Customized motorcycle ring
Customized motorcycle ring
Skull represents death, danger, and uncertainty. Pirates in the era of sailing often chose flags with skull images as symbols of pirate ships to intimidate and deter other ships.
Motorcycles symbolize freedom, passion, and wildness. Today's motorcyclists, like the pirates of the sailing age, also use skeletons as totems. They not only wear motorcycle suits with skull images printed on them, but also have various skull logos tattooed on their bodies, not to intimidate others.
How did the skull and motorcycle, two seemingly unrelated elements, blend together?
Origin: Dance of Death
Since the Elizabethan era, skeletons have become an important part of culture and have appeared in numerous works of art.
Fra Angelico, "Adam's Skull Under the Cross"
Van Gogh, "A Skull Burning a Cigarette"
Charles Allen Gilbert, "Everything is Nothing"
This is related to the outbreak of the Black Death in 14th century Europe. According to incomplete statistics, between 1347 and 1353, the Black Death claimed the lives of nearly 25 million Europeans, accounting for one-third of the total population of Europe at that time. From then on, epidemics broke out in different countries at regular intervals and gradually disappeared from Europe in the early 19th century.
In 1665, the Great Plague in London killed up to 100000 people
In the years leading up to the outbreak of the Black Death, people developed a belief that the deceased would emerge from their graves, dance with unfortunate passersby, and transmit the disease to them. A terrifying theme has also emerged in the field of art - the dance of death. In the paintings of painters, personified skeletons summon living people from all walks of life, including the Pope, the King, farmers, and even children, to dance and dance together, all the way to the grave.
The various dances of death mostly depict this theme:
All things in life are empty, fame, wealth, and power are like floating clouds.
The message conveyed by the Dance of Death is very clear - things are unpredictable, and everyone has a chance to die. Instead of fearing death, it is better to face it directly, make arrangements for the soul in a short life, and live out their own value.
Everything is a void
Starting from the dance of death, the skull culture in Europe has diverged into various branches, and the famous Void School has also emerged in the Netherlands. Vanitas comes from the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible: "The void of the void is nothing," or a Latin proverb: "Do not forget that all men shall die.".
The Void School refers to a type of still life painting that symbolizes art. Each item in the painting has a specific meaning, such as a pocket watch symbolizing the fleeting moment of life, a extinguished candle symbolizing the end of life, flowers symbolizing the beauty of the scenery, and a pearl necklace symbolizing the emptiness of wealth. They all express that in the face of absolute death, all the extravagant pleasures of life are meaningless.
For pirates in the Caribbean, the skull flag has a deeper meaning, which is that to some extent, the skull not only does not represent death, but also represents immortality. This comes from the belief of the ancient Aztec people in America, that after physical death, the only thing left by humans is bones, as a witness to their past lives, these bones symbolize life, rebirth, and the afterlife.
In the early 16th century, Spain conquered the Aztec Empire,
The fusion of Catholic faith and indigenous culture formed the Day of the Dead
Skeleton elements in the military
With the advent of the industrial era, the naval strength of various countries has greatly increased, and the golden age of pirates has come to an end. However, the skull symbol has not faded from the historical stage with the decline of pirates. The armies of various European countries have adopted the skull element as their emblem and flag, hoping to gain the courage to face death and deter the enemy, just like the pirates in the past.
Comrades in arms group photo
At the end of the Pacific War, American soldiers were even enthusiastic about collecting the skulls of Japanese fallen soldiers. They used these skulls as mascots for their battalions and as souvenirs to send back to their hometowns, expressing their disgust and ridicule towards war and death.
Returned veterans
After the end of World War II, countless soldiers returned to their hometowns, and the country no longer needed them to sacrifice their lives on the battlefield. At that time, news even reported that "the guy who caused you the greatest trouble during peacetime" was the best hero in battle.
These retired veterans found themselves to have nothing but war and were disconnected from the society of the time, making it difficult for them to find suitable jobs. These former American heroes have a feeling that their homeland has betrayed them and left them to fend for themselves. At that time, the movie "The Flying Car Party" was based on real-life events. After a famous American aviation squadron was disbanded, unemployed pilots boarded equally unwanted military Harley motorcycles and united in motorcycle clubs to rebel in the city: "We used to be heroes, but now no one needs us anymore.".
A drunken retired soldier drinking on a Harley motorcycle
The now famous motorcycle club - Hell Angel was founded during that period, named after a friend of founder Alvid Olsen, who served in the "Hell Angel" squadron of the Chinese Flying Tigers. This club has gathered many retired pilots who chose a winged skull as their emblem, which originated from the US 85th Fighter Squadron.
The "Hell Angel" Squadron under the Flying Tiger Team
The logo of the motorcycle club "Hell Angel",
Flying Skull
Influenced by the Hell Angels, retired soldiers at that time established motorcycle clubs of all sizes, using the skulls of former military units as the club's emblem. These young people who have been abandoned by society are also wearing leather clothes with skull portraits, believing that skeletons can bring them the courage to face life directly and deter those who look down on them. They feel like pirates of the golden age, gaining freedom by resisting mainstream society. Land is their ocean, motorcycles are their ships, they increase their throttle, and their companions race on the road at a speed of 80 miles per hour.
The retired soldiers wearing skull leather jackets and driving motorcycles have sparked a trend among young people, with more and more young people imitating their attire, including racing drivers. But at that time, it was not allowed to wear clothes with skulls printed on them in various competitions, so the racers used metal to create skull rings and wore them on their hands (there were no professional racing uniforms at the time) to demonstrate their fearless spirit in the face of any danger.
Skull ring
Of course, some motorcycle enthusiasts play even harder, directly tattooing skull patterns on themselves, symbolizing that they will never be separated from freedom. At this point, from clothing to accessories, and then to tattoos, skull culture and motorcycle culture have forever merged together.
Various tattoo patterns
Behind the skull is a spirit of love for life
With the development of the times, motorcycles have gradually become a pure means of transportation, no longer linked to illegal activities. Today, motorcycle enthusiasts still decorate themselves with skull symbols, which does not mean they are dangerous criminals, but rather represents their spirit of loving life, pursuing freedom, and living towards death.
This spirit has thousands of years of inheritance and history, from medieval paintings to the pirate flag of the golden age, from graffiti on the fuselage in World War II to motorcycle suits in the 1950s. In the face of adversity and death, humanity always has an optimistic and open-minded spirit to face. This is also the reason why the Skull logo can constantly cross boundaries and thrive.
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