Faye Dowling

The skull is one of the most recognizable symbols of todays contemporary visual culture. Since its 1970s renaissance in the iconic album designs of bands such as the Grateful Dead, the skull has found its way into the visual vocabulary of urban life, adorning T-Shirts, badges and rock memorabilia as the ultimate symbol of anarchy and rebellion. Repurposed and recast by artists, illustrators and designers, it has become one of the most iconic cultural symbols of our time. In response to this cult ural phenomenon, The Book of Skulls presents a cool visual guide to the skull, charting its rebirth through music and street fashion to become todays ultimate anti-establishment icon. From Black Sabbath to Cypress Hill, skater punk graffiti to Gothic tattoos, from high-couture to Hello Kitty and Dali to Damien Hirst, this book is the ultimate collection of cool and iconic skull motifs. Drawing together artwork from music, fashion, street art and graphic design The Book of Skulls is a celebration of one of todays most iconic cultural symbols.

From fine art to street style, the aesthetics and motifs of the gothic are entwined with the heart of today's alternative visual culture. Vampires and demons have become screen icons of the modern underworld. Skulls, crosses and religious iconography represent symbols of rebellion for a new gothic generation, a shorthand for an allegiance with a modern day underworld where monsters and misfits rule the world. Structured over three defining chapters (Gods & Monsters, The Kingdom of Darkness and Dark Arts/Higher Power), The Book of Black provides an exploratory visual narrative through which to reveal and celebrate the artists, aesthetics and styles of today's gothic visual arts, presenting seminal gothic artworks alongside emerging artists of today