Sacred Water Circle Gathering Fundraiser

Moon by Robert Davidson, 1976

Serigraph #201 of 364.

Davidson's other similar prints are valued around $1000. It has been professionally matted and framed.

"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.

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."

The above comments are taken from Haida Printmaker, Hilary Stewart.

Davidson is one of Canada’s most respected and important contemporary visual artists. A Northwest Coast native of Haida and Tlingit Descent, he is a master carver of totem poles and masks and works in a variety of other media as a printmaker, painter and jeweler. Davidson’s passion to revive and perpetuate a variety of forms of Haida cultural expression, including song, dance and ceremony, has fueled his remarkable output throughout the years.

Donated generously by Peter Taylor and Mary Moogk.