Artwork Description
Memento Mori White HPM Hand Embellished Art Acrylic & Spray Paint on Shaped Wood Painting Artwork by Street Pop Modern Artist Ben Frost.
AP Artist Proof 2021 Signed Marked HPM Hand Embellished AP & Titled Ben Frost Memento Mori (White), HPM Acrylic and Spray Paint on Shaped Wood Artwork Size 7-7/8 x 6-1/8 inches (20.1 x 15.5 cm)
Ben Frost's "Memento Mori (White) HPM" presents a compelling convergence of street art sensibility with the classical theme of life's transient nature. This hand-embellished artist proof is a telling example of Frost's acumen in merging the edginess of modern pop art with profound historical motifs. The work is meticulously crafted using acrylic and spray paint on shaped wood, which reflects the artist's penchant for non-traditional surfaces reminiscent of urban textures and forms. Sized at 7-7/8 x 6-1/8 inches, the piece packs a visual punch, asserting its presence through bold coloration and dynamic composition. The central image of the skull, a time-honored emblem of mortality, is rendered with an arresting palette and cartoon-like exaggeration, mirroring the exaggerated realities often portrayed in pop culture. Frost's application of the memento mori theme through this lens highlights the contrast between the playful aspects of pop art and the sobering reminder of mortality that the image traditionally conveys. This juxtaposition is further enhanced by the lively eyes, which seem to animate the inanimate, lending a sense of vitality to the symbol of death. Frost's signature on this work, along with the designation 'HPM' (hand-painted multiple), marks it as a unique variant within a series, emphasizing the artist's direct engagement with each piece. Hand embellishment is significant, as it infuses the artwork with a layer of individuality, distinguishing it from the mass-produced feel that pop art sometimes implies. By doing so, Frost not only nods to the historical practice of artists touching each piece within an edition but also comments on the production and reproduction of images in our media-saturated society. "Memento Mori (White) HPM" stands as a testament to Ben Frost's ability to navigate and reinterpret the cross-sections of pop art and street art. Through his artwork, Frost not only invokes contemplation of our mortality but also critiques how contemporary culture packages and commercializes every aspect of human experience, including death. The artwork is a dialogue between the past and the present, a hand-embellished musing on what it means to be alive in a world where the iconography of death is as stylized and vibrant as the world of the living.
