Intensive Crescent 1985

Richard Pousette-Dart created this densely patterned painting, titled Intensive Crescent, with vibrant daubs of blue and white. The crescent is one of humanity’s oldest symbols, a motif that appears across cultures from Mesopotamian art to ancient Greek coinage where it symbolized a range of lunar deities. The crescent's arc, opening upwards, evokes receptivity, hope, and growth. The upward-facing crescent can be seen in ancient depictions of lunar deities, representing their power to influence earthly events, their cyclical nature echoing the waxing and waning of emotions. The painting technique, with its repetitive dabs of paint, creates a field of visual intensity. It reminds me of pointillist landscapes which were also intended to create a visceral impression of light and space, engaging us on a primal level. Pousette-Dart's "Intensive Crescent" thus becomes a vessel, echoing how ancient symbols adapt and persist, transformed by each new cultural encounter.