At a private residence in Lincoln, Nebraska, there's a backyard that looks like it was plucked right from the pages of some magical fairy tale. It was created and built by artist Michael Morgan, who's been exploring the relationship between sculpture and the natural landscape with bricks.

Originally from England, Morgan has been in the states for ten years and spent most of those in his home town of Lincoln, Nebraska, where his work has become a bit of a legend around town. Before earning a bachelors degree in 3D Design (Ceramics) from Wolverhampton Polytechnic (UK) in 1988, and a Masters degree in fine art from the University of Nebraska in 1993, Michael was a gardener.

Some of Morgan's bricks have to be textured or carved while others are decorated with spirals in order to fit within the context of the complete artwork such as in this iron gateway.

This started an intense relationship with organic forms and the earth. The decision to attend college at Wolverhampton shaped his art even further. The town was in decline and seemed to be made entirely of brick. The way that nature seemed to be reclaiming the man-made environments had a profound effect on him and has shaped his work ever since. He has worked almost exclusively with brick for the past fourteen years.

Design Philosophy

Morgan subverts the rigid geometry of brick, transforming it back to the amorphous forms of its elemental clay. The shapes are irregular and unpredictable. Morgan started with unfired clay from Yankee Hill Brick and fired the pieces in his kiln at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Variations in the length of firing and the temperature of the kiln created different colors of brick.

Morgan wants his creations to be practical, things people want to touch, sit on, or even lie down on. He also wants them to challenge everyone's notion of what brickwork should be, to become part of the landscape by imbuing them with all the movement and vitality of the surrounding natural environment.

His work is non-representational and centers mainly around the Brick, both as a sculptural medium and building unit (although he has also used other materials). In general, he makes a connection between the rigid brick and its raw, amorphic material - clay and earth. The practical side of the work includes functional elements such as seating, walls, planters and flooring - partly to reference the Brick's functional traditions, but mainly to encourage the users to relate to the sculptures in a very real way without necessarily relying on representation.

Morgan's brick work gives one the impression that it is growing. Similar to Dali's melting clocks or Gaudi's cascading architecture, Morgan's brick art seems to move and flow.

The philosophy behind all his art is connecting with people without necessarily being representational. Christine Cepuran, design director for Morgan's BrickStone Studios, said "Brick can connect with people from every culture. If it is carved and treated in a nontraditional way, you are creating a way for people to connect with the medium. The medium is of paramount importance. You can make seats for people to sit on, but it can also be sculpture."

One of Morgan's most striking creations was a curving wall with a bench seat and a series of pillars. The entire piece was constructed with 2,500 recycled bricks and cost over $10,000. Since its completion, the 7-foot high, 21-foot long wall has attracted hundreds of visitors who are intrigued by the unusual contours and fantastic shapes of the brick materials.

The organic treatment makes a connection between bricks as geometric units and their origins as amorphic clay. The bricks take on a whole new meaning through their role as a building material, by their placement, and through carving.

Preparing the Brick

The different colors of the bricks are created by varying the length of firing and temperatures of the kiln. For additional variety, Morgan also carves, texturizes or decorates some of the bricks before placing them in the kiln. In this way, he is able to achieve even more wild and unpredictable forms with the irregular shapes.

The C Street Residence

The owner of the home commissioned Michael to design and build the backyard project, which was done in a series of stages. One of the most striking features is a whimsical, curving wall with a bench seat. The bench itself cost $5,500.00 and the other elements were priced separately. The pillars, for example, were approximately $5,000.00. The entire piece was built with some 2,500 bricks Morgan recycled from a series of sculptures he had done for a student exhibition at the University of Nebraska. It sits 7 feet high, stretches 21 feet and is supported by a 36 inch concrete footing and a whole lot of mortar.

As one can see, Morgan rejected using a builder's level, but he did admit using the services of a professional mason. The design is based on the spiral and is supposed to represent a growing form - whether it is carved into the brick or apparent in the way the bricks tend to lever out from the bench.

Underneath the patio area, Morgan placed a 4" layer of sand before he laid the brick down. All of the bricks are cut with a tub saw so that he could work out different designs with different colors. Some of the bricks were even glazed for greater variety.

The bricks that Morgan uses for his art are hand picked from the "bone-pile" at a local brickyard. The bricks were to be crushed because they had been overfired, which caused them to warp and blister. Yet, Morgan liked the unusual design and texture of these flawed bricks. For the iron fence construction, horizontal pieces were cut out of sheet metal and riveted together. The iron fence was then welded onto pieces of metal that were embedded in the brick wall. The crenelations along the top of the fence imitate the curvilinear masonry at the base. The effect is similar to a flag waving in the breeze.

The iron fence was constructed with horizontal pieces cut from sheet metal. The pieces were laid out and then riveted together. The long pickets follow the contour of the wall. When he was building the pillars (each with 3' concrete footings), Morgan embedded the pieces of metal into the pillar. Then the iron fence was simply welded onto those pieces to secure the fence.

The bricks for the bench, pillars and other elements are made from bricks Morgan hand picked from the "bone-pile" at a local brickyard. The bricks were to be crushed because they were overfired, which caused them to be warped and blistered. Morgan wanted these flawed bricks to add to the design and texture of the project.

While Morgan did almost all of the construction himself, he did subcontract the concrete footings, welding the iron fence pillars and some of the masonry work on the curved wall with the bench.

Public Brickworks

In addition to private commissions, Morgan has completed a number of public commissions. The importance of public art to Morgan is community ownership. His main goal for the work is that it becomes a contemplative space for visitors.

Breta Park has caught the eye of many people in his Lincoln neighborhood. His special use of bricks has inspired children and amazed local business.

Plymouth Church's preschool visited Michael while he was building the park. The unusual design had a great impact on the children who, upon returning to class, drew parts of the park from memory. Among other things, the preschool is involved in a study of architecture and spatial learning. The children revisit the park for tactile exercises and other projects where they try to mold their bodies to the curving form of the brick and have their photographs taken with their favorite part of the brick sculpture. Morgan gave the children a slide lecture and maintains an ongoing relationship with the preschool. In fact, the children visited his studio where they saw a fireplace with wild organic forms that he created for Brickstone Studios.

Aside from its purely aesthetic purpose, Morgan's work has a practical side as well, which includes functional elements like seating, walls, planters, and flooring. The utilitarian characteristics of the landscape satisfy Morgan's goal of using brick art to encourage people to interact with the environment and with one another. His wish is that members of the community will sit and relax on his benches and explore the unusual terrain that he has sculpted, and in the process, experience the pleasure of each others company. Ultimately, the hardscape is a meeting place. Its contours and channels cause human trajectories to overlap and intersect.

This is one of most rewarding aspects of Morgan's life because he firmly believes it teaches, inspires and provides space for everyone to quietly think of how they can contribute to their community. LASN