Sculpture, drawing, painting, prints, and video from the last three decades, including recent acquisitions, are on view this winter in two exhibitions at the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA). "Robert Morris: Senses" and "Permanent Change: Contemporary Works from the Collection" highlight important contemporary works from WCMA's extensive holdings.

Robert Morris (b. 1931) has produced a diverse range of works, including minimalist sculpture, site-specific earth art, film, and performance. "Senses" shows two important works: the large-scale, mixed-media, sound sculpture, Hearing (1972), and prints from the Blind Time III series (1977). Hearing creates an ominous stage set. A lead bed and zinc table are connected by wet cell batteries, while a copper chair with hot water circulating inside sits between them. Unease and fear are further introduced with the accompanying recording of a fictitious McCarthy era type trial where the artist is forced to defend himself. The Blind Time III prints feature different patterns of hand prints in black ink made by a blind woman following directions from Morris. The series is the first group of lithographs made by the artist and were produced while Morris was an artist-in-residence at Williams College in 1977.

"Permanent Change: Contemporary Works from the Collection" includes 36 works by 24 artists. Divided by decade and arranged thematically, the exhibition offers some unusual juxtapositions and provides insight into the art of the past three decades. Featured recent acquisitions include Diary of A Slave Girl, a 1998 work by Tim Rollins + K.O.S.; a 1972 drawing, Codex Artaud XXV, by Nancy Spero; the 1993 Body Object series of photographs by Ann Hamilton; and Louise Bourgeois' 1987 sculpture Nature Study #3. Other artists in the exhibition include Tina Barney, Peter Campus, Vija Celmins, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Phillip Guston, John O’Reilly, Cindy Sherman, Kiki Smith, Jeff Wall, and Andy Warhol.

"Robert Morris: Senses" remains on view through April 23, 2000, while "Permanent Change" will be ongoing through 2000. Both exhibitions are organized by Ian Berry, WCMA assistant curator, with assistance from museum interns Alanna Gedgaudas (MA '00), Victoria Restler ('02), Elyse Gonzales (MA '00), and Jeffrey Saletnick (MA '01).