Devastation, wars, zombies and the end of the world are just a few themes in the new Crossman Gallery Exhibit.

“This is the End My Friend: Visions of Post-Apocalyptic Worlds” opens today in the Crossman Gallery with a reception to honor the artists from 5-7 p.m. The exhibit will stay open through Nov. 17.

Michael Flanagan, director of the Crossman Gallery, said this exhibit is aimed towards any taste, but people and students who are fans of zombie shows and movies will especially get something out of it.

“If people have a fascination with zombies, they will see some things that will whet their appetite for zombie images,” Flanagan said.

He said he has been thinking of this exhibit for about a year and said it is a perfect coupling with theories of the world ending on Dec. 21, 2012.

Although some still believe the world will end this year, Flanagan said he does not.

“On Dec. 22, we will all wake up safe and sound in our beds, and everything will be fine,” Flanagan said.

The exhibit shows how artists have depicted the end of the human race.

Flanagan said an end of the world for someone does not have to be about the world actually coming to an end. It could be a horrible event that happened to make someone’s world turn upside down.

With so many natural disasters all around the world, like hurricanes and tsunamis, war is not the only devastation to make a world come crashing down.

Many pieces in the exhibit are from both world wars and the devastation Germany went through.

There will be several German works on paper that were donated by Marvin and Janet Fisherman.

The Fishermans are world- class collectors of German art made in the time period between the two world wars.

There will be a range of artwork from historical to contemporary by several nationally acclaimed artists, including Kathe Kollwitz, Warrington Colescott and Sue Coe.

A few faculty members will also present their artwork, including Denis Dale and Susan Messer, of the art department.

Flanagan said Norbert Cox, a professor at UW-Green Bay, collaborated with artist Wayne Thompson to create a piece that will make its first debut in the exhibit.

Aside from the devastation shown through the pieces Flanagan chose, a smaller exhibit about women in Germany also will be present.

The smaller exhibit was arranged by a UW-Whitewater student and professor.

Senior Samantha Landre collaborated with Assistant Professor Deborah Wilk to display the exhibit concurrent with Flanagan’s.

Landre, an art history major, took a class of Wilk’s last fall where she was required to write a research paper on a piece of art from UW-Whitewater’s permanent collection.

“It’s really great that we have such a good permanent collection, but most people don’t know about it,” Landre said.

Landre said she really enjoyed the research she did, and it inspired her to examine the artwork further.

The pieces Landre chose for the exhibit show the changing roles of women throughout Germany during the two world wars.

She said a lot of anxiety was brought on by the wars, and to make ends meet, a lot of housewives had to suddenly work as laborers.

Landre said this will be a fun and interesting show because of all the different aspects being collaborated.

On whether the world will end on Dec. 21, Landre said, “I sure hope not.”

The Beaux Arts Colony learning community will give student to student peer tours throughout the time the exhibit is open for those who would like to learn more about the different art pieces.