Explore the Power of Symbols in Art

The Columbia Museum of Art will host artist and University of South Carolina assistant

professor of painting Megan Bickel for a lecture from 2 to 3 p.m. Sunday, October 5, in

celebration of Keith Haring: Radiant Vision.

Bickel will discuss how visual language manifests across painterly practices. Some

artists, including Haring, are known for repeating certain images—such as his iconic

barking dog or radiant baby—that have become synonymous with their work. In street

and protest art, this kind of repetition helps promote or share ideas that, while

sometimes subversive, can be easily understood by viewers.

Bickel is an artist, writer and educator based in Louisville, Kentucky. Their work spans

painting, digital collage and poetry, exploring power, world-building and utopias. Bickel’s

work has been shown nationally and internationally and covered in publications

including Hyperallergic and Artforum. They are an assistant professor of painting at the

University of South Carolina and co-director of Tiger Strikes Asteroid in Greenville.

Cost: Free with membership or admission. Location: 1515 Main St., Columbia. For more

information, visit ColumbiaMuseum.org/events/things-left-undone-keith-haring-and-

artists-mark.