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Skulls and Translucent Skull:

A Parallel Analysis

Tuan Ngo

ARH 465 Aspects of Contemporary Art

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Tuan Ngo
ARH 465
Dr. Dallow
20 March 2013
Skulls and Translucent Skull: A Parallel Analysis
From the fresh grown tomatoes to the wise squirrel that never made it across the road the
other night, all forms of life in the physical world have a beginning and eventually, an end. Andy
Warhol started his Death and Disasters series in the early 1960's with the initial fascination with
melancholy. This can be seen through his portrayal of celebrities like Marilyn Monroe after her
death, disasters such as car crashes, and the skulls. In commemoration of his tragic and
premature death on February 22, 1987, AEVIA of University of Alabama at Birmingham
presented an Andy Warhol exhibition, Warhol: Fabricated. This exhibition display only one of
his various skull paintings, although not in a series, in addition to several of Warhols other
signature works. Among many of the art pieces that are part the Death and Disasters collection,
Skulls was a series of skull paintings that Andy created in 1976, eight years after his near fatal
shooting.i Death is a sensitive subject to discuss for many people who are affected by it;
however, it is oftentimes dismissed because of its frequent occurrence. Despite it being a known
matter, death is a distinction experience that varies among each person. Andy Warhols Death
and Disaster series explores his confusion with the topics.ii Translucent Skull parallels with Andy
Warhol's Skulls through the utilization of repetition to desensitize death, as well as the
incorporation of meaningful, artistic patterned lines. However, Translucent Skull also accentuates
life before death unlike Warhols Skulls. This approach is more effective in distracting the viewer
from the anxiety produced by the subject matter.

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Translucent Skull is an abstract skull illustrated through a digital medium, Adobe

Illustrator. Through this medium, lines are manipulated to create a one of a kind image of a skull.
The lines originally traced the skull of a convict, Alexander Pierce, but the skull was later taken
out. The outlining Alexander Pieces skull showed the stages of his life, from birth to the
decision to commit murder to his death.iii After death, the physical being is no longer present, but
the outlines of life are. Behind the layer of lines, are two translucent cutouts that support the lines
in making up the skull. The opacity has been taken down several notches to give the skull a
subtle composition. With three shadows to support the weight of the skull, the first one appears
before the facial structure, another is outlined, and the third is vaguely noticeable. Finishing off
is a dying heart rate monitor line piercing the image from left to the right. Andy Warhols Skulls
is a painting that works from a photograph taken by his assistant. He utilizes screensilk painting
and adds vibrant colors that contrast the subject matter and shadows. Along with the color palate,
he manipulates the shadows from the photograph.iv Unlike the portraits of celebrities, Skulls felt
crude and dull, although Andys idea was to have these skulls repeated six times, usually in a row
of two and column of three.v
Translucent Skull is an appropriation that responds to Andy Warhols Skull, 1976. As with
Warhols Skull, Translucent Skull incorporates shadows as well, but it is not as abrasive as
Warhols work. vi Warhols shadows reflect the darkness associated with death, but Translucent
Skulls uses placement of shadows to mirror the stages of life.vii There is a shadow in front of and
behind the skull, symbolizing life before and after death. The third shadow is the most faint,
representing the impact and presence people leave behind even after death. Warhol was also
captivated by the shadows and structure of the cheekbones and eye sockets. In Translucent Skull,
one of the focal points is the eye socket. It is said that the eyes are the windows into our soul. In

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Translucent Skull, the view shown to the audience is as if a person is looking down the center of
a spiraling staircase. Following the lines, the steps lead out towards the rest of the cranium.
These steps are a representation of the course of life and the development of a person before
death. With each decision made in life, a person faces the consequences of their choices, whether
those consequence are good or bad. The results of those actions shape a persons soul which is
portrayed in Translucent Skull as steps leading into and out of the eye socket.
One of the steps is lit up in blue leading out to the abstract waves. The waves depict the
naturalistic events that occur throughout a persons lifetime. Waves usually move in one
direction, but sometimes the movements of waves are unpredictable. This unpredictability
signifies the randomness of events that occur in life. This randomness also applies to death,
which is one of the factors fascinated Andy Warhol about death.viii Engraved with artistic lines,
Translucent Skull pays homage to both life and death, unlike Warhols art piece. Besides the eye
sockets, the heart-rate line is a secondary focal point, creating movement across the image.
Unlike the lines adorn around the cranium that distracts the audience; this line is precise and
simple. It disrupts the other lines encircling the skull and is visible behind the skull. This line
reminds the audience that death is always omnipresent and can disrupt life just as it disrupts the
steps in Translucent Skull. In Warhols skull, his use of repetition shows that objects associated
with death is always present as well. The use of repetition has a dual purpose: it was meant to
deflate the notion of fine art as well as elevate the mundane aesthetic experience of our everyday
lives.ix When display in a museum, the audience are forced to think about this everyday
experience. Warhol originally used repetition to prove a point about equality and originality, but
the effects also apply to dulling a common event. x
Both artworks are used to give a different perspective to death as a topic. Unlike Warhol,

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Translucent Skulls use of repetition is only on one art piece, not a series of works. The repetition
is within the lines of tracing the skull. These repetitive lines mimic stairways/steps, depicting a
general idea about life before death. Warhols repetition usually was seen in the quantity of his
pieces. The organic spirals made by the decorative lines encourages the audience to be calmer
and in a more relaxed state of mind when viewing the art piece. Translucent Skull gives more of
soothing atmosphere for the audience than Skulls because of the softer colors, elegant lines, and
overall aesthetic. The art piece has more movement and is busier, but this enhances the ability
of the artwork to not only distract the audience, but also desensitize the topic of death.

i "Andy Warhol Biography." The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Accessed March 13, 2015.
ii "Consumerism." Consumerism. Accessed March 12, 2015.
iii "1824: Alexander Pearce, Cannibal Convict." ExecutedToday.com. July 19, 2008.
Accessed March 20, 2015.
iv "National Galleries of Scotland." Skulls Andy Warhol Artists Artists
ARTIST ROOMS Collection . Accessed March 13, 2015.
v "Andy Warhol, 'Skulls' 1976." Tate. Accessed March 14, 2015.
vi Tcharyeva, Vlada. "The Political In Andy Warhol's Life and Work." Academia.
January 1, 2013. Accessed March 13, 2015.
vii Camper, Fred. "Andy Warhol: A Long, Close Look." Chicago Reader. Accessed
March 11, 2015.
viii Dixon, Wheeler W. Disaster and Memory: Celebrity Culture and the Crisis of
Hollywood Cinema. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. 37.
ix "Andy Warhol and the Deep Surface." The Lying Truth. September 8, 2010.
Accessed March 15, 2015.
x Gains, William. "William V. Ganis - Andy Warhol's Iconophilia." William V. Ganis Andy Warhol's Iconophilia. Accessed March 20, 2015.

Bibliography
"Andy Warhol and the Deep Surface." The Lying Truth. September 8, 2010.
Accessed March 15, 2015.
"Andy Warhol Biography." The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Accessed March 13, 2015.
"Andy Warhol, 'Skulls' 1976." Tate. Accessed March 14, 2015.
Camper, Fred. "Andy Warhol: A Long, Close Look." Chicago Reader. Accessed
March 11, 2015.
Dixon, Wheeler W. Disaster and Memory: Celebrity Culture and the Crisis of
Hollywood Cinema. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. 37.
"Consumerism." Consumerism. Accessed March 12, 2015.
"1824: Alexander Pearce, Cannibal Convict." ExecutedToday.com. July 19, 2008.
Accessed March 14, 2015.
Gains, William. "William V. Ganis - Andy Warhol's Iconophilia." William V. Ganis Andy Warhol's Iconophilia. Accessed March 14, 2015.
"National Galleries of Scotland." Skulls Andy Warhol Artists Artists ARTIST
ROOMS Collection . Accessed March 13, 2015.

Tcharyeva, Vlada. "The Political In Andy Warhol's Life and Work." Academia.
January 1, 2013. Accessed March 13, 2015.