From New York, to Los Angeles, to Minnesota, Keith Haring’s work finds itself at The Walker arts center. The Walker is a popular venue to many Minnesotan residents, inside and outside of the metropolitan area. Since 1927, the Walker has strived to display the most contemporary and influential art from around the world. Over the summer The Walker reintroduced Keith Haring, with the exhibition titled “Art is for Everybody”.
Haring was one of the most influential artists of the ‘70s and ‘80s, when his art was first introduced to the walker he was invited to paint a mural of the concourse, which at the time in 1984, connected the Walker with the Guthrie. Haring died in February 1993 of AIDS, but his art has inspired many other artists to utilize the simplicity of color and shapes. When Keith Haring’s work came to the Walker this summer many people left the exhibit reflecting that,”the art talks about something that I’m not familiar with, but the exhibit gave me a new perspective”(Chloe Choat, ‘25).
The exhibit had its last appearance on august 12th, the Walker is now going to introduce its next display. “I’m definitely gonna go see it”! said Rowyn Rice ‘25 in a recent interview, “I’m very excited to see what they do, when Keith Haring was at the Walker they made it more of an experience instead of just an exhibit”. The Walker’s next main exhibit is titled Allan Sekula: Fish Story from August 24th to January 21st 2024. Known for his image-based research on the overpowering impact of globalized ship trade, this exhibition tells the story of maritime commerce, and the alluring spectacle of the ocean.
This presentation of Fish Story is being shown for the first time in the U.S since its debut in 1999. The final result of his work took 7 years to complete, beginning in San Pedro Los Angeles, where Sekula grew up, all the way to South Korea, the Persian gulf, Scotland, and Hong Kong. He developed the project in the shadow of the Cold War where there was a period of capitalist reconstruction driven by extensive shipping. The project is not simply a collection of photographs, but also a demonstration of how low-tech and low-speed transport became the center of the world economy.
Sekula’s work also seems to have an edge to it, he has many themes concerning the dangers of the ocean for those who choose to work in the shipping industry. As he put it, “the ocean flickers at the edge of visibility, remembered and forgotten at the same time, always linked to death”. The sea serves as what Sekula called, “forgotten space”, out of sight out of mind for most people, but his work was able to bring this reality to the common person through his photos. The slavery-like work conditions, the dangerous waters, the price we pay for everything that comes right to our doorstep, is now visible for those who want to see these works in Fish Story. To find out more information about the display please visit the Walker’s website.
