"'Memento mori', as an artistic theme coincided with the Black Death (circa 1348). Depictions of death and other elements associated with mortality (skulls, hourglasses, snuffed candles, decayed flowers or fruits, etc.) appeared frequently in 'mainstream' art as well as funeral artwork.
A particular form of funeral art that continued until the 18th century was a type of tombstone art known as 'cadaver tombs' or 'transi tombs'. These often featured a two-levelled sculpture; the upper layer shows the deceased as they were when, with a skeletal figure lying below.
Other examples of transi tombs include 'Le Transi de Rene de Chalon' and 'Wakeman Cenotaph'."
With the transi tombs as a major influence, I came up with my own idea for a transi tomb. Similarly stylised after the likes of the Wakeman Cenotaph of Tewkesbury Abbey, I decided to depict my figure(s) in a way that makes them ambiguous from identification.
Design for 'Casket' (2010)
Originally, I considered this to be a woodwork piece, as I thought of using a door to carve the figures into hence the six panels in the design. However, since I couldn't find the appropriate material for the piece (as I needed a older type of door to carve into correctly), I decided to incorporate the design as a pressed metal peice. Furthermore, this has been produced at a significantly lower scale.
I recreated the outline for Casket with cut lengths of wire and these were to be arranged in as accurate a shape after the design to be then placed under a small sheet of metal and put under a fly-press. I used a fly press before when working on my final outcome for the first project on collections.
'Casket' (2010)
In hindsight, it was better for me to have settled for working on Casket, at least for now, at a smaller scale. This metal plate version then works as a maquette of sorts towards the production of the potential full-scale piece.
No comments:
Post a Comment