A skull takes on new significance
The human skull has taken on new significance for me. As most Americans, my first exposure to skeletons was as a matter of darkness—from Halloween. But a little fun and candy were added. When Tim Burton’s, The Nightmare Before Christmas, came out when I was in the third grade, playful characteristics of darkness had no appeal to me, and it was something I could not relate to.
Not being able to understand the cultural appeal to darkness was a trend that continued for much of growing up. I was exposed to Gothic culture from junior high school, but I had no frame to understand it. Those kids probably didn’t either but were just conforming to the non-conformist mold.
Eventually, I understood darkness in relation to artistic expression. Bands like Grateful Dead, Misfits, and MegaDeth all incorporated darkness and death into their branding and music in different ways. When I was in college, the first model used in figure drawing time and time again was a human skeleton. There is great value in understanding the structure at the base of every human being.
Also, the certainty of death is sure, so there is an attempt to lighten its sting through humor, drama, and Stoic acceptance, and death in popular culture is related. Mexico even has a cultural celebration for Day of the Dead. But the significance for me always remained artistic utility.
After reading about the skull in Western civilization brought me to the place where I could truly understand and relate. Several years back, I read Albert Mohler’s, The Conviction to Lead. A common practice for many a scholar dating back to medieval Europe was to have a human skull sitting on the desk, and it was a constant reminder of impending death. In this way, Mohler follows the same practice with a molten skull on his desk.
Having no extensive knowledge of Al Mohler other than some of his books, his podcast program, The Briefing, and his role as President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary since 1993. His leadership was instrumental in removing the Sourthern Baptists out of the grasp of theological liberalism, a rare feat since the rise of modernism.
Brewing over these thoughts for several years, I became aware that almost anything could be cheaply and efficiently reproduced on a 3D printer. And so I finally ordered a jawless replica of a human skull made from a bronze resin, standing at 7 inches.
The purpose of what is a quite beautiful addition to my desk is twofold. First, like Al Mohler, it is a reminder of the coming death. All the work I am set to do, I better do it now. Everything I want to accomplish, I won’t be able to do any of it when I’m gone. All I’ve done will be left for someone else, so I need something important to leave behind. All of these thoughts are prompted by a small reminder.
As the bronze skull is a memorial to the death that comes to us all, it continues to be an object of study for artistic utility. Looking at the contours and crevices on the surface, it is easy to visualize the way cartilage, muscle, fat, and skin are overlayed to form the head. A scientific understanding of the head is vital to depicting a face. The elementary aspects of drawing need constant reviewing.
The new bronze skull is a tremendous help and constant reminder. I am made in the image of God and am yet alive: “The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day.” — Isaiah 38:19
