Study for Medals for Dishonor 1939

David Smith created this print, "Study for Medals for Dishonor", using etching. In it, we observe symbols like the skeletal figure, reminiscent of the danse macabre, and a figure on a pole, laden with unsettling meanings. Such skeletal forms appear throughout art history, from medieval allegories of death to Goya's stark depictions of war. These images speak to the transience of life, the inevitable decay of the flesh. Likewise, the pole and the figure, evoke both power and vulnerability, conjuring images of martyrs or perhaps even the precariousness of human ambition. Consider how these motifs, borne from ancient fears and cultural anxieties, reemerge across time. The skeletal figure, once a religious memento mori, is now also a political symbol, a testament to humanity's capacity for self-destruction. This demonstrates the cyclical, non-linear nature of symbols, their uncanny ability to resurface, evolve, and assume new meanings.