Aaron Morey and Amanda Sheaffer

Two new exhibits recently opened at the Haggerty Museum of Art — one that recalls the museum's beginning and another that is a testament to the museum's 20-year history.

The Haggerty, which turned 20 in 2004, commemorates its opening not with a painting or sculpture but a fence. The exhibit, "On the Fence: Keith Haring's Mural for the Haggerty," opened Jan. 27 and runs through March 27.

Before construction on the Haggerty Museum began in 1983, a crowd formed around the site. They didn't come to anticipate construction, but to see the fence surrounding the site, according to Haggerty Museum Founding Director and Chief Curator Curtis Carter.

This fence was more than a wooden barrier. It was art itself, created by artist Keith Haring. At the time, Haring had had some success with getting his work shown in galleries, but he was best known for his painting on walls in New York City subways, Carter said.

"I had seen his work in subways and New York dance clubs," Carter said. "It was very dynamic, highly visual. It appealed immediately to the senses."

Carter said he liked Haring's style so much, he asked Haring to come to Marquette and paint the museum's construction fences.

In his trademark style of thick lines and bright colors, Haring painted orange people, dogs, snakes and abstract creatures over the whitewashed boards, Carter said. One common theme is the images of a baby and a dog — Haring's "tags" or symbols as a graffiti artist.

As Haring worked on the fence, people began to gather and watch, Carter said. He spent three days drawing out the figures and painting most of the orange coloring.

Over the next seven years until his death in 1990, Carter said Haring went on to paint dozens of murals to be exhibited in numerous museums worldwide.

Three months after it was painted, the fence was taken down. Carter said ever since then, the fence had been "hiding in the basement at the Haggerty." The exhibit marks the fence's return to display.

The second exhibit, "Recent Gifts to the Haggerty from the Allen and Vicki Samson Collection," "is a testament of the work the Haggerty has done," Carter said.

The exhibit, which opened Jan. 20 and run through March 27, includes 12 works of art by 11 artists of the 20th century, donated from the Samsons' private collection.

The exhibit features several prominent international artists who were not represented in the museum's collection and represents contemporary themes people can learn from, Carter said.

A number of different art trends are represented in the exhibit, including photorealism, social commentary and abstract expressionism, Carter said.

"There is a nicely balanced group (of works) reflecting different trends in abstract art," Carter said.

College of Arts & Sciences freshman Philip Babler, a guard at the museum, said the exhibit is one of the most interesting he has seen at the Haggerty.

"There is a nice mix of mediums of art," he said. "It is modern art that everybody can find enjoyable."

The museum's educational curator, Lynne Shumow, said one piece is particularly intriguing.

"Tim Rollins' painting 'The Second Study for Amerika — The Stoker, South Bronx' is interesting because the artist worked directly with at-risk kids," Schumow said.

The Rollins painting is a mixed media canvas that features pages from a book along with paint. Other mediums include watercolor, sculpture and charcoal drawings.

"The photorealism pieces are important because that trend was prominent during the second half of the 20th century, particularly in the 1980s," Carter said.

Carter encourages students to view the exhibit because he believes the museum itself exists as a laboratory for learning.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Feb. 3 2005.