Abstract

Paterson Ewen's gouged plywood moonscapes are not landscapes in the tradition of the genre as it has been understood. A discussion of the landscape traditions and their implications provides a framework for the notion that his large-scale, rigorously executed works create the viewer's physical experience of the Moon in space. This experience is imaginative but palpable. "On Ewen's Moons" explores the viewer's interaction with Ewen's works in the context of Merleau-Ponty's thoughts on perception along with contemporary notions of visual memory. A detailed analysis of six major works from the artist's Moon series forms the centerpiece to this discussion. Set against the historical events of the Apollo lunar landing, Ewen's visceral Moon images are examined in the context of our contemporary awareness of outer space.