RSA Scottish Art
Both Sides of the Moon
 | Artist: Fred Bushe |
| Title: Both Sides of the Moon | |
| Year: 1986 | |
| Medium: granite | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: fantasy and imagination | |
| Source: RSA Diploma Collection | |
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| Open print version of this work | |
| Description: Fred Bushe has played an important role in the development of sculpture in Scotland.Both Sides of the Moon is a maquette (a small-scale working model made in preparation for a larger, finished piece). Even so, its overall height is 69cms because Fred Bushe's work is large, strong and reflects his upbringing in Scotland's industrial belt. The piece consists of three separate blocks of polished Swedish black granite. They are placed carefully so that the individual shapes and the relationships between them work together to create a single dynamic unit. The negative space between the two upright sections could represent the visible part of the moon which we can see from earth. The lower rounded black stone shape symbolises the dark side of the moon, the part which cannot be seen from earth. Bushe has tried to create a form which shows us this unknown half of our moon.Granite is an exceptionally hard stone which is difficult to carve. However it is a good stone to use for an outdoor sculpture or monument because it can withstand harsh weather conditions. To execute this maquette, and for any successive piece, the stone would have been cut by machine. Cutting and polishing these expensive pieces of stone requires skill and patience. The fact that the subject of this piece is the moon is a direct relation to the material it is made from. The link to moon rock is a powerful reminder that the substances which make up the universe are connected to one another. Granite is very old stone, formed millions of years ago when the earth produced rock from its molten core. When we look at a stone sculpture like this, or when we look at the moon, we are looking at the surface of something very ancient. Would this piece have the same impact if it was made in wood, or plastic? | |