The Rose Art Museum has an almost visceral feeling of change surrounding it. From the exterior—no longer illuminated by a neon glow—to the newly spacious interior, something about the space just feels different; maybe that's because it is. It's finally over the dark cloud of uncertainty of the past few years. When one walks into the Rose Art Museum, known simply as "The Rose" to many familiar with the building, one aspect stands out more than ever before—the art. It makes sense, though: Art is its middle name.

Celebrating 50 years of innovation and prosperity, the three new exhibitions at the Rose have turned the museum into a timeline of pieces that show both how impressive and how historic the permanent collection is.

"Art at the Origin: The Early 1960s" in the Gerald S. and Sandra Fineberg Gallery celebrates the less-than-humble beginnings of the museum, showcasing many of the priceless pieces (including prints, sculptures and paintings) purchased by the Rose's original director, Sam Hunter, primarily through the $50,000 Gevirtz-Mnuchin Purchase Fund. Just the top floor of the Fineberg Gallery alone has pieces significant enough to admire for a full day. One would think that all the notable art in one location might be distracting to the viewer. Instead, the pieces work in unity in the newly opened-up space to create an awe-inspiring appreciative vibe as soon as one enters the museum.

Of the many pieces (and there are too many great ones to mention them all) Wilem De Koonig's "Untitled," Roy Lichtenstein's "Forget It! Forget Me!", Gene Davis' "Moondog" and James Rosenquist's "Two 1959 People" stand out. All of them—a combination of abstract impressionist and pop art pieces—are constantly re-contextualized depending on the angle and depth of the viewer's position. Davis' "Moondog" specifically, a multi-colored entire wall of stripes, changes ever so subtly as one walks by the painting. De Koonig's "Untitled"—one work almost synonymous with the museum—appears to be a calm beachscape from afar while up close one can see the layers and complexity in the thought of the painting. Each work shares that complexity and needs to be seen up close in the gallery among the other formidable artwork in order for the viewer to gain a true appreciation of all the exhibition has to offer.

On the lower level of "Art at the Origin," now easier to navigate since the reflecting pool has been removed, hang more artistic masterpieces that may be less familiar to viewers. Among the works, including the edgy pop art pieces "Still Life 25" by Tom Wesselmann, "Double Red Bathroom" by Jim Dine and the avant-garde scientific splatter "The Vegetable Cell" by Asger Jorn, sit pieces grouped by style that bring the varied selections all together. Tying the exhibit back to the Rose's history in a glass enclosure at the end of the gallery are archives that show historical photos of the museum, brochures from past exhibitions and remnants the original 8-mm print of the Rose's newest acquisition —the 2006 digitalization of Bruce Conner's 1965 controversial triptych video originally shown at the Rose—"EVE-RAY-FOREVER."

Located in the Mildred S. Lee Gallery, "EVE-RAY-FOREVER (1965/2006)" presents viewers with three out-of-sync black-and-white films that portray a multitude of quick-cut images. The images span from classic Mickey Mouse cartoons to graphic cuts of wartime footage along with countless bouts of nudity. The piece is no less than a complete sensory overload. From the occasional sounds of slides changing to the bright flashes and ever-changing controversial imagery, it is difficult to focus both on each clip individually and the triptych collectively. However, the piece works. It's a complex commentary on consumerist culture and its ability to exist as an innovative product of technology. Its reflective mark and importance to the art world can only be truly absorbed after leaving the viewing experience. As the first moving images acquisition by the museum, "EVE-RAY-FOREVER" marked a fresh and innovative step for the Rose and secured its place as a risk-taker and innovator among the contemporary art scene. It takes a piece of the Rose's history full circle, reutilizing its potential for renewed innovation over the next fifty years.

While "EVE-RAY-FOREVER" shows the technological innovation over the years at the Rose and "Art at the Origin" shows the Rose's early days, "Collecting Stories"—in the Lois Foster Gallery—takes the viewer through the iconic first fifty years of the museum. The exhibition begins with a fantastic 1959 cubist piece, "The Siphon" by Juan Gris, that was a part of the Rose Art Museum's inaugural show. The show highlighted the previous century of European painting. Gris' work, alongside other great pieces from one of the first collections of experimental art at any university, welcomes museum patrons through a Rorschach test of canvas and sculpture. Its meaning is open for individual interpretation, which also allows for widespread appreciation.

What is truly amazing about the past 50 years is the range of different mediums present throughout the collections over the years. Having Nam June Paik's "Charlotte Moorman II," a sculpture made out of television cabinets, television screens and cellos, in the same room as Audrey Flack's photorealistic "Family Portrait," Hannah Wilke's ultra-feminine "Needed-erase-her" and Pablo Picasso's "Reclining Nude" testify to the countless variety of styles displayed in the museum over the years.

As the exhibit ends and visitors pass by satirically innovative selections such as Mel Ramos' "I Still Get A Thrill When I See Bill #2" and Robert Colescott's "I Gets a Thrill Too when I see De Koo"—both homages to De Koonig's "Woman I"—along with modern installations such as Jenny Holzer's jarringly brilliant "STAVE," one can fully take in just how significant the humble museum on the Brandeis campus has been to the art world. With Steve Miller's "ATM (Art Trumps Money)" infamously created to protest the announced closing of the Rose just two years ago placed right across from the newest 2011 Perlmutter Visiting Artist Sam Jury's "A Thousand Pities," the exhibition boldly acknowledges the past while confidently reinforcing the museum's future. But, then again, if "Collecting Stories" has shown anything, it is that the museum's bold moves over the years are part of what make it so special.

In Sam Hunter's 2001 "A Personal Memoir of the Founding of the Museum," he wrote that his "years at the Rose, from 1960 to 1965, [reflect] the epoch's dynamic, pioneering spirit and set the museum on the path it still follows." It only seems appropriate, then, that the new exhibitions at the museum serve to recognize the full and diverse history of the museum—and still while only showing a fraction of the 7,000 works in its permanent collection. By remaining constantly forward-thinking and taking bold steps unlike any other university museum, the Rose will surely continue to blossom in bolder and more beautiful ways for years to come.