Memento Mori | Memento Vivere

Curator’s Statement

The Marin Art and Garden Center (MAGC) is a place of beauty and wonder. It transforms with each season and plays host to all manner of insects and animals that inhabit the site alongside the resident perennials, volunteer plants and old timers, like the mature trees that dot the landscape. In keeping with their mission, MAGC invites artists to present exhibitions at The Studio that address the natural world in some way.

From this framework and in response to the portfolios of both the Bay Area Photographers Collective and Samurai Foto, the thematic foundation for this exhibition emerged. Phrases that came to mind included, “in full bloom” and “the bloom is off the rose,” two ends of a spectrum. Likewise, life cycles, such as birth and death; sunrise and sunset; the four seasons (winter, spring, summer, fall); and the progression of plantlife (bud, bloom and decay) also resonated.

Artworks included in this exhibition speak to multiple aspects of these natural cycles—from picturing a flower bud or new growth on the forest floor and the lace-like canopy of centuries old trees, to depictions of built environments designed to corral the natural world, the planting of seeds by agricultural corporations, the not-so-subtle effects of climate change, and even humans and the human world in modes of ascent, illness and decline.

Memento Mori | Memento Vivere was organized around these notions. The Latin phrase memento mori translates to: “remember you must die.” It is also a school of thought and painting originating in 17th century Europe. “A memento mori is an artwork designed to remind the viewer of their mortality and of the shortness and fragility of human life.” (Tate Museum, tate.org.uk) Memento mori artwork is often characterized by symbolic imagery that speaks to mortality and the ephemerality of earthly pleasures; a favored trope can be seen in still lifes of that era depicting wilted flowers, decaying fruit, dead animals being prepped for the dinner table, and even human skulls.

Some two-hundred years later, in response to this call to keep death in sight, the Latin phrase, memento vivere or, “remember you must live,” was engaged by thinkers of the 19th century. “Memento mori engendered an opposite imperative — memento vivere,” wrote James H. Capshew, professor of history and philosophy of science at Indiana University, Bloomington. “Less common and of more recent vintage, memento vivere seems to imply that a preoccupation with death is perhaps unwise and unhealthy.” (memento.sitehost.iu.edu/memento.html)

The artworks in Memento Mori | Memento Vivere reflect the full spectrum between life and death and are as varied and complex as the seen and unseen forces active in the natural world around us. The exhibition is designed to highlight the intrinsic way of things—from tenuous beginnings, to a middle life that is pedestrian and glorious in equal measures, and an end that may be tragic or magical. As the viewer makes their way through each space, my hope is that these works serve as a reminder for all to embrace this moment as the unknown on the horizon draws near.

It’s been a pleasure working with both collectives to form this exhibition, which illustrates a compelling narrative of the cycle of life.

Trisha Lagaso Goldberg, Curator