Located: Outside Children's Garden (n15) - Download map
Date completed: 1999
Origin: USA
Medium: Polyurethane foam, resin, steel armature, mille fiori glass, glass pebbles, tumbled stones, and stained and mirrored glass
Height: 14.2 ft.
Weight: 12,000 lbs.
Additional Information
Many pieces in our exhibit are accompanied by an audio tour and downloadable podcast. Links to the audio files are provided below, as well as a transcript of the recording.
Want to get inside Niki's head? (mp3)
Phone: (314) 558-4357 - 11#
This six-ton smiling skull was inspired by a trip Niki made to Mexico in the late 1970s. She liked the cheerful way in which Mexicans deal with the subject of death.
The Mexican tradition of the Day of the Dead seems to inform La Cabeza as a face of death that is both festive and contemplative. It pulls viewers in as it reflects life back.
The piece is an inventory of the materials Niki used, from mother of pearl, to geometric mirrored glass, to the translucent round glass pieces that she called M&M's. This skull is fully interactive and easily accessible.
Go inside to look around or have a seat in its domed meditation room, with its blue sky and moon.
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