Harley-Davidson Museum opens new (P)ART exhibit
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Traveling all the way from France, Lucie Demaret and her mother Sylvie had to make a stop in Milwaukee to visit the Harley-Davidson Museum.
"My father and my brother both have a Harley. It's a passion in the family," said Demaret.
Little did they know they would stumble upon the new exhibit (P)ART: Photographs Revealing the Art of Mechanical Form.
"I feel like I know more about the real technical aspects of the motorcycles," said Demaret.
The photos show a Harley-Davidson as a piece of art, versus a mode of transportation.
"It goes back into the tradition of Harley-Davidson. They use parts, obviously, to make the motorcycle go, but they also use them as visual cues to make the motorcycle look good," said (P)ART Curator David Kreidler.
Twenty-nine of the museum's more than 100,000 archived images taken throughout Harley-Davidson's history were carefully selected for the exhibit.
"We were looking at things like -- do we cover enough expansive period of time because we didn't want to just focus in on one decade or two decades, and then also how do the photographs work with each other?" said Kreidler.
The earliest photograph was taken in 1912. The most recent in 1966.
"They were used for anything from advertisements, to owner's manuals, to dealer aid books -- you know, books that went out to the dealer to tell them about how the bikes work," said Kreidler.
It just goes to show you don't have to be a rider to appreciate all that Harley-Davidson has to offer.
(P)ART is now open and runs through May 17th at the Harley-Davidson Museum.
For more information on the exhibit CLICK HERE.