Rick Shaefer’s massive charcoal drawings confront you with swirling figures in tumults of chaos and disaster. Through finished works and preparatory drawings that pay homage to historical masters, Shaefer’s The Refugee Trilogy makes visible the agony and plight faced by people taking precarious, uncertain journeys to unknown homes. It is one of four shows on now at the Haggerty Museum of Art that address social upheaval and future prophecies. In these exhibitions, visitors find resonance with our own times.
Entering the museum, you might first view “The World Turned Upside Down: Apocalyptic Imagery in England, 1750-1850.” It is an installation of predominantly small pieces that require attention for the details of political satire and social commentary. There is also a good deal of musing on an impending End of Days, coming in a firestorm of Biblical wrath. For artists like William Blake and John Martin, there was a sense of the supernatural coming to beat down upon England. Indeed, there was much unease during this time in the aftermath of the American and French Revolutions.
Moving forward and back in time, we come to a gallery of James Rosenquist’s work. He was formed by the Pop Art sensibilities of the 1960s and his background as a billboard painter. Working with images of the American military-industrial complex, a bridge is formed between his iconic F-111 mural, a work that conjoins the Vietnam War and postwar consumerism, and more recent compositions about the American military, mired in never-ending conflict in the Middle East.
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Leaving off with “Kirsten Leenaars: (Re)Housing the American Dream, A Message from the Future” we see video and audio installations that are a sequel to her project shown last year at the Haggerty. She leads classes with middle school students and they explore their visions of the future by considering social justice, themes of prosperity and success as an American. Building monuments and participating in dialogue, they offer a reminder of hope and responsibility for the younger generation. They are just beginning to comprehend the world and anxieties that began well before their young lives.
Through Jan. 14 at the Haggerty Museum of Art, 530 N. 13th St.
