Skount is debating whether to be or not in this adaptation of a hundred plus year old photo of Sarah Bernhardt, who holds the court jester Yorick’s skull in hand. A grave contemplation of suicide that leads the Hamlet character to contemplate the great leveling force of death on all stations and classes, this particular depicting of Shakespeare has had a profound effect on Skount.

Skount. Würzburg, Germany. July 2015. (photo © Skount)

“This photo has always been poetic for me since I first saw it,” he says, “I see in the photo a woman with a really special life that is intense, hard, full of difficulties and now finally a satisfactory life,” he says of the James Lafayette photograph that was possibly taken at the turn of the 20th century.

“To be or not to be,” is perhaps the most noted excerpt from the play and is

also the title of Skounts’ mural for Street Meet at Mainfranken Theater in Würzburg, Germany. See below the original photograph and the artists’ initial sketch for the wall.

Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt as Hamlet. (public domain, James Lafayette)

Skount. Würzburg, Germany. July 2015. (photo © Skount)

HAMLET: To be, or not to be–that is the question:

Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

And by opposing end them.

To die, to sleep–No more–and by a sleep to say we end

The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to. ‘Tis a consummation Devoutly to be wished.

To die, to sleep–To sleep–perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub,

~Shakespeare

Skount. Würzburg, Germany. July 2015. (photo © Skount)

Skount’s original sketch for the mural (© Skount)

Skount. Würzburg, Germany. July 2015. (photo © Skount)

238

138

45

Other Articles You May Like from BSA:

Futura Talks: Completion of the "Kid" at PS11 with Os Gemeos
In a generous interview with Brooklyn Street Art, Futura talks about his four decade career, the birth of graffiti in NYC, his uncomfortable transition to fine art, working and playing with The Clash,...

BSA Images Of The Week: 12.08.19 / Chihuahua Special
Andele! Welcome to Mexico! Northern Mexico can be arid and beige and green - and also very colorful. We were swinging through Chihuahua recently and captured some pieces on walls and freights...

BSA Images Of The Week: 03.12.23
Welcome to BSA Images of the Week! Clocks spring ahead today in New York! Check it! Taking a little trip to Miami and Wynwood District this week - its a lot warmer than New York. Hey, is a...

BSA Film Friday: 01.13.17
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities. Now screening : 1. OLEK: In The Blink Of An Eye 2. Москва - Artmossphere by Kevin Lüdicke 3. Morden Gore: Paintin...

Faile Debuts "Endless" Solo Show & Artists Talk w/ BSA at GGA in Miami
The opportunity to be inspired by visual culture is indeed endless on the street, which explains the 22-year career of Brooklyn’s Faile, the street art duo who has parlayed their practice into prints...