September 5, 2012

Visual communications instructor donates series of paintings
before next year’s retirement 

Students, staff and visitors to Medicine Hat College’s Centennial Hall can now admire a set of four new paintings, thanks to a recent donation from visual communications instructor Poul Nielsen.

As the instructor nears retirement, he decided to do a series and donate the artwork to MHC.

The collection, titled “CX Configurations – 4 seasons,” was painted by Nielsen specifically for the space, near the main entrance of the college.

“I like to work big,” he said, noting that each piece is eight feet high and four feet across. “Ralph (Weeks) had told me for a number of years that he wanted paintings up there, so I thought ‘I’ll do a series and donate it.’”

 As noted in the collection’s title, the series reflects the four seasons.

“I measure so much of my time here in terms of seasons,” he said. “It’s an obvious metaphor for the life process.”

The paintings use a calligraphic brush stroke that Poul learned during his many trips to China.

“I was so taken by the mark that I decided to celebrate that in my own work,” he said. “These pieces are a connector between abstraction and representational art.”

As Poul enters his last year of teaching at MHC, he reflects on the program he helped build.

“I’ve been here 25 years. I’ve loved this program,” he said. “I’ve never viewed teaching as being different than an artist. You’ve got to get fed. The interaction with students and instructors is inspiring.”