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Maquette I for 'Moon of Alabama' II
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? the Artist's Estate / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved.

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Maquette I for 'Moon of Alabama' II 1957 - 1958
This is one of several small models, or maquettes, preliminary to the full-size version of the sculpture, which measures five feet in height. Constructed from iron and composition, this maquette is unique contrasting to the others which are cast in bronze. The title comes from a song by the German poet and playwright Berthold Brecht, but the references to the Soviet Sputnik space programme are also evident in its structure. The Russians? launched the first man-made object into Earth?s orbit on 4 October 1957 as part of the Cold War Space Race with the United States of America. `Sputnik 1? was fifty-eight centimetres in diameter - roughly the same size as this maquette.

Glossary Open

Cast

The production of a sculpture by use of a mould to make a copy, usually in a more durable material, of the original work. The term is used to describe both the process and the resulting object.

Cold War

The Cold War was an era of intense rivalry, tension and conflict (short of a full-scale war) between the United States of America and the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.). It emerged in the 1940s following World War II and lasted until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. With both superpowers engaged in military coalitions and an arms race, the threat of nuclear warfare was ever present.

Maquette

A preparatory model for a sculpture.

Cast, Cold War, Maquette

Details

  • Acc. No. GMA 2764
  • Medium Iron and composition
  • Size 55.60 x 46.50 x 32.00 cm
  • Credit Purchased 1983

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