Artwork by Grace Herzog

 Death is a universal experience. No matter who you are, we will experience death at some point, which has led me to make this series titled Succumbed. Death can be many things; it can be the loss of life whether animal or human, and can be the loss of a friendship or sense of self as you knew it. When we lose something we love and care about, we experience grief. This experience can be all-consuming, you will change as a person entirely and develop a new perspective on life and its fleeting nature. It is believed that when someone or something dies, the loved ones left behind go through what is called the Five Stages of Grief. From a young age, death is something that has plagued me over and over again. Due to my personal experiences with loss, I was forced to confront death face to face. These experiences have changed my life and what it means to live and love. As I continue to lapse through these stages, I believe I have an understanding of what it means to experience loss. 

In this series, each stage of grief is represented in two different paintings. Each stage depicts one self-portrait to illustrate my lived experiences with grief, accompanied by a metaphorical piece to capture the audience's emotions. I am pulling inspiration from the theme of Memento Mori, where artists depicted the inevitability of death with symbolism and metaphor. The vulture imposed in my paintings is my approach to characterizing Death and the Grim Reaper as a tangible subject. Each stage of grief will be represented with a unique color palette and lighting to separate the stages in meaning and mood. 

To understand these paintings, you must understand what these stages of grief entail. Denial is described as the stage of grief where a person is shocked and numb, this will be portrayed with gray tones and chrysanthemums to symbolize death as being present but separated. Anger is a period where a person uses big emotions to protect themselves from feeling the weight of loss and often results in isolation. Anger will be shown with vibrant colors, viscera, and rotting fruit. Bargaining is believed to be a way for a person to reason with themselves or a higher being for either a different outcome or to manage their emotions and regain control, which will be demonstrated with objects associated with offerings and monetary value. Depression is when people begin to feel the true meaning of what it means to lose someone or something they lost and will be subtle in nature as well as monotone in color. Acceptance is the final stage of grief and the most important one for this series which is why it will be larger than the rest of the paintings. Acceptance is when we come to terms with what has happened, and we grow into new people and begin moving forward with our lives. In order to portray this feeling, this piece will show a symbiotic relationship between myself and the vulture, and be harmonious with all the stages in color and symbolism. 

Death is an aspect of life that has always fascinated me. I believe that dying is a relief, it can be a wonderful thing to move on from this life and to something better. Since a young age, I always welcomed the weird and morbid. I believe our culture's stigma about death is conservative and makes such a natural experience taboo. I want to make art about losing something you love to remind us that this is something we will experience. I am hoping my audience will be able to understand and relate to these pieces, as well as remember to love those around us fiercely before they succumb to death.

–Grace R. Herzog