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V17 2014 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 17, Number 17, April 20, 2014, Article 17

Medallicartcollector.com is a new web site devoted to 20th century and current American art medals. As an example, below are excerpts from the page on medallist Nicola d'Alton Moss. But first, a quote from the home page about the purpose of the site. -Editor

The focus of this site is definitely on 20th Century and current American art medals. There are already many sites that focus on famous European medalists, but there are surprisingly few sites that deal with their American counterparts. Many American sculptors are recognized for their contributions to the decorative arts or to architectural sculpture, yet their efforts as medalists are not similarly appreciated, therefore this website. Foreign sculptors are not excluded though: any foreign artist who was associated with an American medal series can also be represented here. Interesting modern art medal sculptors from all over the world can also find a home here.

This effort just got under way and the gaps in content are large. I am adding both content and site functionality as fast as I can. Visit again a few weeks from now and see whether a click on a medal or a sculptor produces additional information. I want to make this site useful, not just to me but to the wider collectors' community.

St. George and the Dragon (1986)

nicola-dalton-moss-st-george-and-the-dragon medal

This cast bronze medal reworks the ancient legend of George and the Maiden. The old story tells of the inhabitants of Silene, who were forced to regularly feed a maiden to a dragon that had made its lair nearby. When it was the princess' turn to be sacrificed, George went to rescue her from this tragic fate.

In a feminist treatment of the subject, relevant to the context of the 1980s, Moss shows George absorbed in his fight with the dragon, while the maiden, tired of waiting, decides to rescue herself. No longer the submissive woman of the traditional readings of the story, she cuts her hair to draw strength and establish her independence.

This medal exists in two different versions. The medal depicted here and the medal at the Victoria and Albert Museum differ in the imagery on the reverse.

Wasichu (1991)

The obverse of Wasichu shows a bespectacled and tie-wearing monster, almost totally reduced to its gaping maw, swallowing nature in all its forms. The reverse depicts an industrialized wasteland with the discarded trappings of our modern life. Immense buttocks that loom over the landscape discharge a fecal stream of waste that rains down from above and threatens to cover everything.

This medal reflects Moss' growing concern about pollution and the consequences of our industrialized way of life

To view the complete page, see: Nicola d'Alton Moss (medallicartcollector.com/nicola-dalton-moss_biography.html)

Wayne Homren, Editor