Striving for Peace on Horizon’s Brim

About the sculpture 

Striving for Peace On Horizon’s Brim is a kinetic, interactive sculpture created by St. Olaf Professor Emeritus of Art A. Malcolm “Mac” Gimse ’58. It serves as an emblem of hope for peace among humans, all living things, and with the earth. The initial idea for Striving for Peace on Horizon’s Brim, and a poem by Gimse of the same name, originated with the 2009 Upper Midwest Nobel Peace Prize Forum held at St. Olaf College. Commissioned to create sculpture and poetry for the Nobel laureates, Gimse’s artistic focus turned to issues of human rights, climate change, poverty, disease, and other ongoing challenges to humankind. 

The 24’ steel structure is imbued with vibrant color and symbols of peace and harmony. The sculpture’s legs highlight images of whales breaching and submerging, eagles soaring and landing, trees rooting and branching, and human beings stretching. A dove form at the top of the sculpture  spins in the wind. A sphere representing the earth anchors a central column of spiraling colors. Gimse invites visitors to gently spin the center column with kindness in their hands and hearts by turning the wheel at the center of the sculpture.

Gimse explains that the sculpture is a “visual interpretation of the leaping, bending, colorful, dynamic universe to which we have been assigned. It will appear different with every rising and setting sun, under snow and rain, in each eye that scans its edges, traverses its planes, absorbs its hues, and imitates its gestures.”

In close consultation with the artist, the work was fabricated at TMCO in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was given to the college by Greg and Lisa Nave Buck ’77 in celebration of Gimse’s enduring creative legacy.

About the artist 

Professor Emeritus of Art A. Malcom “Mac” Gimse ’58 joined the St. Olaf faculty in 1970. Over the course of his 30-year career on campus, he taught classes in sculpture and art history, including world architecture in China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia, and Africa. He built a bronze foundry at the college, was one of four founding faculty in the fine arts major, taught several rounds in the Great Conversation, and was a Paracollege tutor for more than 25 years. He was a National Endowment for the Humanities visiting scholar in the South Asian Institute at Columbia University in New York City and in Chinese Art History at the University of Maryland. As a Joyce Foundation Scholar, Gimse conducted research on Indian temples, including six visits to the Taj Mahal.

Gimse and his wife, Jackie, planned, led, and taught 35 study-abroad  programs, including four Global Semesters, two Terms in Asia, and three Terms in the Middle East, and a dozen international Interims, including the Visual Culture of Japan for the St. Olaf Band. They also led an additional 14 Alumni and Family Travel programs. With cameras draped around his neck, Gimse chronicled their international travel through the art of photography, and he encouraged students to do the same. The Global Engagement Photo Contest became an annual event, and in 1983 it was named in honor of the Gimses.

Gimse’s work is a unique blend of sculpture and poetry that captures the ultimate goodness of humankind. His dedication to peace and human rights is manifested through many commissioned artworks in various forums, including the United Nations Human Rights Commission and, notably, bronze sculptures for 12 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, which have been presented at the Upper Midwest Nobel Peace Prize Forum.

Gimse estimates he has created more than 2,000 bronze pieces over the years, and has carved stone, wood, and just about anything else he can find. Additionally, four of Gimse’s poems have been set to music, two for the St. Olaf Choir and two for the St. Olaf Band. His sculptures have been exhibited in more than 120 galleries, colleges, and churches in the United States, as well as in 11 countries. His artwork can be seen at the Nobel Peace Prize Institute in Oslo, Norway, and in the Norwegian royal family collection. His stainless steel sculpture Between Earth and Sky stands beside the historic Archibald Mill in Dundas, Minnesota, and his latest sculpture, Striving for Peace On Horizon’s Brim, is located next to the Flaten Art Barn at St. Olaf College.