Word and Image

July 24 to December 8, 2019

The Haggerty Museum of Art has been engaging faculty members and students across Marquette University’s curriculum since the museum opened its doors on November 11, 1984. By using the arts as a vehicle to spark new connections, to deepen understanding, to synthesize subject matter, and to reframe issues presented in coursework, the Haggerty has deepened teaching and learning across campus. In recognition of 35 years of innovative interdisciplinary exploration through and with the arts, the museum is devoting this gallery to exhibitions that directly support Marquette University’s curriculum.

Word and Image presents highlights from the Haggerty's collection of post-war American prints. It complements two exhibitions—Ben Shahn: For the Sake of A Single Verse and The Ariel Poems. Whether incorporating texts as visual elements in their work or responding to the contents of literary texts, all of the artists included in this exhibition combine word and image.

Artists Corita Kent, Jasper Johns, Glen Ligon, Tim Rollins and K.O.S., and Edward Ruscha reference specific prose and poetry as source material. Others, such as Mark Bradford, Robert Indiana, Larry Rivers and Andy Warhol, transform found text objects into the subjects of their work. While artistic strategies and intentions vary among the works on view, the role of text as a source of inspiration remains consistent.