Symbol Stone

	Artist: Will Maclean
	Title: Symbol Stone
	Year: 1975
	Medium: pencil on paper
	Dimensions:
	Suggested topic: fantasy and imagination
	Source: RSA
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Description: Will Maclean's work embraces a wide range of media and reflects his passionate interest in his heritage and the seafaring cultures of northern Scotland.Much of the inspiration for Maclean's work recalls the fishing, crofting and oral traditions of the Western Highlands. This delicate pencil drawing of a standing stone, Symbol Stone, signifies the artist's interest in his own distant roots as well as his more recent background as indicated by the net of flotsam, hanging in front of the standing stone and which is suggestive of the fishing trade. The symbolic nature of this image is a puzzle - what does this arrangement symbolise? Perhaps it suggests that the declining fishing industry is becoming as obsolete as the standing stones. Standing stones were an essential part of culture and society in Bronze Age Scotland but now they are neglected and their purpose is often a mystery to us. Is Maclean suggesting that we will soon see the fishing industry in the same way?This drawing has been delicately executed. Tonally the image tends towards the lighter end of the range, as most pencils produce a deep grey which is not totally black. The mottled surface of the stone and the dashing lines of the grass make a striking textural contrast.Soft, curving organic shapes are contrasted with the rigid lines of the horizon. The composition is simple and bold, with the monolithic stone absolutely central in the image. The horizontal bands divide the scene into four sections. Our eye is naturally drawn to the net full of gear. It is hard to recognise all the items but there appears to be a glove and maybe parts of a rudder. They make an intriguing shape against the dark mass of the stone.