Mike E. Walsh
The descendant of a pioneer family and son of a log-truck
driver, Mike E. Walsh lived in Boulder logging camp as a
kid. He graduated from Newport High, majored in history at
Western Oregon, and served two tours on destroyers off the
coast of Viet Nam. "They shot at us," he says. "We picked up
pilots." Walsh studied art on the GI Bill at the UO, where
he constructed his first site-specific installation as a BFA
project in 1972. An working studio artist ever since, he
counts some 20 installations among 80 solo shows and 300
group exhibits. Installations feature photos and tiny
assemblages inside plexiglass boxes, providing commentary on
social issues such as war and environmental degradation.
Commemoration of the AIDS epidemic has been a recurring
theme since the 1985 installation, Preparing for War, at the
New Zone Gallery. "A lot of my friends have died," he says.
A retrospective exhibition of Walsh's work, including one
brand-new installation and partial recreations of several
older ones, fills all the galleries at the Maude Kerns Art
Center through March 30.
happening people
photograph and story by Paul Neevel
Eugene Weekly / 2 March 2006
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