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"What's
with the big arrow?"
Link Gallery at Manchester debuts
with artwork on a grand scale
The first show in the new Link Gallery, which
wraps around Manchester College’s new Wine Recital Hall, displays large
works by I. Lee Morse, assistant professor of art.
 Morse
likes to work on a grand scale. His works usually are
three-dimensional; it’s hard to say whether they are paintings or
sculpture. At least the paintings will seem large to those unfamiliar
with Morse’s work. His
AElvis in Excess@
(not on display at MC) covered 76,726 square feet, and as of 1995, was
the world=s
largest painting, according to Guinness World Records.
Visitors to Link Gallery from the East Street main entrance to the
recital hall will get an immediate sense of the size of the art they are
about to encounter: An enormous yellow arrow pierces the northeast
corner of the building. The arrow points to the sky, perhaps urging
Manchester College students to
Areach for the
sky.@ Or perhaps
it recalls Longfellow’s poem:
AI shot an arrow
in the air....’’ Maybe it means
Athink outside
the box.@
Morse says he created the arrow especially for the show and the opening
of the gallery … and to provoke comment.
The works inside Link Gallery are similarly enigmatic. They don=t
have a story. They aren=t
Aabout@
something; they just Aare,@
Morse notes. The artwork displayed, many untitled, has as much
Ameaning@
as a concerto: There is the sense of interaction, or even conflict with
the environment. Morse likes to involve the viewer in the space around
the objects.
Consider the arrow, for example. It appears to pierce the building, but
the portion inside the building is missing ... sort of. Many people
would sense the implied line through the building, so the arrow is all
there, but only through the participation of the viewer. Morse expects
the same interaction with the viewer, the construction, and the
surrounding space.
Gallery visitors also will be taken by the engineering that went into
these pictures. Morse=s
studio is huge, so he has no problem with space there, but he has to
transport his pieces to the galleries. His works must be collapsible,
and designed so the pieces fit together in a way that does not impair
the art.
The arrow was a challenge because it had to fit the building perfectly.
If he had built it on-site, he might have been able to make adjustments,
but he built it in his Columbia City studio and assembled it here.
Morse’s exhibit will remain up through Tuesday, Nov. 16. At 4 p.m. on
that final day, a reception will honor Morse and give gallery visitors
an opportunity to meet and discuss his artwork with the artist.
A graduate of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Savannah
College of Art and Design, Morse also has taught art at Indiana
University Purdue University Fort Wayne and Concordia University.
The College is grateful for the gift of the gallery space from William
J. and Marsha Link of Irvine, Calif. Marsha Palmer Link is a 1968 music
graduate of the College.
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