Skulls #4 1976

Andy Warhol made "Skulls #4," a screenprint, during a period when he was increasingly focused on themes of mortality. As a gay man living through the AIDS crisis, Warhol was deeply aware of death. The skull, a memento mori, serves as a stark reminder of life's transience. Yet, in true Warhol fashion, the skulls are rendered in vibrant, almost garish colors, undermining any sense of solemnity. This juxtaposition of death and pop aesthetics challenges traditional representations of mortality, reflecting a society grappling with shifting cultural attitudes towards death and identity. Warhol's work invites us to confront our own mortality, and consider how we can find our identity within it. "I never understood why when you died, you didn't just disappear, and everything could just keep going on the way it was only you just wouldn't be there." The work ultimately captures the intense emotions that are part of our shared human experience.