Untitled (Haida Moon Design)

Description

‘Haida Moon Design’ by Robert Davidson – First Nations Northwest Coast Haida Art presented by DaVic Gallery of Native Canadian Arts.

Frame: Please note that for safety reasons, print will be shipped framed and without glass. Alternatively, glass may be replaced with resistant acrylic transparent glass that is safe for shipping at additional cost.  Please inquire.

Condition:       Two prints framed together with custom double mat.  Frame is black in color.  Glass has been removed for safety reasons due to risk of glass breaking during shipment and causing damage to the prints.

Description by Artist:     No description by artist found.

Notes from DaVic Gallery:    Two Haida Moon designs by Robert Davidson framed side by side. The print on the left is numbered # 10 of 264; the print on the right side is numbered # 16 of 364.   Both prints are signed by Robert Davidson and dated 1976.  Paper is colour brown while the back of the paper and the front side edges are black.

The following excerpt was written about this print in the book “Haida Printmaker” by Hilary Stewart: “One cool, crisp evening as Davidson walked from his studio to the house, the crescent moon stood out against the dark sky like a bright piece of a circle. The beauty of it impressed him, and the shape challenged him, for a circle is the most difficult with which to work in Northwest Coast art. He saw the moon as a pendant, hanging there, and it became the beginning of a series of art works formed within a circle. He was to use the shape in many ways, from a small silver pendant to a large wooden screen, as well as in several silkscreen prints. From the pendant design – which was the moon, crescent-shaped but containing a human – he created an unusual series of prints, repeating the design using different colour combinations and backgrounds in order to experience the moon in different ways. The use of the red with the blue-green against a totally black background is indeed dramatic. Davidson was intrigued with the type of blue-green that had been used in the past, and so for this print he experimented with the mixing of pigments to achieve the colour he wanted. Pleased with the result, he used it again on subsequent prints. Many months later, when Davidson began to be more aware of himself and his relationship to his work, he saw that the man in the moon was himself. The hand forming the mouth symbolized for him the use of his hands as a mouthpiece since he communicated through his art.”

Davidson sees himself as the man in the moon. The hands forming the mouth symbolize for him the use of his hands for a mouthpiece since he communicated with his art.