Justice

Diana Moore’s commanding Justice for the Warren B. Rudman U.S. Courthouse in Concord, New Hampshire reprises a favorite theme of civic art in America.  Sculptural representations of Justice enjoy a long and varied history, both in the United States and abroad.  Justice is traditionally depicted blindfolded, holding a pair of scales in one hand, and either a sword or a book in the other.  Moore’s highly original interpretation streamlines this allegorical symbolism, and focuses upon the action of blindfolding as an emblem of clear and impartial judgment.  Rather than giving her Justice a pair of scales to hold, Moore has ingeniously used the asymmetrical, yet perfectly balanced, arms of the sculpture to represent them metaphorically.

The economy with which this simple gesture communicates Justice’s self-imposed neutrality is repeated in her unadorned robe.  Although the understated shape of this dress is strikingly modern, its finely ribbed cloth also mimics the fluted columns of classical architecture—ancient symbols of strength and stability befitting a court of law.  The artist intends her Justice’s restrained garment to represent our civilized and rational sensibilities, which are imposed over our primordial and intuitive temperaments, symbolized by the body.  Moore’s Justice thus becomes a metaphor of the struggle for equilibrium, undertaken by both individuals and society as a whole.