Skull City

You probably (hopefully) know all about Skull-a-Day by now. My buddy Noah Scalin, of Another Limited Rebellion, spent a full year creating a...wait for it...skull a day out of every conceivable material under the sun. The dedication paid off, because he's now released Skulls, a collection of some of his favorite examples.



On first glance, the book is what it is: a simple collection of one skull after another. But as you start to flip through the pages, each work of art reveals something new about its subject, each material presenting a completely different face. The food skulls are somehow particularly revealing, the skins and flesh of squashes and pepper (and in one case, an entire salad) giving an odd life to such static matter.



It's hard to pick favorites from this book, because there are so many incredibly revealing pieces. I'm particularly drawn to the seemingly simplest ones, like the hotel bed sheet skull, stapled leaf skull, and caution tape skull.





One facet of this project that doesn't get mentioned nearly often enough in all the press Noah's received is the artistry that threads its way through this collection. He clearly takes his cue from his materials, but still manages to give each skull its own personality, shape and even expression. As Martha herself noted when he crashed gracefully appeared on the Martha Stewart Show, knuckle tats and all, that's a good thing.*

As an aside, I owe Noah a thanks for his recent listing of Roughstock's Blog as one of the top 10 blogs covering the intersection of design and activism. He put me among some very good company. Thanks, Noah!








*I don't actually remember if Martha said this to Noah during the show; she was probably too busy interrupting him. But nevertheless, he was on the frigging Martha Stewart Show making skulls with her.