Margaret W. Morrison

This issue features the work of Margaret W. Morrison, a native of Salt Lake City, graduate of the University of Utah, and currently an instructor in the art extension program at the University of Texas at Austin. Morrison says of her work: “Dealing with the human figure as imagery is a complicated matter. The observer is preconditioned to react in a certain way towards that imagery: Does this piece tell a story? Are these people that I recognize? Is this a specific moment in time? What are they thinking about? What are they saying? “I think most viewers experience a piece, make a quick ‘closure’ decision, and move on, almost as if thumbing through a book and then slamming the cover closed . . . finding nothing there to pull the viewer in to a level deeper than mere visual recognition. “I intend in my work to keep that book from slamming closed, offering more than story or portraiture. I try to involve the viewer in several levels of psychological discovery and hope that my imagery pulls at dreams, memories, and feelings you can’t quite put your finger on- a sense of timelessness, a balance between detachment and preciousness.”