Death Book: Drawing one last breath

DEATH BOOK is an art book that explores death through various visual expressions, including vanitas paintings, Kusôzu tradition watercolour paintings, romantic war paintings, and more. It aims to communicate the agony, anguish, grave sadness, and humour associated with death, featuring drawings, paintings, and illustrations from numerous artists.

Format: Hardback
Length: 96 pages
Publication date: 03 February 2022
Publisher: BARON

Before photography was invented, we relied on illustrations, paintings, and even more so, real dead bodies to gaze upon decaying flesh. Many visual expressions of death were used to moralize or romanticize death. Vanitas paintings were made to remind us that life is only temporary and all mortal possessions remain in vain. The Japanese Kusôzu tradition of watercolor paintings, that depict the nine stages of the decaying body, from the first moment of death unto the final stages, were made to remind us not to give into bodily desires. Romantic war paintings asked the viewer to fight for the cause. In DEATH BOOK, you will find various signs and symbols related to death, such as skulls, violence, accidents, spirits, cadavers, sexual acts, and references to religion and Christ. The works included remind us of our living status, in ways that are sometimes funny, arousing, or DEAD serious. A true representation of death, and its associated pain, is impossible, but the works included attempt to communicate the agony, the anguish, the grave sadness, and, sometimes, the humour associated with death. DEATH BOOK is art directed by PZtoday, who has designed the book as a Bible/Address book. With an introduction by Pernilla Ellens and Lauren Raaijmakers and featuring drawings, paintings, and illustrations from Alicia Gibson, Christina Quarles, Dallas Seitz, Ellen Cantor, Franko B, Gray Wielebinski, Hermann Nitsch, Ion Birch, Keith Boadwee, Lin Ke, Mike Diana, Namio Harukawa, Oliver Eales, Patrick Wray, PZtoday, Qiu Xiaofei, Richard Hawkins, Sutapa Biswas, Toshio Saeki, Urs Lüthi, Vittorio Scarpati, Will Henry, Julien Ceccaldi, and many more.

Weight: 1000g
Dimension: 311 x 220 x 150 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781838424831