Photos by Matt Haugen and Eric Sorensen, WSU News, and courtesy of the Museum of Art/WSU. Soundslides by Robert Frank, WSU News.
PULLMAN, Wash. – After a 10-month absence, sculptor Jim Dine’s “Technicolor Heart” returned to the heart of the WSU campus under a glorious blue sky today. The distinctive blue sculpture had been on loan to the Fredrik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Mich., for a Jim Dine career retrospective that opened in January and closed in May.
Admiring the sculpture from the corner of Stadium Way and Grimes Way, Chris Bruce, director of the Museum of Art/WSU, said “Technicolor Heart” was the focal point of the Meijer Gardens exhibit. While much of Dine’s work, including watercolors, wood cut prints, bronze and mixed media, was exhibited inside, the outdoor heart welcomed people to the exhibit.
“It really is almost an autobiography of the imagery he’s used over the years,” Bruce said. The images and objects that appear in many of Dine’s most important works can be found somewhere on the heart, he said: “This is the whole story.”
The sculpture looks none the worse for wear, Bruce said. But, as expected, the bright colors have continued to fade. Passersby will notice the sculpture looks different, he said, because it has been “turned around” so that the side that previously faced Stadium Way is now facing back toward Martin Stadium.
First installed at WSU in 2004, “Technicolor Heart” immediately provoked ardent supporters and detractors. Karri Dieken, assistant to the associate director at the Museum of Art, said she heard from both as she was taking photos of the Thursday re-installation.
“It’s a mixed bag,” she said, smiling. Some driving by have yelled “Woo Hoo! It’s back,” she said, but others have yelled “Take it away!”