MC professor see the world from an new “angle”

by Kyle Christensen
Courier Staff

During winter break, Professor Lyle L. Welch, instructor of mathematics, experienced the joy of having his unique handiwork placed on display in the Hewes Library,.

His abstract art assemblage, entitled “Thirty Years of Adventures in Geometry,” containing a wide array of original three-dimensional and geometric sculptures.

Although the exhibit, which spent close to a month situated in the Len G. Everett Gallery, has now been removed.

Much of the collection was comprised during Welch’s fall sabbatical in 2005 and was the result of broad planning and preparation from as early as 1999.

The construction process is hardly an unfamiliar trade to Welch, who stated, “I’ve been building things my whole life; what’s new is the math.”

Implementing his personal mantra of “design by mathematics,” Welch was inspired primarily by the 1970 book “Adventures Among the Toroids” by B.M Stewart, an educator at Michigan State University.

While most of Welch’s works were conceived as a method to better teach his students in the classroom, others had much more of an expressive agenda behind their making.

The centerpiece of the event was an elaborate five-foot tall pentagonal prism made entirely from yellow PVC pipes and black bungee cords.

Additional selections included a hanging emblem of wood, gold shackling, several painted cubes, cones, etc.

“Part of it was taking everyday objects and using them in a different way,” Welch explained.

According to Welch, the biggest sense of accomplishment came from seeing his innovations finally laid out for the initial opening.

“I was surprised how good it was in the gallery. When I finally got it set up and lit, I looked back and said, ‘Wow, this is better than I expected.’”

Nevertheless, Welch is not yet finished in his pursuits.

Besides continuing to produce his craft for subsequent venues, discussions have gone underway with the dean of students toward potentially erecting a welded, six-foot wide, curvaceously fashioned sculpture, to be placed on the open college grounds.

Tapping into the inherent human desire to create, Welch hopes his audience will recognize that, “Mathematical objects can be pretty; can be easy to look at, to touch, to manipulate.”