Employees of the Haggerty are excited for Marquette students to come see "Wifredo Lam in North America" as its importance marks a first in the museum's history. ,”The Haggerty Museum of Art may be the best kept secret on campus, but it features an expansive exhibit on Wifredo Lam no student should miss this fall and winter.

Employees of the Haggerty are excited for Marquette students to come see "Wifredo Lam in North America" as its importance marks a first in the museum's history.

"For the first time, all galleries here at the Haggerty are only the artwork of the feature exhibit, Lam, except for the blue room of religious artwork," said J.T. Kapke, senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and Haggerty security guard. "It's incredible that this much of the museum is devoted all to Lam's artwork."

Lam's paintings in the exhibit are reminiscent of Pablo Picasso's in their sharp edges and distorted bodily proportions of people, but don't confuse Lam as a Picasso impersonator. Kapke said he found Lam's incorporation of his own heritage as defining element of his artwork.

"Lam's mother was a mix of African and Cuban and his father was Chinese, so he was influenced by all these interesting cultures," Kapke said. "You can see a lot of his paintings featured themes of social justice and use all these African religious symbols."

Haggerty tour guide Neil Gasparka also thought the key to Lam's unique greatness is his incorporation of mystery and Afro-Cuban cultural identity.

"A number of Lam's paintings are unresolved," said Gasparka as he described his favorite painting in the exhibit, "Nous sommes presents (We are present)." "There's always something under the surface, allowing for a lot of thought. And his underlying multiculturalism keeps bringing me back."

To support this sense of viewer interpretation, the museum has scheduled two upcoming performances inspired by Lam's imaginative paintings. A dance by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts titled "Nous sommes presents," tonight at 7 p.m. at the museum, and a concert by Roldan featuring the music of Argentinean, Cuban and Spanish composers, next Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. Both events, as well as, the exhibit are free of charge.

Curator of Education Lynne Shumow said the Lam exhibit is being received with great respect in the Milwaukee art community but admits that the exhibit and museum in general is something many Marquette students aren't taking advantage of.

"Students might not come here because they think, 'If I'm not studying art, why should I go?'" said Shumow. "But you can learn a lot about other subjects from the artwork here like philosophy, communication, and theology. This is not a boring museum, it's very different, very contemporary and very interesting."

Katie Buchholz, junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, works as a security guard at the Haggerty and felt the location of the museum south of Straz Hall had some affect on why students might be missing out.

"The Haggerty is really secluded from the rest of campus," said Buchholz. "It's located in the far corner so some students might not see it."

Overall, Shumow and other employees at the Haggerty believe the museum is gaining more attention around the campus community.

"More and more students are coming here," said Shumow. "Professors are assigning projects to their students that involves coming to the Haggerty. We also hold free events like concerts. These are things people pay a lot of money for, but here it's free. And it's great for Marquette because all this enriches the environment."

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