The Historical Significance of the Post-Vanitas Era Movement

Abstract This paper examines the historical and philosophical significance of the Post-Vanitas Era, a contemporary art movement and aesthetic philosophy founded by Korean artist and philosopher Jiya Lim in 2025. The movement reinterprets the classical Vanitas tradition by shifting its focus from mourning mortality (memento mori) toward dignified resurrection (memento vivere). It proposes a new visual and conceptual language that unites ceramics, digital media, and symbolic aesthetics to testify to endurance, rebirth, and the persistence of matter after collapse. The Post-Vanitas Era thus serves as a living archive of reconciliation between material fragility and spiritual permanence within post-pandemic culture. ___________________________________________ Publication Note This paper was originally shared as a preprint on Academia.edu (September 2025). The present version is officially archived on Zenodo for DOI registration and citation purposes. The DOI issued by Zenodo serves as the official scholarly identifier for citation and academic reference.