Three new exhibitions at Marquette University’s Haggerty Museum of Art treat the timely themes of activism and intercultural dialogue. “We Can Make It: The Prints of Corita Kent” displays provocative political works from the 1960s. Artist, educator and Sister of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Kent (1918-1986) sought “revelation in the everyday” by incorporating text from street signs, poetry, philosophy, advertising slogans, scripture and song lyrics in her colorful prints that call to mind the pop art of the era.
“Look How Far We’ve Come!” collects works by contemporary artist Jeffrey Gibson (b. 1972). Gibson is the embodiment of multiculturalism: a half-Cherokee member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians who grew up in urban centers of the U.S., Germany, Korea, England and elsewhere. The inevitable influences of such an upbringing have left their marks on Gibson’s interdisciplinary practice, which recalls modernist paintings as well as Native American beadwork, tribal patterns and powwow regalia.
“Lakota Voices: Collection Highlights from the Heritage Center at Red Cloud Indian School” draws from the collection of the Red Cloud Indian School, a private K-12 Jesuit school founded in 1888 at the request of Chief Red Cloud. From the institution’s collection of more than 10,000 works of contemporary and historic Lakota art, “Lakota Voices” selects pieces that highlight a dialogue between Lakota and Jesuit cultures as well as contemporary and traditional art practices.
“Nothing Is What It Seems”
Gallery 2622
2622 N. Wauwatosa Ave
In “Nothing Is What It Seems,” five local artists take advantage of Augmented Reality (AR) for a forward-thinking exhibition that blends traditional art with the technology of tomorrow. Best known in the context of Pokémon Go, a smart device to supplement perception is utilized by AR, allowing the five artists of Spectacle art group to overlay content on their artwork. “The theme for the show is changing what people perceive as reality,” says show organizer and artist Dena Nord; “The goal of AR is to connect the real world and digital world experiences so they enhance one another, but [they] can also be complete ideas by themselves.”
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“The Pitch Project Artist Book Fair”
The Pitch Project
706 S. Fifth St.
More than 25 independent presses, artists, collectives and universities from 10 cities will display their wares at the Pitch Project Artist Book Fair. Don’t expect to find the latest best sellers: The event specializes in art books, catalogs, monographs, periodicals and zines. The book fair coincides with a photography exhibition—Mariela Sancari’s “Moisés/Landscape,” derived from Sancari’s celebrated photography book, Moisés. On Saturday, Feb. 4 from 4-5 p.m., Sancari will give a keynote lecture on her transformation of personal tragedy into Moisés.
