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SOM#114, Alex Shagin, One Planet, 1986
[b]From the collection of John Birks[/b]

[i]Numbers Issued:  750 Bronze[/i]

[b]FROM THE ARTIST[/b]

Newborn medal is like a child
And children are our hopes.
Every artist and every family is looking
Into the future for their children ...
Where there is a harmony and peace in the world.

Now, more than ever, we understand
How small our world is,
And how fragile is the peace.

When the astronauts on their way to the moon
Were looking out their round windows
The tiny disc of their Mother Earth
Was as small as a medallion.

Put the medal on the palm of your hand
And try to get a feeling
Of holding your newborn.

For this medal I chose children
Freely and fearlessly dancing
Around the globe,
Holding their little hands
And carrying our hopes
That our civilization will not be lost,
That one day, 
There will be one people,
Living together on one planet.

[b]THE SCULPTURE OF ALEX SHAGIN by JOSEPH VEACH NOBLE, Executive Director of The Society of Medalists[/b]

When I asked Alex Shagin to write his thoughts about creating his medal, One Planet, I did not expect a poem.  but, to this sensitive artist, a poem was the clearest way of expressing himself.  His subject really is world peace.  Frankly, we have all seen dozens of peace medals, mostly with pious mottos and floating allegorical maidens holding aloft a panoply of broken swords and olive branches.  But, Alex Shagin chose a new dramatic approach -- that of viewing our world from outer space -- and saying visually that this is the only world we have.

The experiences of his life prepared him for this strong medallic statement.  He was born in Leningrad in the U.S.S.R. in 1947, and after his artistic talent was recognized he was accepted by the Vera Mukhima School of Arts and Design where he studied for six years and from which he was graduated in 1972.  For his diploma he created a series of medals on Peter the Great.  He then entered the Leningrad Mint and designed commemorative medals and silver coins.  They included the Apollo-Soyuz Medal presented to the Russian and American astronauts, and medals for the 1980 Olympic Games held in the U.S.S.R.  Eventually, because of the system of strict ideological control over any creative venture, he felt that he had to be free, and he applied for a visa to emigrate to the United States.  As soon as he applied he lost his job at the Leningrad Mint, and his right to all the work he had created.  Fortunately, he succeeded in his quest and arrived in America in 1979 and became a citizen of the United States in 1985.

From his studio in Los Angeles has poured forth a torrent of medals.  Many have reflected his pursuit of freedom and represent champions such as Lech Walesa, Anatoly Sharonsky, Martin Luther King and George Orwell.  He created the medallion that was used as the symbol of the U.S. Track and Field Team competing in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.  Awards and exhibitions include the American Medallic Sculpture Association, Federation Internationale de la Medaille both in Florence, Italy and Stockholm, Sweden.

Keywords: sold

SOM#114, Alex Shagin, One Planet, 1986

From the collection of John Birks

Numbers Issued: 750 Bronze

FROM THE ARTIST

Newborn medal is like a child
And children are our hopes.
Every artist and every family is looking
Into the future for their children ...
Where there is a harmony and peace in the world.

Now, more than ever, we understand
How small our world is,
And how fragile is the peace.

When the astronauts on their way to the moon
Were looking out their round windows
The tiny disc of their Mother Earth
Was as small as a medallion.

Put the medal on the palm of your hand
And try to get a feeling
Of holding your newborn.

For this medal I chose children
Freely and fearlessly dancing
Around the globe,
Holding their little hands
And carrying our hopes
That our civilization will not be lost,
That one day,
There will be one people,
Living together on one planet.

THE SCULPTURE OF ALEX SHAGIN by JOSEPH VEACH NOBLE, Executive Director of The Society of Medalists

When I asked Alex Shagin to write his thoughts about creating his medal, One Planet, I did not expect a poem. but, to this sensitive artist, a poem was the clearest way of expressing himself. His subject really is world peace. Frankly, we have all seen dozens of peace medals, mostly with pious mottos and floating allegorical maidens holding aloft a panoply of broken swords and olive branches. But, Alex Shagin chose a new dramatic approach -- that of viewing our world from outer space -- and saying visually that this is the only world we have.

The experiences of his life prepared him for this strong medallic statement. He was born in Leningrad in the U.S.S.R. in 1947, and after his artistic talent was recognized he was accepted by the Vera Mukhima School of Arts and Design where he studied for six years and from which he was graduated in 1972. For his diploma he created a series of medals on Peter the Great. He then entered the Leningrad Mint and designed commemorative medals and silver coins. They included the Apollo-Soyuz Medal presented to the Russian and American astronauts, and medals for the 1980 Olympic Games held in the U.S.S.R. Eventually, because of the system of strict ideological control over any creative venture, he felt that he had to be free, and he applied for a visa to emigrate to the United States. As soon as he applied he lost his job at the Leningrad Mint, and his right to all the work he had created. Fortunately, he succeeded in his quest and arrived in America in 1979 and became a citizen of the United States in 1985.

From his studio in Los Angeles has poured forth a torrent of medals. Many have reflected his pursuit of freedom and represent champions such as Lech Walesa, Anatoly Sharonsky, Martin Luther King and George Orwell. He created the medallion that was used as the symbol of the U.S. Track and Field Team competing in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Awards and exhibitions include the American Medallic Sculpture Association, Federation Internationale de la Medaille both in Florence, Italy and Stockholm, Sweden.

gilt_Vicky.jpg l Decoratie Arts School-combo.jpg Dautel, Pierre-Victor, Intl Expo of Turin, 1911, French Section-combo.jpg Mattei_VaeVictis_combo.jpg SOM#114~0.jpg Antunes,_Cabral,_International_Year_of_the_Child,_1979.jpg Unsigned, VII Wiekow Warszawy, Poland-combo.jpg Kalinowski kopia.jpg Delannoy, French Ligne La Marseillaise, 1949-combo.jpg