Spring Break
Art exhibit highlights MU Freedom Summer
Lauren Kreiser
Issue date: 2/1/08 Section: Campus
The historic events of the 1964 Freedom Summer have been immortalized in the artwork of former Miami University professor Philip Morsberger. And now an exhibit that features Morsberger's work will open Feb. 7 at the Miami University Art Museum, with a talk from the artist followed by a reception. The exhibit, titled "Philip Morsberger: A Retrospective," will feature oil on canvas paintings, drawings and prints, with pieces from the 1960s to the present.
According to James Lentini, dean of the School of Fine Arts, Morsberger's works include realistic and abstract pieces, with many commenting on major social issues that impacted the artist directly.
"His work represents not only great art but makes social connections … art can help us interpret these issues," Lentini said.
And one of these social issues includes the racism and prejudice surrounding the murders of three civil rights volunteers in 1964. In "Missing (No. 1)," painted in 1964, Morsberger depicts James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner-three civil rights activists who completed a voter registration and orientation session on Miami's Western Campus for Women in 1964, beginning what would become known as the Freedom Summer. After the orientation the volunteers were assigned to travel south and were abducted in Neshoba County, Miss., tortured and killed by Ku Klux Klansmen from Philadelphia, Ga.
Mississippi authorities initially refused to investigate or indict anyone and it was not until 2005 that the guilty parties were prosecuted and sentenced for the murders.
The Klansmen are depicted in a separate painting, juxtaposing the Ku Klux Klan and their victims.
"When people learn the story they are both fascinated and terrified-everyone has a different reaction to (the painting)," said Laura Henderson, collection manager of the Miami University Art Museum.
Morsberger's style began to shift toward abstraction in the 1980s. Henderson explained that Morsberger began to experiment with abstract techniques, inspired by a childhood love of comic strips, and many of his works reflect anecdotes from his childhood and accounts of events involving his family. In his most recent works Morsberger has adapted an abstract technique of which he refers to as "magical realism."
"He is a master at color (and) he uses color as his primary tool in his later works," Henderson said.
Henderson also describes how Morsberger has no plan when creating his modern pieces; he moves color over the canvas and highlights the forms that appear, creating an abstract narrative.
Morsberger's work has been exhibited in North America and Britain, and he has been profiled in several books including A Passion for Painting by Christopher Lloyd, an art historian and a surveyor of Great Britain's Royal Collection.
Morsberger currently lives in Georgia where he is the Morris Eminent Scholar in Art at Augusta State University.
The Morsberger exhibition will be displayed in galleries two and three, and will remain at the museum through June 16. Admission is free and open to the public.
According to James Lentini, dean of the School of Fine Arts, Morsberger's works include realistic and abstract pieces, with many commenting on major social issues that impacted the artist directly.
"His work represents not only great art but makes social connections … art can help us interpret these issues," Lentini said.
And one of these social issues includes the racism and prejudice surrounding the murders of three civil rights volunteers in 1964. In "Missing (No. 1)," painted in 1964, Morsberger depicts James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner-three civil rights activists who completed a voter registration and orientation session on Miami's Western Campus for Women in 1964, beginning what would become known as the Freedom Summer. After the orientation the volunteers were assigned to travel south and were abducted in Neshoba County, Miss., tortured and killed by Ku Klux Klansmen from Philadelphia, Ga.
Mississippi authorities initially refused to investigate or indict anyone and it was not until 2005 that the guilty parties were prosecuted and sentenced for the murders.
The Klansmen are depicted in a separate painting, juxtaposing the Ku Klux Klan and their victims.
"When people learn the story they are both fascinated and terrified-everyone has a different reaction to (the painting)," said Laura Henderson, collection manager of the Miami University Art Museum.
Morsberger's style began to shift toward abstraction in the 1980s. Henderson explained that Morsberger began to experiment with abstract techniques, inspired by a childhood love of comic strips, and many of his works reflect anecdotes from his childhood and accounts of events involving his family. In his most recent works Morsberger has adapted an abstract technique of which he refers to as "magical realism."
"He is a master at color (and) he uses color as his primary tool in his later works," Henderson said.
Henderson also describes how Morsberger has no plan when creating his modern pieces; he moves color over the canvas and highlights the forms that appear, creating an abstract narrative.
Morsberger's work has been exhibited in North America and Britain, and he has been profiled in several books including A Passion for Painting by Christopher Lloyd, an art historian and a surveyor of Great Britain's Royal Collection.
Morsberger currently lives in Georgia where he is the Morris Eminent Scholar in Art at Augusta State University.
The Morsberger exhibition will be displayed in galleries two and three, and will remain at the museum through June 16. Admission is free and open to the public.
Be the first to comment on this story