Patricia Carr Morgan is in A Visual Dialogue Between Memory, Reality, and Environmental Urgency

an article by Mona Lisa Abramovich

Patricia Carr Morgan, (b. 1940) is a conceptual artist based in Tucson, Arizona, whose multidisciplinary work encompasses sculpture, interdisciplinary installations, and photography. Her art delves into themes of memory, loss, and reality, reflecting a profound engagement with both personal experience and universal concerns.

Early Influences and Artistic Development
Morgan's artistic journey was significantly shaped by her upbringing. Her mother, a primary school teacher, provided early exposure to art materials and watercolors, fostering an initial interest in creative expression. Concurrently, assisting her father, who designed and fabricated tombstones, introduced her to concepts of mortality and memory, themes that would later permeate her work. Access to art books and a local library further enriched her understanding, with particular interest in Masaccio's 14th-century frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel, which seamlessly blended religious, secular, and political narratives. Influences from artists like Marcel Duchamp, who championed the use of everyday objects in art, and Ed Kienholz, known for installations addressing societal issues, guided Morgan toward viewing art as a medium for conversation and reflection.

Artistic Approach and Mediums
Morgan's creative process is both project-minded and dynamic. She often begins with a concept, allowing the development to unfold organically, sometimes drawing inspiration from literature. Her preferred medium is photography, valued for its versatility. In her recent works, she focuses on polar glaciers and incorporates scientific data to highlight environmental concerns. Her photographs are manipulated through various techniques—printing on different papers, sanding, and painting with coal and carbon—to convey themes of beauty, fragility, and destruction.
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Notable Works and Themes
​Morgan's oeuvre includes several significant projects:

• The Eternal Supper: An installation inspired by Stéphane Mallarmé's poetry, featuring a room covered with baby bottle nipples and populated with human-form soft sculptures, inviting tactile interaction from viewers.
• Dinner at Plexi's: Prompted by Michael Lewis's essay "Antaeus in Manhattan," this installation presented a clear Plexiglas cube within "The Eternal Supper," isolating viewers and depriving them of tactile engagement, symbolizing emotional and physical detachment.
• I love you don't leave me: A series addressing climate change, initiated after Morgan's expeditions to Antarctica and Greenland. The project includes the installation "Blue Tears," where diaphanous images of glaciers printed on silk organza cascade from above, evoking the sorrow of melting icebergs.
  
  
• Reality is a Good Likeness: A series exploring constructs of reality, where Morgan integrates herself or objects into film frames, disrupting narratives to create new perceptions.

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Artistic Philosophy and Influences
Morgan's work is deeply personal yet universally resonant, often incorporating memory and memorabilia to explore shared human experiences. She emphasizes the importance of determining the message in her compositions, considering elements like focus, color, perspective, contrast, and size to guide viewer engagement. Her influences include contemporary artists such as Alison Rossiter, Nadezda Nikolova-Kratzer, Chris McCaw, and Julian Charrière, all of whom employ non-traditional photographic techniques to compelling effect.
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Exhibitions and Recognition
Morgan has exhibited her work in various museums and galleries across the United States and internationally. Notably, her installation "Blue Tears" was showcased at the Tucson Museum of Art from January to April 2019, receiving critical acclaim for its poignant commentary on climate change.

Through her multidisciplinary approach, Patricia Carr Morgan continues to create art that serves as a conversation, inviting viewers to reflect on the intricate connections between memory, reality, and the pressing environmental issues of our time.
For a visual overview of Morgan's "Blue Tears" installation, you can watch the following video:

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This article about Patricia Carr Morgan takes part of the ARTICULATE PROMOTE Programme in collaboration with PR FOR ARTISTS