As a visual symbol inseparable from human society, the form of “the image of a skull” has a history of thousands of years and across different regions in the world. With the development of civilization and the changing of society, the cultural meaning of the “imagery of skull” has always been expanding. Connecting the two extremes - “life” and “death”, “the imagery of skull ” becomes an important metaphor and visualized symbol in the field of art. People often use skull images as a medium to discuss the issues surrounding life. The differences of the skull image in history show the change in people’s understanding of life and being, as well as in the core values of society.

Image technologies and new media arts are flourishing in the 21st century, which have great effects on modern life and contemporary art. Because of its five characteristics, such as “numerical representation, modularity, automation, variability, transcoding”, digital images become the dominant form of images in the modern era. The reproductability of contemporary images leads to the hyperreal scenes of modern society where images are produced, copied and stimulated in a way that mimetic cannot be told apart from the original.

My study focuses on the traditional art theme of “the imagery of skull”, as it is applied in new media art and digital moving images. I intend to use different techniques and materials to create five digital moving images. The five pieces of artwork together seek to accomplish the semiotic analysis of the skull image. Theoretically this study is influenced by Roland Barthes’s denotation and connotation theories. In this study I emphasize the socio-historical context of art and the artist’s point of view in a conventional theme of art, in the hope to find new angles of interpretation of the “imagery of skull” in modern times.