Spooky season has swept in on a crisp breeze full of pumpkin spice, fall festivals, and twelve-foot-tall skeletons. As more people have embraced Halloween as a chance to express their creativity, the spirit has enchanted the art world as well. 100 Skulls, a new exhibition at Aston Mill Arts, celebrates life, death, and Memento Mori.
“Horror and gore scares me,” said Katelyn Adams, in an ironic twist, “but I have always appreciated it as a creative art form and loved Halloween for its fantasy aspect (and for the decorating).”
That didn’t stop her from embracing the theme of the show in her work. “I took what I would otherwise find . . . disturbing (in this case human skulls and bones) and turned it into something that myself and others can find some beauty and comfort in.”
There is a wide variety of artists and styles represented in the show, which seems appropriate for the theme. “I really like the breadth of the show because it includes painting, drawing, printmaking, fiber art, and assemblage,” said Veronica Batter, president of Aston Mill Arts. “There are stained glass pieces by Richard Prigg and Amy Valuk, assemblage by Sara Fry and Caroline St George, drawings and paintings from local tattoo artists Michael Kelly and Kevin Beatty, beautiful haunting photography, cyanotype, and alternative photo processes, all with different interpretations of the theme.”
“Memento Mori is constantly a part of my work,” said Sara Fry. “Death is a part of life and everything you create will eventually go to dust.” She uses a variety of materials to create evocative works of assemblage that invite the viewer to see beyond the veil and “find the beauty in something that they wouldn't normally think to.”
Inspiration came from many sources, from the season to classic paintings to modern science. “I chose fruit based on its symbolism in art,” said Sarah Bacastow, “modeled after Cezanne’s composition using a skull and fruit.” That familiar scene takes on new life when considering the theme: “With the symbolism of the chosen fruit and the skull, my still life symbolizes life and death, wealth and power, and temptation and sin. It questions immortality and the afterlife.”
“I’m still mourning the end of summer,” Marie Tosto said but found that she had some works in her portfolio that fit the theme of the show. “I discovered several skull and spine/skeletal pencil studies from years ago.”
There is more to the show than simply bare bones. “The fall season is my favorite time of the year because of the natural color palette around us,” said C A Bare. “There is no right or wrong in art. What’s interesting is to see how people see and interpret the world we live in.”
“There is something so honest and raw about these images—a sort of haunting,” said Emie Hughes. She uses cyanotype to create her vivid artworks, utilizing the negative space and blue tones in surprising ways. “I took many of these photos . . . during a time when I was in a dark & toxic relationship.” Coming back to those images has been “a sort of love letter to my former self who didn't know how beautifully her life would unfold. I am interested in including the darkness and the light in these new mixed-media images as a way to honor the truth of the past and present.”
Tironn Dixon reflects on current society in his pieces, including consumerism and wasting time. “The things we chase frequently fail to provide us what we want and can harm us permanently on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level,” he said. “We live our lives fearing certain things and treating time as though it were infinite, wasting it on things even though we only have a finite quantity.”
It is obvious that the artists truly delved into the feelings that arise from the changing weather and longer nights that inspire the creepy vibes this time of year. Georgianna Grentzenberg’s artworks “came from a deep pool of drawings, done during trying times,” she said. “All of my Memento Mori works to access the fears and nightmares of life: losses and failures, that meet in the crossover season when all is not quite right, but must be faced.”
Others wanted to subvert expectations, such as Barbara Rizza Mellin. “I wanted to create something lighter in spirit and graphically more colorful and cheerful than might be expected,” she said. Her series of Fish Skeleton linocut prints features real and imagined skeletons in bright colors and stylized designs. “I not only love the final products, I love the process which includes thinking ‘backward’ to some degree, working from light to dark, and keeping a mirror image, as the print is reversed when printed.”
“I really like the intersection of science, medicine, myth, and art, and the theme of skulls and skeletons of all kinds really brings all of them together nicely,” said Batter. Memento Mori—Remember You Must Die—is more than a reminder about what may come. It is a celebration of life and all the joys it may bring. Including art, gorgeous fall days, and creatively posed giant skeletons.
100 Skulls opens at Aston Mill Arts with an opening reception on Friday, Oct. 6 from 5 to 8 p.m., and is on view until Oct. 29. Multiple events, such as Skull Sketching and a Memento Mori Painting workshop, will be held throughout the month. Aston Mill Arts is located at 3100 Mount Road, Aston, PA 19014. More information about both the show, events, and the studios can be found at AstonMillArts.com.
Victoria Rose (she/her) is an editor, writer, avid reader, self-described geek, and fan of all things creative. Her passion for words has led to her current career as a freelance editor, and she is the owner of Flickering Words, an editing service. When not wielding a red pen (or cursor), she loves reading books of all genres, playing video, board, and word games, baking ridiculous creations to show off on the internet, or enjoying the gorgeous outdoors. She is a board member of the West Chester Film Festival and part of the Thirsty Monsters, a team of streamers from around the world who fundraise for various charities supporting LGBTQIA+ and accessibility rights. She can be found online @WordsFlickering or the Brandywine Art Guide @BrandywineArtGuide.
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