it epitomises the human contradiction: weakness and strength, death and revival, impossibility and significance.
To wear a skull tattoo means being able to partake in an ancient history, since art is as old as the Aztec temples, the tombs of the Celts, the galleries of the Renaissance mystics and of the early sailors and the life of art today where the past and the new sing. Each tattoo has not only a personal but also a national significance: the link between remembrance and art, between death and life.
And is it not, after all, the object of all art and all significant art? Not merely to give us significance in ourselves but in one another, across the ages, across traditions and lines of culture, making us conscious that we in our turn are merely one lot of the strange, beautiful, temporary arrangement which is known as living. In conclusion, whether you wish to remain branded with such indelible design is entirely your own business—but at least now you know what you are talking about when you do.
