ARCHITECTS OF PEACE

In 2005, the Alumni Memorial Union and the Office of Mission & Identity purchased twelve portraits from Michael Collopy's Architects of Peace project to display in the second floor south hallway.  The portraits are part of a series of people from all over the world, photographed by Collopy, who were working toward peace from a diversity of viewpoints and backgrounds. 

Featured architects in the AMU include:

• Nelson Mandela
• Mother Teresa, who appeared at Marquette University in 1981
• Cesar Chavez
• Phil Lane, Jr.
• Oscar Aria Sanchez, who appeared at Marquette University in 2002
• Mairead Corrigan Maguire, who appeared at Marquette University in 2003
• Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who appeared at Marquette University in 2003
• His Holiness Pope John Paul II
• Lech Walesa, who appeared at Marquette University in 2004
• Sister Helen Prejean, who appeared at Marquette University in 1996
• Jody Williams
• His Holiness the Dalai Lama

In 2006, the Alumni Memorial Union added to the Marquette collection with the portrait of Arun Gandhi, who appeared at Marquette University in 2005.

 

CRUCIFIXES

In many of the meeting rooms in the Alumni Memorial Union, crucifixes from across the globe are featured on the wall.  With an award from the Simmons Religious Commitment Fund in 2006, the AMU was able to purchase nineteen crucifixes from various parts of the world ranging from Russia to El Salvador to Kenya to display throughout the building.  The crucifix project was part of the Alumni Memorial Union's desire to support the university's identity as a faith-based institution.

 

Crucifix locations in the AMU and region of origin include:

• AMU Room 139, San Damiano Cross
• AMU Room 163, San Damiano Cross
• AMU Henke Lounge (2nd floor), San Damiano Cross
• AMU Room 227, Kenyan Ebony Hand-carved Crucifix
• AMU Room 228, Hand-carved Station of the Cross from Bethlehem
• AMU Room 230, El Salvador Christ Cross
• AMU Room 231, Celtic Crucifix of Athlone
• AMU Room 233, El Salvador Multi-ethnic Cross
• AMU Room 252, Sierra Madre Mountains of Central Mexico Straw Crucifix
• AMU Room 254, Haitian Red Robed Crucifix
• AMU Room 305, Haitian World Cross
• AMU Room 313, North American Indian Purepeche Clay Crucifix
• AMU Room 362, 11th Century Archpriest Cross
• AMU Room 364, El Salvador Women's Cross
• AMU Room 368, Kenyan Ebony Hand-carved Crucifix
• AMU Room 370, San Damiano Cross
• AMU Room 374, 18th Century Russian Old Believer Cross
• AMU Room 380, El Salvador Christ Cross
• AMU Room 448, Guahibo Indians - Venezuela Amazon

 

THAI ART COLLECTION

The Haggerty Museum of Art Thai Collection symbolizes the international, academic and artistic dimension of Marquette University.  Consisting of 40 paintings derived from wall murals of temples and sacred buildings in Thailand, the Thai Art Collection is one of the largest collections of its kind in the Western Hemisphere and is located primarily throughout the Alumni Memorial Union with additional works in the law school and other campus sites. 

These Thai paintings are intended as a contribution to the multicultural education and environment of Marquette University.  They provide a unique visual learning experience for all students and visitors to the Alumni Memorial Union. 

EX STASIS

Located outside, in the west mall of the Alumni Memorial Union, Ex Stasis is a stainless steel, gold-plated cable and aluminum sculpture donated by Milwaukee born artist Richard Lippold.  Lippold, an internationally known artist who's work appears in the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, gave Ex Stasis to Marquette University on the occasion of his retrospective exhibition at the Haggerty Museum in 1994.  The artist described the work as a "celebration of the human spirit!" 

Ex Stasis was previously featured in the 1989 Venice Biennale.

MILWAUKEE CIRCLE OF LIFE

"Milwaukee Circle of Life" is a mural celebrating diversity in and around the Milwaukee area.  The mural, part of an artist-in-residence, after-school program sponsored by the Forest County Potawatomi Community Foundation, was created by 500 students from a diverse selection of area schools and modeled after the Native American Circle of Life.  The program was implemented by SHARP Literacy-Creative SHARP Presentations, Inc., of Milwaukee.

The giant artwork, which consists of seperate murals created at each school and reflects the spiritual energy of all races, measures 20 x 5 feet. At the center is an artwork created by Native American students and modeled after the Native American Circle of Life.  It will be installed in the Lynch Lounge on the third floor of the Alumni Memorial Union.

Students involved in the project hail from the Hmong American Peace Academy, Indian Community School, Lloyd Street Global Education School, Poplar Creek Elementary School and St. Anthony's School of Milwaukee.


FATHER BROOKS MOSAIC

Brought to the second floor of the Alumni Memorial Union in the summer of 2007, the Father Brooks Mosaic was previously on display in the old Brooks Memorial Union. The mosaic was created to show the life and the meaning of the life of the late Father Peter A. Brooks, S.J., past Marquette University president for whom the Brooks Memorial Union had been named. 

The story in the mosaic is told in symbolism, the universal langauge of the Church.  Major features of the mosaic include a section that honors Mary, Mother of God and a section that bears the "Chi Rho" symbol for Christ and the alpha and omega - beginning and end.

Click here to see the progress of the reconstruction in the union.