http://www.michaelhagerprints.com/new-index-1 daily 0.75 2015-01-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1421026805431-B7IPLAUH7T3Y9WJ7LIQJ/IMG_3382.JPG Objects of Interest Radius twenty-four monoprints, mounted on twelve wooden panels, assembled in twelve connected steel structures monoprints; ink, paper and metallic foil. sculpture; wood and stee 22’ x 15’ x 9.5’ (264” x 180” x 114” 2013 The steel and wooden panels of Hager’s installation appear to reach out to encircle the viewer, offering an alternative space at odds with the larger room. Pitched off-kilter, the regimented shapes ordered by industrial materials and taut cables offer yet another contrast. On each dark panel, the soft glint of metallic foil makes visible organic shapes, reminiscent of an emerging human figure. The stability that we expect of steel construction is undermined not only by the precarious angle but also by the faint figures that compete for the viewer’s attention. Despite our predisposition to trust structures that resemble engineered works, we approach this large work with caution, preoccupied with the struggle of the forms against the framework, the framework against the wall. Dr. Kelly Watt, Assistant Professor of Art History Washburn University https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1421027157449-2NXJEOECWQIW0EZAHSFI/image-asset.jpeg Objects of Interest Basin woodcut printed images on paper, mounted on constructed panels, installed on a shallow bowl-shaped steel structure. ink, paper, metallic foil, wood, steel, cable 120” x 120” x 28” (10’ x 10’ x 28”) 2012 I have been told by a select few that I am a closet ceramist. I do love collecting ceramic art, both functional and sculptural. The simple geometry of a shallow basin shape has interested me for some time now. It is both functional (it can hold some material) and non-functional (it cannot hold a great deal of said material).   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1421028079070-5XUVW5PUNHQ5RXD82CSM/054.JPG Objects of Interest Balance woodcut monoprints with metallic foil, mounted on prepared panels, arranged on an inverted arc structure. paper, ink, metallic foil, wood, steel 192” x 32” x 48” (16’ x 2’6” x 4’) 2012 The making of Balance presented me with a fundamental question. At what point does the supportive sculptural structure become just a means to display my prints? I dealt with this conundrum for over a year with this work. I felt that the printed images did not go well with the inverted arc, making me question my approach with combining prints with sculptures. Ultimately, geometry came to the rescue with the addition of the strong graphic drawings on the prints. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1421027039511-UO2H5EUACR4WS3O8WDGA/image-asset.jpeg Objects of Interest Arc woodcut and collographic printed images on paper, mounted on constructed panels, installed on an arc-shaped steel structure. ink, paper, metallic foil, wood, steel 384" x 24" x32" (32’ x 2' x 32") 2012 The power of simple geometry is becoming a fundamental part of my sculptures. Breaker, Pusher and Balancer display this aspect overtly. In fact, Arc is an echo of Balancer’s inverted arc. The low broad segment of a much larger circle gives this structure a feel of continuation. I felt very strongly that the curve of Arc was exactly circular, and not a reversed catenary curve (a catenary is a curve described as a line suspended between two points, such as a power line or the main cables of a suspension bridge). A catenary has two definite end points while a segment of a circle does not. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1421027457022-BPV3QRGZ7G652G8K5CWO/image-asset.jpeg Objects of Interest Flow woodcut printed on plastic sheets, mounted on 12 prepared boxes with maps, affixed into steel structures, mounted on a wall as to cascade onto the floor. plastic, ink, maps, wood, steel 120” x 180” x 120” (10’ x 15’ x 10’) 2012 Flow is a transitional piece for me. I am beginning to use the physical structure of the work as an aesthetic element. How the sculpture is put together and the function of each of the varied materials used is plane to see (This also can be said about Basin). I enjoy letting the viewer explore the creative history of this sculpture.   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1421187506582-OB58FL6UZCAY8IBQ9JEC/DSC_0046.jpg Objects of Interest - Basin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1420585258981-NE4W638BQ7KTDXCNE2CK/034.JPG Objects of Interest - Flow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1420584669494-P6WROU22QLADHD4PRMGO/IMG_3366.JPG Objects of Interest - Radial https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1421187767241-GQYN0VGABLV90ERYRG1S/054.JPG Objects of Interest - Balance https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1421444497822-PQRZAOIY6T2VZHZCI999/DSC_0004.jpg Objects of Interest - arc http://www.michaelhagerprints.com/about-the-artist daily 0.75 2022-02-28 http://www.michaelhagerprints.com/passage daily 0.75 2025-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/d7c3c085-88aa-4a63-a223-ef9c171c24ad/1.+Face+-+Franklin.jpg Passage https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1644807712842-1HIRQ2ODFTP00TC134Q8/Web+site+cover+image.jpg Passage https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1665353643140-2DNTFB7N8BIDZNHLFY36/19.+Home.jpg Passage - Watching Mom Die - part 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/62411f4b-041f-4104-833a-8f8fdf7a5b00/Install+1.jpg Passage https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1752199516551-X9OWJGYYJNUZ0HIKWA4R/Install+1.jpg Passage - Passage All 7 units installed at the Mulvane Art Museum, Topeka, Kansas. 2025 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1752187962886-O19MY0JERIYQV3ZIZQ4F/1.+Face.jpg Passage - 1. Passage; Face 2025 http://www.michaelhagerprints.com/dna-strand daily 0.75 2022-02-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/f0ce8530-f0fc-4c0d-a1f2-989c3ee0b8ea/IMAG3999.jpg DNA; Strand - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1646621784888-AATBDWQ0CY7DEWFM9A91/Untitled_Panorama1+copy.jpg DNA; Strand https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1646621873767-THU4LDPCHP4KZJPU79K0/Untitled_Panorama1+copy.jpg DNA; Strand https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1646621911024-1XIBIX18T4JMIU2FEQLH/Untitled_Panorama1+copy.jpg DNA; Strand http://www.michaelhagerprints.com/objects-of-interest-the-interest-of-objects-an-exhibition daily 0.75 2022-02-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1421376185868-M1UZ7PNQEHWBC0B7S62W/image-asset.jpeg Objects of Interest / The Interest of Objects - An Exhibition   “[Each thing], though it is at variance with itself, it agrees with itself. It is a harmony of opposed tensions, as in the bow and the lyre.” “The hidden harmony is stronger than the apparent.” —Heraclitus (fragments 51 and 54) Foreword to the Exhibit catalog With ever-growing appreciation, I have been privileged to follow Mike Hager’s development as an artist since his days as an art student at Washburn University. Over the years it has become apparent to me that his works are snapshots of an evolving thought process taking place not only in the production of each work, but also in between such productions. At play in this process are ideas taken from sources as diverse as the human figure; plane and solid geometry; particle physics and cloud chambers; architecture and engineering; and philosophy and psychology. Also at play are two- and three-dimensional ways of embodying the ideas in question. The goal throughout is to harmonize in novel ways the tension between contrasting ideas, themes, media, or elements. In the four sculptures constituting the current exhibit, some of the key components are themselves individual works of art—monoprints on both wood and Plexiglas panels. There is thus a visible tension between each sculpture as whole or volume and each of the monoprints as a part or plane. Other key components of the sculptures are strips of mild steel and lengths of aviation wire. For example, in three of the pieces—Arc, Balance, and Basin—monoprints mounted on square panels rest on steel supports curved into geometric shapes by cables under tension. But the strips and cables have another crucial function: they introduce invisible tensions produced by forces of nature. The philosopher Heraclitus (540–480 b.c.e.) praised invisible tensions but disparaged visible ones. Hager has a better idea. His goal is to harmonize not only visible and invisible tensions, but also visible tensions with invisible ones. In the end, the two- and three-dimensional aspects of his works serve and enhance each other’s individual novelty. In the end also, the hidden tensions between the steel strips and the cables that bend them are harmonized with each other and with gravity. In the end, finally, the visible harmonies involve and signify the invisible ones. Thus, in Flow—which seems to serve as a counterpoint to the other three pieces—gravity has clearly asserted itself in the pattern of panels cascading from wall to floor. In Arc, Balance, and Basin, the dynamic tension between the strips and cables help to make these large sculptures light of foot. Arc gives the impression that a strong wind could lift it into flight. Balance seems poised to teeter-totter under the slightest of forces. Basin appears to levitate as a result of the interaction of two sets of gridlines—one formed by the monoprint panels, the other by the steel wires. How Hager achieves these and other harmonies is the stuff art is made of and hence not to be captured in words. His sculptures must be witnessed, not described. In their sheer physical presence they command attention; in their subtlety they invite analysis; and in their integral unity they each provoke a profound and sustained aesthetic experience. Were Heraclitus able to witness them, he would, I believe, give his approval and stand corrected. Jorge L. Nobo, Ph.D. Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus Washburn University https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1421376598372-SX0Z092JC0MXD35W4FNT/image-asset.jpeg Objects of Interest / The Interest of Objects - An Exhibition https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1421375574261-EDKIT4BEI8R8A331W0N8/image-asset.jpeg Objects of Interest / The Interest of Objects - An Exhibition   Objects of Interest / The Interest of Objects Michael Hager "Of all things the measure is Man, of the things that are, that they are, and of the things that are not, that they are not" Protagoras of Abdera (ca. 490-ca.420 BCE) This quote from Protagoras, usually simplified to “Man is the measure of all things”, reflects my belief in the fact that man, as a sensing animal, experiences reality only through his or her bodily senses. These impulses are then interpreted by the brain (or mind) and arranged in a fashion to create that person’s experienced world. I believe that an objective world actually exists outside of ourselves, but that this world is seen in as many different ways as there are people on the planet (Going yet further, I believe that all thinking entities, animals included, have a unique world view). With this in mind, I present this exhibit Objects of Interest / The Interest of Objects. All four of the sculptures in this show, Flow, Basin, Arc and Balance are based on the human body, both in concept and scale. The size of the work is determined by the scale of the human figure, making them surprisingly large; a five foot tall model, with arms stretched up high, can reach a height of almost eight feet. Conceptually, I am interested in the interplay between the human body and its environment, in this case, the wooden structures I make to create the wood blocks. Specifically, my fascination lies at the point that the human body touches the surface of the structure, and I want to make this event evident by showing the forms and textures, which are astoundingly varied and beautiful. For further information, read my methodology below. I would like to thank the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center for graciously allowing me to exhibit my work in such a fine gallery. I would also like to acknowledge my assistant Katerina Strakhova for her hard work along with Washburn University’s Art Department for use of their sculpture shop and equipment. I would like to extend my thanks and congratulations to Fernando Pezzino for exhibiting alongside me. Finally, I would like to dedicate this exhibition to my parents, Larry and Arlene Hager. Thanks guys! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1645159911294-S46B8WSZQDPQ5EJ4MWQM/083.JPG Objects of Interest / The Interest of Objects - An Exhibition https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1646623572807-4TJADGKBSMTW10KOJV5M/083.jpg Objects of Interest / The Interest of Objects - An Exhibition http://www.michaelhagerprints.com/project-4-forte daily 0.75 2025-05-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51e6b9c9e4b050adffbe392c/1382134007743-4AZAWW3EOCATZK4YARGB/1.jpg Charlie - Charlie All images by the talented Matthias Heiderich https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51e6b9c9e4b050adffbe392c/1382134007743-4AZAWW3EOCATZK4YARGB/1.jpg Charlie - Charlie All images by the talented Matthias Heiderich https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51e6b9c9e4b050adffbe392c/1382134023903-U7226TQW5NP54ZKU3IRW/13.jpg Charlie Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51e6b9c9e4b050adffbe392c/1382134039424-9TWVST8H5UO9T04YTFLI/15.jpg Charlie All the photos in this template are work by the talented photographer Matthias Heiderich. http://www.michaelhagerprints.com/project-5-forte daily 0.75 2025-05-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51e6b9c9e4b050adffbe392c/1382133718502-9IWK15WYDOWX1V15OOGI/18.jpg Box - Day 1 All images by the talented Matthias Heiderich https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51e6b9c9e4b050adffbe392c/1382133718502-9IWK15WYDOWX1V15OOGI/18.jpg Box - Day 1 All images by the talented Matthias Heiderich https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51e6b9c9e4b050adffbe392c/1382133743086-SRXIQR7E3Q8MABLG88YX/19.jpg Box - Day 2 Est usus legentis in iis qui facit eorum claritatem. Investigationes demonstraverunt lectores legere me lius quod ii legunt saepius. Claritas est etiam processus dynamicus. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51e6b9c9e4b050adffbe392c/1382133765529-LAU6L42B3EKMI1WVHVWO/23.jpg Box - Day 4 Mirum est notare quam littera gothica, quam nunc putamus parum claram, anteposuerit litterarum formas humanitatis per seacula quarta decima et quinta decima. Eodem modo typi, qui nunc nobis videntur parum clari, fiant sollemnes in futurum. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51e6b9c9e4b050adffbe392c/1382133793891-Y4729Y7AJBDCO226GM05/25.jpg Box - Day 5 All the photos in this template are work by the talented photographer Matthias Heiderich. http://www.michaelhagerprints.com/new-gallery-5-forte daily 0.75 2025-05-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51e6b9c9e4b050adffbe392c/1382133492820-QB6GDTGF8P8FFV9UPCX4/12.jpg Bonn - Bonn All images by the talented Matthias Heiderich https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51e6b9c9e4b050adffbe392c/1382133492820-QB6GDTGF8P8FFV9UPCX4/12.jpg Bonn - Bonn All images by the talented Matthias Heiderich https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51e6b9c9e4b050adffbe392c/1382133597690-Y245KIKVYR0LXK5Z7H3Q/11.jpg Bonn Vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51e6b9c9e4b050adffbe392c/1382133629440-0D0UGVKQ5D8N5XNW6U5A/21.jpg Bonn Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51e6b9c9e4b050adffbe392c/1382133664657-D012DQAEV5MMQEQKGR8J/24.jpg Bonn Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51e6b9c9e4b050adffbe392c/1382133686073-21LDAZ1I8UVY5F0CHDV5/14.jpg Bonn All the photos in this template are work by the talented photographer Matthias Heiderich. http://www.michaelhagerprints.com/home daily 1.0 2025-07-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1752187508476-CZQR6D7KKJS7T3TR7JF9/Install+1.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1752187375915-CJ3U6LVL4XZUHXXFFKA0/Install+1.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1752187508476-CZQR6D7KKJS7T3TR7JF9/Install+1.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54ac63dce4b04f59570bd3b0/1752187082033-02OXMOU1C6WI9MF3UQBF/Install+1.jpg Home http://www.michaelhagerprints.com/read-me-forte daily 0.75 2025-05-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51e6b9c9e4b050adffbe392c/1377616053602-SMX7MP0YBIW91I0BIW2R/MECO+%2820130827%29.jpg Read Me https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51e6b9c9e4b050adffbe392c/1377616058866-XDBA3BE26TPEK3SCRT9J/Screen+Shot+2013-08-27+at+11.06.39+AM.jpg Read Me